Sweden’s Petunia Handicap

Welcome to Sweden for a big day of racing, having two stakes races on the card.  The feature race on today’s card is the Petunia Handicap, a GII stakes event for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up, over a mile and a half on a Firm Turf course.  We have almost a full field of mares today going for a $200,000 purse.  We have a talented group of ladies starting here today, so let’s see who has shown up…

First off, starting in PP1, we have #88895 Mockingbird, a 4 year old chestnut filly trained by alluvial.  She is by Atticus out of N. Dance (Kingmambo x Seattle Dancer) and is 21/4-4-4 lifetime.  This filly was really hot earlier last year, when she had some success in stakes events, including some graded races.  She can definitely go the race distance of 12 fl, so that shouldn’t be a problem.  I don’t see her taking this race, unless she suddenly reverts back to last year’s form.  She is at odds of 21/1 and is being ridden by J. Jacobsson.

Next up, from PP2, is #80130 Nag Of Notley.  She is a 5 year old bunsay trained chestnut mare by Gone West out of a Sadler’s Wells bred mare and is 35/16-9-3 lifetime.  With over a million dollars in winnings, this mare is definitely a competitor.  This gal had a big year a couple years ago and was pretty good last year, even though she had a few bad races.  She has gone the distance before, with mixed results.  She is a multiple stakes winner, but her graded stakes tries have been a bit lackluster, so she is going to have to kick it into high to steal this one away. She is off at odds of 9/1 and has jockey S. Marts in the saddle.

Then, from PP3, we have #10393 Kill Bill, a 5 year old brown mare trained by punisher.  She is by Kurofune out of a Dehere mare and is 27/11-7-2 lifetime.  This mare has been a pretty solid runner of late, and even though she has never gone 12 fl she seems to handle distance decently.  This is her second graded event, and had a decent showing in her first, so she should be ok with the level of competition here.  She should be up there for at least a good showing.  She is at odds of 7/1 and has jock M. Jones in the irons.

Starting in PP4, is #93021 Getaloadofthis, who is a 4 year old fab19 trained brown filly by Distorted Humor out of a mare by Ela-Mana-Mou(IRE) and is 17/6-4-4 lifetime.  This filly is another solid runner, finishing out of the bps twice.  She can definitely go the distance, but what my question is: does she have the speed to overtake some of the others in this race? She is starting at odds of 10/1 and is being ridden by W. Turnbull.

Coming up next, in PP5, we have #42472 Bella Figura, a 5year old brown mare trained by sgtbones.  She is by Kingmambo out of Unbridled Slew (Seattle Slew x Unbridled) and is 41/18-5-4 lifetime.  This talented mare has certainly had a good career.  However, she ran in this very race last year, finishing a distant 4^th.  She seems to be a better classic distance horse rather than a long router.  She has some nice speeds, but she’s going o have to overcome her distance issues to take this race.  She is the favorite here today with odds of 3/1 and is being ridden by Me Gay.

Next up, starting from PP6 is #29705 La Pata Daisy.  She is a 4 year old brown filly trained by usoz by Sadler’s Wells based on Duck Wow (Jules x Vice Regent) and is 21/8-7-3 lifetime. This filly is the #1 long distance turf mare and has shown herself to be a solid competitor.  However, she has been off form a bit lately, having not won a race since the GI St. John’s back in week 2636.  She could take this, but she’s going to have to get out of her recent rut. She is off at odds of 11/1 and has jockey P. Jones in the irons.

Then, from PP7, we have #95997 Dead Solid Perfect(IRE), a snowchief trained 4 year old brown filly by High Chaparral(IRE) out of Jaded Lover (Kris S. x Irish River (FR)) and is 12/4-5-0 lifetime.  This filly is a very solid allowance runner and has recently made a foray into stakes races, finishing 2^nd last time out.  Trained by a BTB boss, this filly has some talent, but she’ll have to really show what she’s made of to win here today.  She is at odds of 23/1 and is being ridden by A. Park.

Starting in PP8 is #84402 Lake Carnegie.  She is a princeton trained 4 year old brown filly by Vindication out of a mare by Honor Grades.  She is 14/2-5-4 lifetime.  I remember writing up a race with her in it a few months ago, she was a long shot there too I believe.  This filly is pretty solid as an allowance competitor, but she has never won a stakes race yet.  I don’t see her winning this one today, especially with the jump in class.  She is the outsider here at odds of 41/1 and is being ridden by S. Jacobsson.

Next, from PP9, is #74340 Grand Caffreys(IRE), a 5 year old brown mare trained by corka.  She is by Desert King(IRE) out of a Grand Lodge(IRE) bred mare and is 44/9-7-4 lifetime.  This mare has had a rough year it looks like, winning only one race and finishing in the money only six times.  She was a tough competitor in 2004, but has seemed to lose her edge sometime early last year.  She would definitely need to revert to former form to hit the board here, but it seems she is going to have trouble here today.  She is off at 12/1 and has jockey R. Jenkins in the saddle.

Then, starting in PP10, we have #88318 Stage Coach Slew(IRE).  She is a kyclocker4 trained 4 year old brown filly by Theatrical(IRE) out of a mare by Gone West and is 18/3-8-2 lifetime.  This filly has been a decent runner and has had some success in graded races, even though she has never won one.  If she can give a little extra effort, she should be able to hit the board here today.  She is off at odds of 10/1 and has jock W. Farthing up.

Next up, in PP11, is #94198 Magical Mia(IRE), a 4 year old boots trained brown filly by Giant’s Causeway out of Shawnae’s Dream (Sadler’s Wells x Buckpasser) and is 16/10-3-1 lifetime.  This filly has definitely shown she can go the distance and win at it.  She recorded six wins in a row, including a GIII win, before finishing 3^rd last time out during an Equinics race.  She’s got the talent and speed enough to win this one, she just has to shake off her Equinics loss, which hopefully shouldn’t be a problem.  She is at odds of 10/1 and is being ridden by P. Ibrox.

Starting from PP12, we have #76711 Krishna(IRE), a 5 year old chestnut mare trained by paceman2.  She is by Theatrical(IRE) out of a mare by Kris S. and is 37/17-5-4 lifetime.  This mare has been on a hot streak her last three races, with her latest win being the GI Pat Eddery for Equinics.  She definitely goes the distance and her recent form and speeds have been very solid, so she will be one to watch today.  She is off at odds of 4/1 and has jockey M. Mason in the irons.

And last but not least, from PP13, is #89054 K’s Western Magic, a 4 year old sheen trained brown filly by Sadler’s Wells out of a Gone West bred mare and is 18/5-4-4 lifetime.  This filly has been a decent runner, but she has to really step it up to hit the board in this race. She is off at 12/1 and has jock K. Griggs in the saddle.

            This is looking to be a pretty close race, with many winning options.  Personally I like Krishna(IRE), Magical Mia(IRE) and Kill Bill as my three choices.  In any case, it should be an interesting race for all involved.  Good Luck and Good Racing!