Good Field For Grade III, The Sheepherder Beach

Good Field For Grade III, The Sheepherder Beach

New York – Tired of the west coast, I thought I would get some frequent flyer miles and head for New York and do my thing covering the Grade III, Sheepherder Beach Handicap.  Nine older fillies and mares will go postward for the mile and 3/8 affair which will be run over the turf course and carries a purse of $150,000.  The weather is expected to be favorable and all the best riders are in town for the upcoming third jewel of the 2006 Triple Tierra so let’s look at the field by post position.

Mambomambomambo (5/1) drew the inside and she is a nice looking 5YO dark bay mare by Kingmambo.  She is ranked #78 and has visited the winner’s circle eight times from 28 starts.  Well trained by Ratem she has only one bad race in her last eight and that was when she tried the dirt where she didn’t carefor being pelted in the face by dirt clods.  She has won three of her last four and that includes the Mama Ready, the Katie’s Bubba and last time out she scored big in the 11 furlong Canto De Guerra.  She seems to be on a roll and should be a contender.

 Apmccoy trains the lovely light grey daughter of Silver Ghost, Spooky Ballet (2/1).  There isn’t much more for this 5YO mare to do as she has won 18 of 34 starts and if you throw out her last when the rider lost his stirrup she has a very consistent form.  She last won five back in the Baby Lock and closed well to finish third in the Grade I, Bob Champion.  Racing at less distance she got up for second in the Nappy Dugout and again in the Grade III Dodge, both at shorter.  She’s got the top speed figure showing in the BTB Form and this race will be her race to lose.

In post three will be Buda At The Ballet (9/1) and I am sure there will be lot of hunch betters buying tickets on these inside three dancing horses.  Another 5 YO, this daughter of Danzig is ranked #40, is trained by Juju and the big brown mare has won 10 of her 36 starts.  She is another that is on a bit of a roll lately winning four of her last eight all at 11 furlongs or better.  She comes into the Sheepherder Beach off a winning effort last time out in the Orange Mount and has improving speed figures which are always a plus.  The only graded effort in her last eight was a closing third in the Grade II, Adrian Adonis.

Check Your Head (9/1) is trained by Lenny28 who has so many stables he had to give them all numbers.  This guy is one of the best trainers around and his 4YO, bright red filly by Awesome Again can probably overcome the bad rider she drew.  She is lightly raced with only 10 starts of which she has won four.  More impressive is the fact that this filly has been in the money in all six of her grass starts including three wins.  Those three all happened inside her last four races and although they were allowance races they were all were at a mile and a quarter.  She will be stepping up in class on Saturday but looks as if she can handle it.

Harvey will saddle his chestnut, 4 YO Woodman filly, Babe In The Wood (17/1) and she will break from post five.  She has won three of 13 starts and her best recent finish was last time out in the Our Ashes at 11 furlongs.  She is a consistent sort that usually brings home a check but she will need all of the help jockey Givens can give her on Saturday.

Sparkling Melody (11/1) is a washy looking chestnut filly by Sky Mesa.  A real rags to riches story, this 4YO was spotted in a $15,000 maiden claim and the claim slip was dropped.  The Iamsaved trainee has never looked back, breaking her maiden two starts after being claimed and then won two more starter allowance races before her tag ran out.  She moved up to a regular allowance race last time out and finished second at a mile and a quarter but jockey McClendon is another who will need all of his skills to get this filly home on top.

Karie will send her nice mare Wishing Wells (9/2) a well-built bay by Rainbow Quest.  This 6 YO has been there and done that earning 18 wins from 47 starts along the way.  Still competitive, she has won three of her last five starts including the Uncharted Waters and the Zinc Nijinsky at 10 1/2 furlongs.  She exudes back class and brings back a check nearly every time she runs.

Stop The Groom T (8/1) is magnificent light grey filly by Runaway Groom that at # 16 is the highest ranked individual in the field.  Trained by Priceless this race might be just a bit short for her.  She won the Mieces To Pieces two back and because of her phobia of running in large fields her trainer has been diligent in finding fields for her where she doesn’t get lost in the crowd.  She should like this mid-sized field.

Breaking on the outside will be Irish Flame (9/2) a 5 YO mare by Noverre.  Trained by Turfwinner, this plain brown mare has won eight of 29 starts including the Puddy The Stupid, the Bro’s Meadow, the AP Czar and the Three Fiddiee.  She had a tough break last time out when she ran up on another’s heels and finished well back.  Throw that out and she fits well with these.

That is the field for Saturday.  Good Luck to all!