Older Mares Vie For $250K and Smackdown Glory

The first race for fillies on the Smackdown Dirt card features a full field of14 mares with collectively a ton of wins in them. Several are graded winnersor graded-placed, while others have climbed out of claiming ranks to excel atallowance and even stakes company. Each mare has shown at least a flash of brillianceto support her entry in this $250,000 race for older mare going 9f on dirt.

Many of the handicappers are putting their money on GR Simsters entries, but no wise tipster should ignore the potential some of the DelPenn entries have to wreak havoc on the Smackdown series results.

CUPID’S DEAD – GR Simsters
Owner: Zewango/sdmf2
Breeding: Event of the Year x Sovereign Dancer x Best Turn
Odds: 9/2
Vital stats: 1 GIII win; 1 listed stakes wins; top SP at 9f is105

The favored mare in this race is Cupid’s Dead, and for good reason. Zewango’s brown filly has been putting up impressive numbers all year long. Despite sub-par performances the last two starts (if you can consider 100 and 101 speed figures in listed and graded company subpar), the filly should relish a return to 9f. The four weeks of rest she’s had shouldn’t hurt either. Cupid’s preferred running style should see he moving away from the start fairly slowly, and settling comfortably 6-8 lengths behind the lead through the backstretch. She’ll likely get moving a bit late, but if she’s in good shape she should be, according to her owner, “right there at the end.”

SOVEREIGN MONARCH – GR Simsters
Owner: Pilgrim/acote
Breeding: Monarchos x Sovereign Dancer x Pleasant Colony
Odds: 5/1
Vital stats: 1 G1 win; 2 listed stakes wins; 1 restricted stakes win; top SP at 9f is105

While wandering through the barns today, I overheard one DelPenner mention to his buddy that despite his residency having the hometrack advantage, the GR Simsters’ Sovereign Monarch was the mare to beat in the 9f dirt race for older mares. Monarch’s last race was in the GI Steadhamp at 8.5f five weeks ago. In that, she took the lead right of the gate and refused to relinquish it, romping home to a 2-length victory. Her normal running style is on the lead; if she can’t get it she might be vulnerable. If she does come out of the gate at a dead run, the field is in for it, as this game filly is dangerous when loose on the lead.

MEADOW BREEZE – GR Simsters
Owner: Ryan/lenny2
Breeding: Pine Bluff x Meadowlake x Fappiano
Odds: 5/1
Vital stats: 1 G3 win; 1 listed stakes win; top SP at 9f is 108

This 4yo chestnut filly “gets her shot at redemption against Pilgrim’s amazing Sovereign Monarch,” says her owner/breeder. Despite a disappointing seventh in the Steadhamp two starts back, Ryan still “think(s) MB is best suited at 9F”. Breeze’s last win was at 9f in the MD Distaff three starts ago, where she ran a 108SP. Her running style is somewhat similar to Cupid’s Dead’s style, although Breeze tends to run a tad closer to the lead.

DOOMSDAY JESUS – GR Simsters
Owner: Zewango/zwango1
Breeding: Black Tie Affair x Lyphard x Alleged
Odds: 7/1
Vital stats: 3 allowance wins; top SP at 9f is 96

Doomsday is a 4yo chestnut filly whose on-track performance this year indicates she’s in good company here. Perhaps a step down on the talent scale from the best fillies in this race, she’s nonetheless of a class to be competitive. She’s coming off a disappointing sixth in the GII Beer Pitcher, but two starts back she put up a respectable 102 to win a mile allowance by two lengths. Doomsday seems to prefer to be on or close behind the lead, so I would expect her to be right behind Sovereign Monarch.

TRAVELLER – DelPenn
Owner: Laura/Topicount
Breeding: Exchange Rate x Roar x Crusader Sword
Odds: 9/1
Vital stats: 1 listed stakes win; 1 restricted stakes win; top SP at 9f is 104

Traveller is the grande dame of the fillies in the race; at 5 years of age she’s now on her fourth racing year. Despite her long career, she’s managed to stay in great shape and is still a solid campaigner for the topicount stable. She’s lost a step speed-wise after so many races (this will be her 37th start) but if things go her way she has a shot at bringing home a paycheck. Lately Traveller has left her moves for a bit too late in the race, so look for jockey C Sanders to try to get her into third gear as early as the half-mile pole.

RHINO RALLY – GR Simsters
Owner: Lenny/lenny4
Breeding: Machiavellian x Irish River(FR) x Storm Bird
Odds: 10/1
Vital stats: 3 allowance wins; top SP at 9f is 103

Rhino is a former claimer turned solid allowance horse under the tutelage of her skilled trainer. Since coming into the lenny4 barn, she’s picked up three wins, two of them at 9f with 101 and 103 SPs. She’s a bit of a dark horse; on her good days she would be competitive with this bunch. How competitive she’ll be today is a mystery. Rhino, when she wins, tends to be up in first or second position at the halfway mark. If she’s not on or close to the lead at that point today, she probably won’t grab a board finish.

CAPTAIN CATNAP – DelPenn
Owner: IronMike/sgb
Breeding: Storm Cat x Nureyev x Bold Ruler
Odds: 14/1
Vital stats: 1 listed stakes win; top SP at 9f is 103

The Captain is another veteran; the brown mare is making her 52nd start today, in her fifth year of racing. Owned by Snowchief way back when, her current owner picked her up in the auction as 4yo and has been campaigning her at high levels since. Captain Catnap picked up her first and only stakes win in her first start of 2005; since then she’s taken home a pair of show finishes in stakes at 9 and 23 f. In both cases she was the speed horse but ran out of steam in the stretch. Look for her to try to get the lead today. If she can, she’ll likely set the pace. If she can’t, well, it won’t be a total shocker. Her best days are behind her, but she still has enough speed to really affect the race outcome.

