The CRYSTAL KITTY Stakes
Six and one half furlongs
Fast Dirt
$50,000
Fillies and mares, 4 years old and up
PP Horse ID Horse Owner Jockey Odds
1 496 TUBULAR(BRZ) buzzbarn D Burton 7/2
2 22062 LONG LAUNCH mig G Schultz 6/1
3 19131 EURO RUNNER joe333 D Rusch 3/1
4 44113 CANTANKEROUS T(IRE) tempstable R Rash 7/2
5 89383 ICED TEA nickryan T Waddle 12/1
6 87075 K’S KIANA kuovadis R Dunaway 5/1
7 36284 EARLY SNOW marsattack B Tate 9/1
8 53092 DEPUTY SWEVING fredje R Fitzgerald 9/1
Hippodrome Lisboa features older fillies and mares this week. The six and one half furlong dirt sprint lured a field of eight. Here’s a closer look at the ladies from the rail outward.
Stall one will house Tubular(brz). The four year old Siphon(brz) filly has improved beyond recognition since being haltered by trainer Buzzbarn for $50,000 last summer. I asked Buzzbarn how he spotted the filly. “I was on vacation in Jamaica. Laying by the pool sipping rum and Coke. I heard two guys talking about dropping some filly named Tubular in for a tag to pick up a purse and cash a bet. Tubular, bodacious, gnarly, and awesome were key words in the Rad 80’s. And a filly named Tubular in my barn sounded really radical! I got dressed, picked up a form, headed for the track, took a peek at her in her stall, had my assistant trainer wire transfer the money, and the rest is history. This filly is fast!” Indeed. She’s already taken one stake for Buzzbarn and finished second in another last time out. Big threat in here.
Long Launch was recently purchased for $480,000 by trainer Mig. The six year old chestnut by little known Totem and Taboo returned immediate dividends by winning a South Carolina allowance sprint. But she was found wanting in two subsequent allowance races so her chances of winning this stake are somewhere between slim and none.
Euro Runner looks to snap a four race losing streak on Saturday. The lanky six year old chestnut is approaching $700,000 in career earnings and has won at least one stake each year since 2002. Trainer Joe333 is confidant that his Cape Canaveral sired charge can get back on track against this softer group. But 3-1 is a bit short for me to accept off that last clunker. Your call.
Tempstable’s Cantankerous T(ire) is a late running daughter of Canyon Creek(ire). Last time out she dropped from the clouds to garner the place in an Irish 4X test. She shows a win coming from thirteenth a few starts back. But she has managed just one second in seven added money attempts. Not much of a threat on paper in here.
Iced Tea is the fastest of three foals from the Storm Cat mare Miss Brooke. Unfortunately, that designation merely makes her a decent allowance sort. Like Cantankerous T, she’s only hit the board once in stakes company for trainer Nickryan. That may not change this week. Tab with easier.
That invisible barrier between being a stakes contender and an allowance pretender has rarely been more evident than in this race. K’s Kiana is a gorgeous, well bred (Point Given x Storm Bird x Bold Ruler), talented mare who, so far, is just a tad short of being a stakes contender. As with several of her opponents, she’s had little luck when going for added money. But unlike some them, she showed enough in her stakes debut, an even fifth, to give her another chance here. Might surprise for sharp conditioner Kuovadis.
Early Snow brought five million dollars at auction from trainer Marsattack. I asked why he paid so much for the scraggly looking, modestly performed filly. “Pedigree, my friend. Pedigree.” OK, I suppose Deputy Minister x Unbridled is worth a few bucks. But five million? First foray into added money territory was uneventful. Pass.
Just a few bucks short of a half million in career earnings is Fredje’s eight-year old Deputy Sweving. The veteran Polish Navy mare barely lasted versus conditioned allowance foes LTO in her fifty-fifth lifetime start. But you know that the multiple stakes winner has a ton of back class and if she wakes up feeling like her old self, watch out!
Who’s gonna win? Far out, man! I’ll take Tubular.