My Victoria Manta Heads Betting in Even Spanish Feature
Spain this week showcases the turf classic females in the Bird of Prey Stakes, a Grade 3 event for fillies and mares three years of age or older, conducted on the grass over eight and a half furlongs. An intriguing event awaits us this weekend, as indicated by the morning line betting. My Victoria Manta is the clear favourite at 3/1 in the field of 9 runners, competing for the major share of $150,000. Outside of the top pick, the race becomes a real lottery, with seven of the remaining eight all being priced at either 6/1 or 7/1. The rank outsider, Star West, is no genuine longshot, being kept safe as she goes around at just 11/1.
The Bird of Prey has been conducted annually in
2000 – Buttery Ton – falvelon – 1.42.8 – 104 – retired winning $1.9 million
2001 – Sally Slap – irishman2 – 1.42.8 – 104 – retired winning $1 million, dam of stakes winner Celebre Slap
2002 – Miss Renee – oldguy – 1.43.6 – 97 – retired winning $440k
2003 – George’s Burglars – yishun – 1.42.6 – 105 – retired winning $3.5 million
2004 – Redstorm Rocket – tigereyes – 1.42.2 – 110 – retired winning $440k
2005 – Riverboat Queen – torrential – 1.42.2 – 103 – active winner of $280k
Let’s work through the formguide for this year’s renewal:
Buck Wild will leave from the inside gate. This superbly bred four year old filly will be looking to reverse the first minor form slump of her twenty four start career. Although she’s been known to throw in the occasional sub-par effort, she’s never, until now, strung together two poor runs. Perhaps she’s become a victim of the pins inserted into all those little horse shaped voodoo dolls with “I hate Lenny” written on their sides. Bred from scratch using Kingmambo / Northern Dancer / Buckpasser, Buck Wild showed ability from the outset, bringing home cheques in her first three runs before winning maiden, allowance and stakes races at her fourth, fifth and sixth appearances. Since then she’s regularly meandered between allowances and Graded stakes, winning up to Grade 3 level and proving competitive against Grade 1 opposition. This year has seen her victorious on three occasions, at allowance, stakes and Grade 3 levels, and it’s hard to imagine she won’t bounce back to add to the $435,000 she’s thus far accumulated from her nine wins. She’s in her element in this 8 to 9 furlong range and the inside stall will enable top jockey M.Zeus to formulate his own race strategy.
Youla, from Gate 2 is a real wild card in this event. A versatile sprinter / miler with a pair of black type victories on the CV, she lines up this weekend for her first attempt on the grass following a career of thirty five dirt races to date. As she’s having her first run for seven weeks and she’s tackling Graded opposition for the first time, there are plenty of questions to be answered, but on a positive note, she’s a last start winner with a most impressive strike rate of eleven wins from her thirty five starts. Youla is a five year old daughter of Touch Gold from the well bred but modestly performed mare West Agriculture (Gone West / Phone Trick), who is part owned by breeder / trainer shawninwy2 and who won six from forty-six up to restricted allowance level. Youla is the most successful of her three progeny to date and began her career with a maiden second before stringing together three consecutive wins. As a two year old she was also stakes placed twice from six runs in her juvenile season. At three she won four from ten, including one black type. 2005 saw 3 wins from 13, including a stakes victory to round out the year. Can she handle the grass? If she can, she has the services of a capable jockey in P. Ellison, so she must be included in the chances.
Masai will line up in barrier 3 and, along with both those inside her, starts at 6/1 in this event. She’s a proven talent under these conditions, but strangely, her best speed ratings have been recorded on rain affected tracks. She’s yet to win at black type level, but put the writing on the wall five weeks ago when third of thirteen in an ungraded stake over this trip, at just her second black type start. Scratchbred by biko6 using Orpen / Celtic Swing / Danzatore, Masai has raced from the outset in the aotearoa colours, and is a winner of five from eighteen, with all successes coming on the turf. After an unimpressive debut on the dirt, she opened her account at her second and final two year old start. Dropped to CPU restricted races after one second from three in early 2005, she won two in a row before taking home minor cheques in her remaining five races that year. This year started with a triple digit allowance win, which was repeated three starts later. She hasn’t drawn well in the jockey lottery, but she’ll be well supported and is sure to tighten up in betting if there is even a suggestion of rain before post time.
Bubble Monkey will line up in stall 4 as she tries to bring to an end her current run of six consecutive minor cheques in black type events. She began the year with two convincing allowance wins before stepping up to the ungraded stakes level, where she’s proven competitive, but invariably meeting something a little stronger on any given day. Scratchbred by trainer chill, using Dynaformer / Zilzal / Stop the Music, now four year old filly Bubble Monkey began her career on the dirt, winning her maiden at her third of five runs on that surface, before switching to the grass. In six allowance runs she greeted the judge on three occasions prior to advancing to stakes competition. She’s racing consistently at this type of level, and in this evenly matched field she only needs a touch of overdue luck to finally register that initial black type victory.
