Highly Ranked Female Sprinters Duel In Oregon

Welcome to Oregon, for the seventh running of the G3 Trail Mix Stakes. We have a dozen lovely ladies going to post for this one, run at 7.5 furlongs on the dirt course for a purse of $150,000. Some great racemares have come through this race in the past, including the incomparable Queen’s Cats, who won the inaugural running. This year should be just as exciting, as we have three girls ranked in the top 20 of the division, along with nine challengers, two of whom share second choice odds with the #20 filly. Let’s take a look at the entrants.

On the rail at 7/1 is Brilliancy (Glitterman x Halo) owned by godchild. A gorgeous dark grey 5yo, she has earned most of her points on turf, where she is a dual stakeswinner, but she certainly can run on both surfaces, as evidenced by the fact that she is graded-placed on each. She ran second in two of her three dirt stakes this year. The other was on a sloppy surface, on which she had trouble with the footing. She’s run a top speed of 110 on dirt.

In post two at 9/1 is Fleetwood Gold (Strike The Gold x Seattle Slew) owned by fleetwood. That’s quite a price to get on the #14 ranked dirt sprint female. This 5yo has been on fire recently. She made only two starts last season, one early and one the last week of the year, winning both, and hasn’t looked back. Once her owned found her niche, she’s been all business, never once finishing off the board in 9 starts so far this season, including three open stakes wins in a row as well as taking the G2 Real Danger Handicap last time out in her graded debut.

In post three at 11/1 is White Flag (Twining x Seattle Dancer) owned by ryantoga. Perhaps her trainer could give me some lessons, as she was claimed for 20K in her last start of 2005, and is now a stakeswinner. She lost her last start by only a head, almost becoming a dual stakeswinner. Naturally the competition here will be stiffer than what she’s been facing, but it is obvious that she likes her new trainer very much and wants to do well.

In post four at 13/1 is our first 4yo in the field, Dry Spell (Awesome Again x Time For A Change), owned by capitanio2. She’s coming off of a pair of allowance wins, and although she still has one condition left, her trainer felt it was time to try moving her up again. She broke 100 last time out for the first time in her career, albeit against other 4yos only, none of whom was even stakesplaced. She did beat a stakeswinner in the race before that, but this may be too big of a jump in class for her without trying listed stakes first.

In post five is the first of three mares at 6/1, Explosive Storm (Storm Cat x Danzig), owned by pjlracing. Obviously, on pedigree alone she’s a star. But she transfers that to the track as well…on her own terms, however. When she’s feeling good, the results are there, and she’s been feeling good all year, racking up two wins and two seconds in her four starts. Her performance last time out was a thing of beauty, taking down a graded winner and a slew of stakeswinners over today’s distance with a stellar 112 speed figure.

In post six at 11/1 is Termantia (Pulpit x Irish River(Fr)) owned by zatopeck. This is an interesting spot for this 4yo. She’s a dual stakeswinner with five graded placings to her name, and a start in the Breeder’s Bowl Distaff. No question about it, she’s got talent. But the last time she sprinted was as a 2yo, and her three sprint starts were all on turf. So how will she do here? She could be the bet of the day at these odds.

In post seven at 15/1 is Knickers Off (Scan x Broto) owned by chongtong. She is a 5yo and, despite some close calls, didn’t win her first stakes race until this year. She ran second in her last start as a 4yo in the G3 Natural Spring Stakes, so she’s proven that she can rise to the occasion and run well at this level, as she ran a very nice 108 in that one.

In post eight is today’s longshot, Yankee Kitten (Tale Of The cat x Quiet American), owned by ashleigh. She is a nice looking 3yo, and ran very well last time out in an open allowance, setting a career high speed figure while finishing second. It’s a bit early to be putting her against older mares though, and she likely will need to mature some more before she can compete at this level.

In post nine at 10/1 is The Revivalist (Distant View x Red Ransom) owned by 42ndstreet. She is a 4yo and has one win and three thirds in five starts this season. The win was her first stakes victory. She’s only run one really bad race in her last seven starts, and that was on an off track. This is a step up, but not by much.

In post ten at 6/1 is Fleury (Forty Niner x Silver Buck) owned by freddurst. She is a 6yo and is ranked #45 in the division. She never really hit the track hard until last year, making only 5 total starts before she turned five. She made up for lost time in a big way at the end of last year, culminating in her first stakes victory. She’s coming off a win last time out with a 105.

In post eleven is today’s favourite at 7/2, Wine And Whiskey (Danzig x Mr. Prospector), owned by kaif099. A 5yo, she is ranked #11 in the division. An instant star, she won her first 7 starts, including a G3. She is G1 placed, and also stakesplaced on turf. She is coming off a second place finish in the G2 Bluegrass Distaff Sprint. Definitely the class of the field, and probably should be at even lower odds.

Rounding out the field at 6/1 is Suffragette City (Carson City x Affirmed) owned by sdmf5. How many top class mares can one guy own, anyway? heh. She is a 4yo, and is ranked #20 in the division. A stakeswinner, she is graded placed at both the G2 and G3 levels…and those were both against the boys. She has certainly blossomed once her preferred distance was worked out, and probably should be the clear second favourite, rather than sharing that distinction.

That is our field. The top two, in my mind, are both coming from clear outside, but neither one is a frontrunner and shouldn’t be harmed by their posts. Then again, there aren’t many upfront types here, and I would expect Termantia to go for that early lead, but Wine And Whiskey won’t be far behind her. If the pace is easy enough, it could set up for another stalker type like Fleury to edge out Suffragette City for the place. Good luck to all the runners, and may they all come home sound.