Speedy distaffers get ‘Thorny’, baby

I personally have always found the distaff sprint division to be a most compelling one, outside of the Sim.  Their races don’t usually get their due, as stakes like the Ballerina, the Santa Monica, the Vagrancy and the First Flight Handicaps have to take a back seat to the Vosburgh, the Ancient Title, the Carter and the Forego Handicaps in press coverage.  Their divisional stars are neglected when it comes to the big fall races, as there is no Breeders Cup race, no Eclipse Award for female sprinter.  And names like Very Subtle, Safely Kept and Xtra Heat slowly fade into memories of an earlier time, somehow.

Gratefully, though, in the Sim universe, the sprinting fillies and mares are a ultra-competitive, almost bloodthirsty bunch.  And this weekend, “Old Simtop” in Maryland features some of the heart-and-soul of the division.  The Dancer ‘Cap in New York might have attracted the elite sprinters, but some mighty talented ones in their own right are set for the $65,000 Thorny Patriot Memorial Saturday.  Here’s the field for this seven-furlong sprint.

Pterygoid will be sent off as the post-time chalk for the barn of spglitter.  She’s a daughter of Silver Ghost from a Damascus mare, which initially makes you think that she’s bred for longer distances.  Not so fast.  This five-year-old mare is a five-time stakes winner at distances from six-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half furlongs, and she’s the highest ranked horse from the sprint division in this field.  Six furlongs is too short, as evidenced by her running out of ground last out in a stakes in Rhode Island, and since she likes to sit back in the middle of a pack, her kick needs time and distance to get started.  She’s a super-fast mare down the stretch, as her big kick has received some “big balloons” in the speed figures, topped by a pair of 116s.  Pace will make the race, and down the stretch, she figures to be a runaway train; the one to beat.

Devil’s Red Apple, for pearlriver, is a five-year-old daughter of Devil His Due from a Clever Trick mare.  It’s a mix of speed and stamina that should give her a little more distance to appreciate, one could possibly state.  Not so fast.  She likes it short and sweet, with most wins coming from five-and-a-half to six-and-a-half furlongs, and she’s another who likes to sit chilly in the middle of the pack before gathering momentum.  A stakes-winner, she’s been knocking heads with allowance rivals for much of the last two years with moderate success, but her back figures indicate that as the year grinds on, she tends to start running sharper races.  She ran out of ground in the Piku Bonanza at West Virginia last time out, and this might possibly be a sixteenth too far for her, but never underestimate a late kick in a sprint effort in the Sim.

Sirocco is a newcomer to stakes company for danknight, and she’s looking ready to fire her best at a higher level.  A five-year-old daughter of Green Desert, she’s been honing her skills in allowance company; when she’s on, she can be really on.  She’s run some sparkling figures versus allowance horses, capped by a 113 on the lead last year in North Carolina.  Recently, her tactics have switched to her being a more off-the-pace kinda gal, which has been adversely affecting her: last year she had six wins, while this year she’s only won once.  She may need to show more speed to keep up in her stakes debut.

Deputy Cat is another five-year-old in the field, the result of the mating of Deputy Minister with a Storm Cat mare.  A four-time stakes winner for gipper3, she too will try to get in the game with a late run; she’s won three of her last five, even as her numbers look to have leveled off slightly. 

Touch Me is a six-year-old daughter of A.P. Indy from a Danzig mare, and this Grade III winner for bighoss looks to be every bit at home going a distance of ground as she does sprinting.  She’ll be stalking the lead, and has rounded back into form sufficiently to still have a chance at this level of competition.  Just how effective she’ll be might depend on what kind of pace is being set before her.

Providencia is a three-year-old filly still eligible for her non-winners-of-three condition.  Trainer hipica has set her on a constant diet of stakes-level competition, facing some of the finest three-year-old fillies in the Sim.  The results on the board are mixed: she’s won but once, and finished with a paycheck to bring home several times.  Whether it was ambition or just an attempt to toughen her up for a fall campaign is conjecture, but she does seem to appreciate middle distances more.  This daughter of Capote likes to be sitting chilly, and her speed figures are improving, with a career-best 106 last out; not impossible for this three-year-old to take a run at her elders.

Cryptochronic, for locomotion, is a multiple Grade III winner who likes a late charge as well; this four-year-old daughter of Cryptoclearance prepped for this on the grass, and might appreciate an extra furlong for her best effort.  Publik Statement is a lightly-raced three-year-old daughter of Seeking The Gold, with only eight starts to her credit.  A two-time stakes winner already, she didn’t seem to care for the mud in Ohio’s Grade III last out, but she appears to be a versatile filly with a good future ahead of here.  Trained by wreckages, she possesses a powerful closing muscle that’s served her well in her five wins; a live longshot against older.

Triple Lindy, for fallridge, is another sophomore filly with a light race career, having raced ten times with four wins.  Her figures aren’t quite up to this level just yet, and she’s one of the sources of speed in this race.  A daughter of Kurofune, she might need some more seasoning at this level.  Woodman’s Celebre combines two of the more popular sires in the Sim, and trainer manni153 has changed her style from a speed horse into a closer over time.  This four-year-old daughter of Woodman has seemed off her game very recently, but is still capable of putting up big numbers when she needs to; just the same, there are faster closers to be had here.

Palmita, for palmisland, is another sophomore versus older fillies.  This daughter of Event Of The Year should be near the front early on, but her best speed figures push her back down the list.  Still, this may be the race in which she’s fully recovered from a poor effort in the Grade I Player’s Club two back.  Afliano is a late-developing three-year-old daughter of Afleet for the koolaid stable.  Still eligible for non-winners-of-four, she’s a hard-charging filly with a penchant for moisture, with a hard-fought third in Ohio last out to prepare for this.

Flying Phoenix(AUS) is a three-year-old daughter of Bel Esprit(AUS) representing the stables of black, and she too is eligible for non-winners-of-four company.  She’s a stakes winner, and Grade III-placed, but has only cracked a speed figure over 100 but once; today she should have some speed to burn.  And Scoresby is a three-year-old daughter of Ecton Park with wins from five-and-a-half furlongs up to a mile and a sixteenth for rascal.  She never has cracked 100 in her figures, and might want some extra ground to try and extend her considerable speed abilities.

My selections:

1. Pterygoid
2. Providencia
3. Touch Me
4. Devil’s Red Apple

Good luck to all, and happy racing!