W.Va. field comes up short

By ITCH

Not much of a race here at Old Waterford this week for the feature, with only four baby fillies entered to run in the $35,000 Second Storm Stakes, going 6.5 furlongs over a good dirt course.

Charlie the Drunken Morning Line Oddsmaker has installed WASSIE’S HOSSIE G as the 3/5 favorite despite her never having started. She is the first offspring for the Grade F mare Wassie Warpath G, who hit the board three times running long on the grass in stakes company. By Storm Boot out a Deputy Minister mare, this one has plenty of off-track blood in the engine, but odds-on seems a little out of line, especially considering two other fillies in here already have raced well.

If your humble W.Va. reporter were making the line, we probably would have installed Look4win’s OUTRUN DE CAP, co-second choice at 3-1, as the favorite. By the Gone West sire Ouragan out of the Grade G Dehere mare Almost Love, this one has run well in both her career starts, breaking her maiden at 6 furlongs, and then running a decent second in a short four-horse field of colts. S. Tate is in the irons, and that hurts nothing. Look4win is having a solid year with a five-horse outfit, winning at 22 percent.

The second half of the Wassie entry is the other co-second choice. D LION SLEEPS G is probably the filly to catch, having been on the lead in both of her races going shorter at 4.5 furlongs. As all longtime handicappers know, speed has a big edge in a short field like this. We’ll just have to find out if she has the scope to get the 6.5 furlongs. Wassie has had mixed results with the dam, the Grade D Woodman mare Out the Manta, who has five offspring in the Sim. The only one that has been really successful so far is Ride out the Storm, who has won $153,000, a pretty decent bankroll in 29 starts.

Finally, we have another first-time starter, Jasong’s FANTASTICOX. By the Storm Cat sire Fantasticat, she won’t have to do much running in her career to outperform mama. Old Pleasures was a proven loser, winning only two times in 49 career starts. Jasong hasn’t had too many bad ones, though. He’s closing in on the 100-win milestone, with 98 career wins from 615 starts for a very solid career strike rate of 16 percent.

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!!!!