$85,000 Florida Deputy(Fr) Stakes

This week’s feature is $85,000 listed Florida Deputy(Fr) Stakes, a nod to the four-time stakes-winning mare who once won a listed stakes over this Dubai track.  Since retiring, she’s produced stakes winner Irish River (Charismatic) and a promising filly by Indian Ridge(Ire), and has an unraced Galileo(Ire) two-year-old of this year.  Six fillies and mares will line up to go a mile and five-sixteenths over the main track in the race that bears her name.

The favorite at 8/5 is baileybarn trainee Cookie Barn (Kingmambo), a homebred four-year-old with nearly $400,000 in earnings.  She is GII-placed going nine furlongs and two for three at this distance, beaten just a nose in her only defeat.  She was outclassed and never got into her preferred stalking position in the GIII Help…Mike’s Fallen & Can’t Get Up last out, but since committing to the main track, she’s never failed to pick up a check at this level.

Second choice is the politically-named Bush For Iraq Prez (Brocco).  The four-year-old is a virtual machine for trainer charliep: she’s won or placed in nine of her ten races thus far and ran a professional race over a sloppy track to win the listed Beastie Peak(SAF) Challenge at nine furlongs last out.  The 107 speed number that she notched there was much her best, but she’s a versatile runner and in with a chance even if she can’t reach those heights here.

The mile and five-sixteenths of this race should be a walk in the park for third choice Global Snow Mine (Snow Ridge); ahe’s spent her last several races going even longer than she will on Saturday.  She was a GI winner at ten furlongs at three, but then-trainer globalsim dropped her into a $50,000 claiming race when she didn’t bounce back well.  miguel91 picked her out of that spot and returned her to winning form; she’s come out on top of an additional five listed stakes since then.  Her last two efforts were lackluster, but the cutback in distance may perk her up a bit.  A grand mare in a decent spot.

Makeupmymine (Contemplate) hails from the highclaim barn and her connections may have been doing a raindance this week: she’s three for three over an off-track.  No such luck this week, but she’s run well on a fast track, too.  She proved last out that distance is no problem, winning at twelve panels in a Norway allowance, but given a subpar effort in her only stakes start to date, she could perhaps have used a little help from the rain gods.

Bon Royale(Ire) (Not Impossible) makes her stakes return here after spending the last year and change in lesser company.  She should feel at home, however: she was a five-time stakes winner in her younger days.  Powerball is her fourth lifetime owner, picking her out of a $7,500 claiming race last year.  She’s been running well in starter and allowance races since and will look to go wire to wire–if she’s fast enough.

The final starter is Ms. Chant (War Chant), a wolfcub homebred out of a Mr. Prospector mare.  She spent her early career as a sprinter, but stretched ou a few starts back with good results.  She’s a late-running closer who hasn’t been able to make much headway yet this year, but seems to improve as the races get longer, and this is her longest yet