German Contest for Grade 1 Filly Hopefuls – Diana Grand Prix
Saturday, May 31, 2014 — 3:00:00 PM EST | Race ID : 1235843
Grade I / Group 1 – Purse : $500,000
Restricted to 3 Year Olds
11 Furlongs | ~2200 Meters | One Mile and Three Eighths, Firm Turf
The sorting of the wheat from the chaff of sophomore fillies (classic division) continues in Germany’s Diana Grand Prix. There are no graded winners here, but it is a promising bunch. Let’s take a look at the field of eleven:
Inside post gal AKNA KING tried her frontrunning approach in the Sydney Oaks last month, and the tactic was going well through the second call, but she could not hold and wound up a respectable fifth. Seeing as she also faded in the stretch the race before that in a New Zealand twelve-furlonger the race before that, the cutback of a furlong here may help, but my wager is she will find her best below ten furlongs.
Next out is SET IN CONCRETE, who has been a big wow, winning six straight as she moves up the ladder. The Special Week girl adds a furlong in her graded debut, and while she has plenty of speed, she has used it judiciously. She is a worthy chance at low odds.
In number three stands LONDON OPERA, who ended her juvenile year winless as she could not break through in a high-dollar maiden claimer. Then she opened 2014 with an eye opener in a 9.5-furlong maiden win with a 95 speed. She’s run nicely in two allowances since, but it’s a big step up in class to this tough assignment.
Trainer depark understandably tried the number four, a Medaglia d’Oro/Cryptoclearance miss named HISTORIC ROMP, on dirt for a while last year, but a switch back to turf did the trick. She captured two stakes at sprint distances before trying the 1000 Guineas last out. In that Grade 1 tilt, coming from dead last in the full field might have caused her to encounter traffic, leading to a sixth-place finish. A dangerous threat to rebound from that loss at 5-1.
Moving on to number five we find sabbath5’s TETE BORGHILD, who debuted only in December and now boasts all exacta finishes in her five-race career. She has tended to be at the rear of the short fields she has encountered in her maiden and allowance races, so it’s hard to gauge if she will be way back or more midpack in this better subscribed affair. Interesting longshot.
IRMA THE DOUCE, next in number six stall, has shown improvement over her ten-race career, but has been held off the board in her graded stakes attempts. She hit triple figures in the Tom Hanks, and although that race was much shorter than today’s, she shows a running style that whispers “classic distances”. We will see, then, won’t we?
Seven horse TETE ZASHA hit the ground running with a maiden win in her January unveiling at nine panels, and she won two more as an encore to that sparkler. Therion tried her next in the Grade 3 Penelope Cruz next, and like HISTORIC ROMP, she toiled at the rear. She closed for third but was no match for an emerging monster in DOMINANT SPECIES. She makes for an interesting prospect, especially in exacta combinations.
POUR MOI AN I.C. makes for a beery entrant in the eighth position. She lacks a maiden win, but that’s because she never ran in one. Her two allowance wins were at route distances, and her last two were solid stakes placings. She has not exhibited triple-digit speed numbers, which could leave her on the outside looking in for this Grade 1.
Nine holds LEMONDOP MOO MINI, who has three full siblings, two of whom are Grade 1 winners, so why wouldn’t trainer gr8white try her in the Grade 1 Sydney Oaks last out. She fought AKNA KING’s pace and would up a solid third. It was interesting that she moved forward in speed at such a long distance, so eleven furlongs is probably within her scope.
PICNIC COMMITTEE at number ten is by obscure Canadian sire Pay Fast, and she’s been having fun outrunning her pedigree. She has two stakes placings in a handful of tries, and even boasts triple digit speeds. She has a tendency to loaf in the stretch a bit, so she may need more tenacity to finish first here.
Outside entrant BULB BLAST smashed a big winner in her 2014 debut, taking a 9.5 furlong stakes by daylight and a 96 speed. While that victory marked her one to watch through the spring, she didn’t really move forward in her racing schedule until dropping back to an allowance earlier this month. That brought a 100 speed and a terrific-looking win. Perhap