Rains Drench Arizona

Rains Drench Arizona

Arizona – The rain that left California yesterday arrived here in force and the track will be lucky to dry out before next week.  Arizona can always use the rain, but with all the normally dry washes and river beds flooding, it was not easy getting to the racetrack.  Clutching my umbrella and with my BTB in my other hand, I sat down in a dry corner of the track kitchen to peruse the entries for the Grade II, Lifetime Achievement Award Stakes.  Three year-old fillies will contest for a $250,000 purse over a mile and three-eights of sloppy Arizona dirt.  I am not sure who is being honored or for what lifetime achievement that this race was purchased for, but I do know that it came from the seemingly unlimited coffers of the GR Simsters.  Rain held the entries to six so here is the field from the inside out.

In post one is Solutions (5/2) a smart looking filly by Touch Gold.  She is ranked in the top 100 and has four wins from 14 starts for trainer Kdiv.  She won the Gold Honor as a 2 YO and after a short dry  spell she got up to win by a head last time out in the Tizdaring over this very track.  Her trainer liked what he saw and decided to stay in town for another round even though the filly has been less then stellar over an off track.

Defend (6/1) is one of two entries by the Wistful Corp.  She is a plain brown filly by Refuse To Bend and is trained by Wistful3.  Her two wins came some nine months ago and her jockey has only won two in six months so it ought to be an interesting combination.  She did split an eight horse field in the Grade III, Triangular Star and made up some ground to beat one in the Your Bungholes last time out.  She did not like her off track experience and it is one of those things that you can’t really train for.   So, between a long winless period, a bad jock and the mud, this filly will be carrying a lot of baggage.

Post three will hold Hose Blower (5/2) a copper chestnut daughter of War Chant.  She just missed being ranked in the top 50 (top of this group) and has won two of nine starts.  She broke her maiden five back at 1 1/16 and followed that with a win in the St Opal at a mile.  She proved she could handle the class jump by finishing third last time out in the Grade II, Fantasia with an awesome closing run.  Trained by Hansg she is defiantly one to watch.

Theatrical seldom enters his horses where they are not competitive and this may be one of them (sorry Phil).  This filly by Red Ransom hates the mud but if anyone can train a horse to like it – it would be Theatrical.  Red Hill (7/2) is ranked # 82 and has won two of nine starts.  She was second in the Grade II, Los Vinegrette four back but has done nothing since although she passed tired in her last few.  The short field will help here.

Gladstone (8/1) is the other Wistful Corp entry and the chestnut daughter of Birdstone is trained by Wistful2.   She is tied for having the most wins in this race with five including three of her last five.  Even though those were all allowance races she was a closing 5^th two back in the Cryptojai and rallied to get up for 4^th in the Tizdaring behind Solutions last time out.  This filly may have what it takes and although she has never raced over an off track, I seem to remember her sire as one who liked it.

On the outside will be Strong Achiever (3/1) who is probably the Achiever that the Achievement was named or earned by.  Trained by Given2 she is also a top 100 ranked filly and has won five of her nine races.  She won four of her last five including the Dawn Treader and the Your Bungholes last time out over Defend.  She drew the top rider in Arizona and is okay with the distance.  The two big question marks are the mud and the fact that her only graded try was a disaster.  Trainer Given2 told me the tongue tie came undone at the top of the stretch in that race and she swallowed her tongue causing her to stop like she hit a wall.  If he doesn’t delegate the groom’s work and ties the tongue himself this filly should be fine.

Good Luck to everyone.