From 5 jumps Star West, a talented mare regularly thereabouts but appearing to suffer from a fear of hitting the wire first. She’s going around at the longest odds available to punters in this race, not through lack of ability, but through a frustrating refusal to be first home. She hasn’t won for fourteen months, but in that time she’s finished second four times and third on six occasions. Included in the second placings is one at Grade 2 level and a couple against ungraded stakes opposition. Dropped back to allowances in an attempt to regain that winning feeling, guess where she finished last start! Right, second again. Star West is a four year old daughter of Rahy from Star Liberty (A.P. Indy / Unbridled) and had three previous owners via maiden claimers, before current owner trainer naracing2 took over, immediately turning her career around. In her first three runs for the new barn she recorded an allowance second followed by allowance and stakes wins before the frustrating run set in. Connections were unable to secure an in-form jockey this week, which won’t help, but she has ability on her day. Sadly, after twenty one consecutive winless starts, many have given up waiting for ‘her day’ to come around again.
Stall 6 is the starting position for My Victoria Manta. Installed as the clear cut early favorite in the market, she’s looking a great chance to score that long overdue win. She lines up this weekend having returned a 105 speed rating at her most recent outing, an ungraded stakes second, recorded before she went to the paddock for a three month spell. Although she’s been unable to greet the judge this year, she’s recorded two black type seconds from just six starts in 2006. She rounded out 2005, her five year old season, with a win in the mile Ida Ore Stakes – G3, completing a stellar season which resulted in seven black type wins from just nine starts. My Victoria Manta is a scratchbred daughter of Arazi / Manila / Blade and is part of the huge manni empire, currently trained by network6. She’s working back towards the old form, having recorded this year’s two seconds from her last three races, and although it’s a long time between drinks, she represents a second to none chance in this week’s race.
Gate 7 will be occupied by Liberalia, coming into this off the worst run of her turf career, when, for just the second time ever (the other was on the dirt), she managed to beat just one runner home. There may be excuses as that most recent start was over the scamper trip of five and a half furlongs against Grade 1 company. Although she twice won black type sprints as a juvenile, these classic distances appear more her forte at this stage of her career. Scratchbred by voltereta using the quality combination of Seeking the Gold / Storm Bird / Alydar, Liberalia was thrown in at the deep end from day one, winning two, after running second on debut, with all three early starts in stakes races. 2005 began in a blaze of glory when she won her first two against stakes opposition before achieving her career high point with a win in
Barrier 8 is the starting position for Angel Wings, a solid turf sprinting filly who may well be looking for the extra furlong as she gets that little bit older. On the negative side of her formline are her previous graded results. In six appearances at this level or higher, she’s managed no better finish than fifth. On the other side of the ledger is the fact that she’s had only one turf route run in her last fifteen races, and she went home the winner that day, albeit against allowance opposition. Angel Wings was regally bred by current owner trainer, fuzzycat. She’s a four year old daughter of Summer Squall, from Storm Mount (Rubiano / Storm Cat). Storm Mount was stakes placed once in her seventeen starts, and is now the dam of two stakes placed progeny from four runners, the other being two year old Bonestrike (Smart Strike). Angel Wings has a second and third at the ungraded level among six wins in her 26 start career. She still needs to prove herself at this level, but in this evenly matched field, she gets a great opportunity to do so this Saturday.
From the outside jumps Apple Carbon, a Grade 2 winner late last year, she’s been racing consistently against this standard of opposition, and can never be denied a winning chance. The bookmakers have shown her plenty of respect recently, as evidenced by this year’s starting prices, which have seen her start at single figure odds nine times in ten starts. She is capable of throwing in the occasional sub par run, but as a general rule she’s in the mix, regularly returning high 90’s and triple digit speed ratings. The breeding here is interesting. She’s the only black type winner in the five year sim record of her sire Mark’s Mill. Never heard of him? You’re not alone. Now retired, he sired just 15 runners in his last five years, and is, at the time of writing, available in the second or third line of breeding for the princely sum of 7 points. That may go part the way towards explaining how corza6 managed to pick her up as a cheap claimer early last year, and became her third owner after just three runs. Apple Carbon has repaid her cost many fold since then, winning almost $300,000 for her current stable. A repeat of her ungraded stakes victory over the mile three starts back would see her vying for the major share of the spoils gain this week and top jockey T. Monk is sure to give her every chance.
The Odds Makers opinion:
3/1 – My Victoria Manta
6/1 – Buck Wild, Youla, Masai, Liberalia, Apple Carbon
The Computer opinion:
Apple Carbon – 40
Buck Wild – 47
Liberalia – 64
Star West – 72
My Victoria Manta – 81