CARAVAN LODGE – DelPenn
Owner: AFC/afc
Breeding: Cryptoclearance x Storm Bird x Woodman
Odds: 15/1
Vital stats: 1 listed stakes win; top SP at 9f is 97

This 5yo mare’s owner picked her to run fifth in the field. That kind of measured confidence is reasonable, given she’s getting up in starts and not quite as fast as some of the other mares. However, Caravan still has a good dose of speed in her and is quite capable of cracking the top 3 if she’s as rarin’ to run as she ought to be after seven weeks off. Her last start saw her victorious in an allowance; she ran a 99 in winning the 8f race against mares by 2 ½ lengths. It was her highest SP in the past several races, so perhaps she’s in an upswing phase. Caravan seems to prefer being on or close to the lead. If she gets her run in early she could hold off the late chargers for at least a piece if the purse.

MARLIN ACCOUNT – DelPenn
Owner: Queahora/surf4bass
Breeding: Marlin x Private Account x Intrepid Hero
Odds: 16/1
Vital stats: 2 allowance wins; never run at 9f

This striking gray filly is very lightly raced. Making just her seventh start, she conceded experience to some of the more senior racemares but makes up for it in talent. Three starts back she ran a huge 110 in a California mile allowance to win by 2 ½ lengths. Her last two have been less impressive, mid-80s figures with out of the money finishes. Her highest figures, that 110 and the 95 right before it, both came off some serious rest (8 weeks for both), so her mere 4 weeks off here doesn’t seem to signal a top-notch effort. That one race, though, does indicate she has the ability to show some serious moves today. One possible concern is her lack of experience at 9f. All six of her races have been at 8 and 8.5f. Last start she was moving up at the end, so the extra sixteenth might do Marlin some good.

BARB’S DENISE – GR Simsters
Owner: Migman/helpmeout
Breeding: Shaadi x Forty Niner x Kenmare(FR)
Odds: 17/1
Vital stats: 1 listed stakes win; top SP at 9f is 104

Denise was claimed out of a 15K race mid-2004. Her first race with current owner Migman was one the handicappers were scratching their heads over. “That lunatic’s putting her straight into stakes company??” Well, turns out Mig made a great choice, as the mare eked out a win by a head to post a 106SP for the 9.5f race. Since then she’s been back in the winner’s circle once, in a 8.5f allowance (where she hit a 104SP). So far Denise is winless in 2005. Her performance has suffered as she nears the 50-race mark, and she’s not likely to be a serious threat today. Given her history as pulling off upsets when she’s too lightly regarded, though, she just might be a factor.

HALO FOR HELEN – DelPenn
Owner: Revelation/olebaldy
Breeding: Southern Halo x Conquistador Cielo x U. S. Flag
Odds: 18/1
Vital stats: 2 allowance wins; top SP at 9f is 104

This 4yo filly is a beautiful dark grey who tends to draw wows from the crowds when she runs. She hasn’t visited the winner’s circle in over a year now, but has placed Top-3 in better than a third of her races lifetime. She draws the services of jockey CJ Walker for this trip. Based on those last two races (where she finished second each time) Helen as a legit shot at a top-5 finish this time out. Two back she posted a 101 after just running out of gas in the stretch at 9f. I hear owner XXX is putting a couple of bucks on her to show, just in case the conditioning she received during her two months at the farm pays off.

Snowboots(GB) – DelPenn
Owner: Knightmare/knightcat
Breeding: Southern Halo x Conquistador Cielo x U. S. Flag
Odds: 18/1
Vital stats: 3 allowance wins; top SP at 9f is 93

One of three fillies in this race sired by foreign studs, Snowboots has had a checkered career at the track. She has earned six or eight wins in the last year, but hasn’t visited the winner’s circle since week 2440 when she destroyed a 12f dirt field in a cheap starter allowance. Despite her recent losing streak, she hasn’t been idle on the track. On the contrary, Snowboots has a third, fourth, and a pair of fifths in her last four. She’ll be cutting back from 11-1 furlongs down to 9 here. If the magical 2-furlong drop voodoo works, and she overcomes the poor skills of jockey C Long, Snowboots could be poised for an excellent performance.

INSWAIN(IRE) – GR Simsters
Owner: TremendousMachine/sam812218
Breeding: Swain(IRE) x Deputy Minister x Mr. Prospector
Odds: 20/1
Vital stats: 1 listed stakes win; top SP at 9f is 97

Inswain is the oldest daughter of the Grade I-winning Project Matter. Like her mama, this 5yo chesnut mare was pretty fast in her day. Inswain’s been slowing down a bit lately, taking her time to check out the roses her fans toss on the track for her. Still, on her good days, she’s a capable mare who can still put in a lovely race. Inswain’s last race of note was three back when she ran a closing second by a mere 2 ¼ lengths in a mile allowance. She’s coming off just 2 weeks rest here, but apparently I hear she’s had so much energy the last few days her trainer thinks she has at least one last super run in her. This might be that run.

ILLUSIVE HALO(IRE) – DelPenn
Owner: an unknown DelPenner/sanatarium
Breeding: Sunny’s Halo x Illustrious x Nostrom
Odds: 27/1
Vital stats: 2 allowance wins; top SP at 9f is 98

The longshot of the field is the 4yo light grey filly Illusive Halo. She’s coming off two solid wins in allowance company, the last an excellent win by a short head at 9f in which she posted a 98SP. That’s just a bit faster than usual, but certainly not out of range for the filly. Illusive is a deep closer who will adore the fast pace she’ll get here. If she can duplicate her last effort, it ought to be good enough for a top-5 finish if not better. Only question is if she’ll run out of room in the stretch.