Well Matched Field In Penn Feature

Well Matched Field In Penn Feature

Pennsylvania – I found myself on assignment to Pennsylvania to cover the Nurse Dusty Memorial Stakes for the BTB.  Nurse Dusty is a 9 YO mare by Coronado‘s Quest and while she never did anything earth shattering as a race mare, she did manage seven wins from 49 starts.  I owned this mare at onetime and while she has had two foals to race, mine is not the winner.  The stakes will be run at a mile and three-eights and carries a $45,000 purse for 4 and up fillies and mares. 

I managed to find my way to the track early enough to catch the last of the pre race morning workouts.  I had barely found a seat out of the wind when I saw ReemsII leading up her dark bay 5YO mare Over Highland (4/1).  The elegant mare by Northern Passage bowed her neck and jogged off the wrong way of the track with a long daisy cutter stride.  A former claimer, she has blossomed recently winning four of her last six races, including an owner restricted stakes and The Miss Leslie last time out.  In fact, she has been in the money 26/31 races winning 11 of them.  She comes in to the Nurse Dusty with a great deal of confidence, loves the distance and should not be overlooked.

Mals Approval (11/1) is trained by Jockfan and claims three wins from 35 starts.  The petty light gray mare was pulling hard as she went by in a hobby horse canter.  A 5YO daughter of With Approval, her best recent finish came three back in The Recalibrate Special, when she made a strong run down the lane to just miss in a tight photo.  Throw out her last where her rider dropped an iron and she fits with these.

Stalpipo sent his plain brown mare, Big Farcough Horse (9/2) out with the pony and she was feeling wild.  She could hardly keep her feet on the ground and the pony rider was having a hard time controlling her.  The 6 YO by Krisinski is ranked #15 in the long turf division and has won 17 of 48 starts, including The Zinc Deputy and The Dusty Rae.  With over a half million dollars in the bank, the mare’s only bad performances have come when she tried to step up in class to the Graded level where she just couldn’t quite cut it.

Also out with the pony was Ramble On (9/5), a big long striding 5YO chestnut mare by Testa Rossa.  She comes into Saturday’s race with 10 wins from 41 starts and has been first or second in all but one of her last eight starts.  Trained by Phatpharm she recently won The Huge Con and The Bow Zarb.  She can handle the distance and will be tough.

No More Options (7/2) came by in a two minute lick under a light hold.  The big, 4 YO filly by Diesis, is ranked # 25 and has six wins from 18 starts.  She also has a Grade II win in The Girls of Summer and some minor checks from Grade I’s.   Trained by Goldsmith, the daughter of Diesis is well placed here and should find the competition to her liking.

A big bay filly trimmed in white, came down the middle of the track, high-blowing and sounding like a jack hammer as she hit the ground hard trying to get away from her rider.  Princeton Bound (7/2) is the other 4 YO in the race and is by Changeintheweather.  Lightly raced, comparatively, she has five wins from 14 starts including The Are We There Yet, The Elk Pinkie and was a closing second last time out in the Slewcing For Gold.  Trainer Princeton will be saddling her on Saturday and she looks like a monster.

This will be an excellent race and I have no idea whether it will be one of the ‘now’ horses, a veteran, or old class that will emerge the winner.  Good Luck to all.