North Florida  4 of the top 24 long turf rated sophomore fillies are among the 9 entrants in the half million dollar Pensacola Oaks to be contested at a mile-and-a-half on the North Florida turf course. With the other five really looking to make a name for themselves, and one really looking to surprise, and a variety of running styles it promises to be a very entertaining-and possibly profitable-affair.

PP1            NERF HERDER                6/1                   R Brown 10.9%

Scratch bred Macho Uno filly is bred using that noted sim distance influence Ela-mana-mou as a DS. That routing influence has really shown through in this one as her shortest winning distance has come at 9 furlongs. She comes in here after scoring her first stakes win last time out at 1-¾ miles. She was ambitiously placed in a Grade 3 right after breaking her maiden and that was the only step backward she’s taken in her steady progression through her conditions. Not really tested in winner her last 2 and could take a big step here.

PP2            PERFECTA                    7/1                   N Woolford 13.5%

Pleasantly Perfect filly has managed to earn more that a quarter-million dollars while winning just 3 of her 20 starts for breeder/trainer bellisimo. She is out of a “G-rated” Danehill “he-mare” who won just one of his 21 starts. Her 3 wins came in her first 6 starts on the turf. She hasn’t been bad since then with 5 2nds and a 3^rd in the 11 starts since her last win. One of those runner-up finishes came in a Grade 2 at this distance against a pretty tough group. That was on soft footing where she seems to really flourish.

Decent jock gives her a better chance but don’t see her getting the win here

PP3            BUSKER(IRE)              7/2                   O A Haack 16.0%

High Chaparral(IRE) filly makes her graded stakes debut after running in six straight listed stakes. She won 4 of those, beating a couple of her rivals-including the 2^nd choice- here in 2 of them. She’s out of a well-bred Nureyev mare who managed to win only once in 34 trips to the post. Her grandmother also race, winning just once in 12 tries. Trainer bigskyfarm has found a diamond in the family tree (to mix metaphors) in this one. She has shown versatility in running styles, winning on the front end and stalking the lead. That versatility combined with pretty good jock give her a big time chance. Deserving favorite.

PP4            GYPSY ANGEL(IRE)       10/1                 P Jackson 7.4%

High Chapparal(IRE) filly is impeccably bred being from a Grade B Storm Cat x Mr. Prospector mare. The dam pulled the MSW-allowance-stakes triple in her first 3 races starting in week 599. She is the 4^th of 5 offspring, all but the first being stakes winners. She is also the only one of the five to be Grade-placed, that being a 3^rd place in the Equinics this year. Like her mother, she has been exclusively trained by holybull99. Her stakes win came in her longest race to date, a 10 furlong affair of only 4 entries of which she was by far the strongest. Her top career SP is just 90 which doesn’t quite fit with these, so doubt she will be the first of the babies to earn that “GW”, at least in this race.

PP5            NATIVE SWAN             9/1                   A Short 11.4%

This filly is one of only 2 stakes winners from the noted sire Crowd Pleaser who would fit nicely as a sire in the bargain bred series. Her game dam is anything but bargain bred, however, being by Nureyev and was pretty successful on the track in restricted allowances but was distanced in her only stakes try. Trainer glemyrstab has obviously been around the sim a while as he trained the dam her whole career beginning in week 767. Filly has already outdone her mom in stakes area running off a MSW-allowance-stakes triple earlier this year. She followed that up with a 3^rd then 2 seconds in her last 3 with a narrow miss last time out. Pretty big step up in competition doesn’t bode well for the win but could easily get a piece.

PP6            GRASSY SMELTZER         4/1                   A Westall 9.6%

This Dynaformer filly is looking to add a Grade 1 victory to her Gr 2 and Gr 3 victories earlier this year. She’s out of a mare who had a very unremarkable career on the track and went through 7 different barns. Apparently, breeder/trainer godmama saw something in her while training her for all of 3 races and snapped her up for breeding when she became available. Filly is in top form right now, posting a triple digit SP in finishing 2^nd last time out after those 2 graded wins. Would like to see a little better jock aboard, but with a halfway decent ride she should be right there at the wire.

PP7      RED HEAD                       9/1                   P Volner 4.7%

Both of this well bred (Red Ransom x Nureyev) girl’s wins have come on the turf…at 6 and 6.5 furlongs. In fact, her longest race to date has been 7 furlongs. Trainer zoomr3 must be working her out in the pre-dawn hours before the clockers arrive and really see something in her to place her here. Pedigree suggests that she should be able to get a piece of ground pretty well. She could throw a big surprise, but between low percentage jock, racing 5 furlongs farther than she’s been before, and stepping up to graded company for the first time we’ll watch her this time and place our money elsewhere.

PP8            RUDE STELLA(AUS)     9/1                   K Braun 16.0%

Danewin(AUS) filly is already a 6-time stakes winner in her 15-race career, having won stakes both sprinting and routing on both surfaces. She’s also out of a mare who had an unremarkable 7 race career, though she does have the blue-blood breeding of Seattle Slew x Deputy Minister. This filly is bred and trained by freeky.  She has tried graded company 3 times so far, with a fading 3^rd being her best finish. Interestingly, in her eight wins she has held the lead at every call. In her 7 other races, she has only been on the lead once…in that graded race where she faded. Draws pretty good jock but she’ll have to fight for the lead so look for her to fade again.

PP9      ICY SLUMBER             5/1                   H McCoy 19.6%