SISTER DUMB STAKES A SMART AFFAIR
Comin’ atcha once again from hot and sweaty Sweden, it’s the 6 furlong SISTER DUMB stakes, Grade II for fillies and mares 4yo and up. It is an accomplished and diverse field with up-and-comers as well as tried-and-true veterans, so we’ll try to read between the lines and see who is primed for a winning effort. Fourteen ladies lined up for the assignment, so I’m going to break it down to you in two, count’em, two articles. I can’t possibly type THAT long into the night, you know what I’m sayin’?
Here’s a little Part One to whet your appetite:
Pisanof sends out Forty Bullets in her first Graded Stakes attempt in 18 lifetime starts. The Red Bullet filly won a 6 furlong stakes at 3 but endured a 6 month drought thereafter. Her front-running win in an ultra-short allowance race last out was promising – her third start since an apparent injury – but will have to step up again to make an impact at 25-1.
Hancock Pond has been around the block and then some. The millionaire daughter of Gone West is the picture of success in the SIM, winning two Grade I stakes in her career, including her last out where she earned a career-high 102 Speed figure. The salamander trainee even vanquished the legendary Armed With Money in a 10 furlong matchup last summer. Looks like a lock, right? Well…the unknown factor is the distance, as she has not been in a race this short since June of her 2yo campaign. 7 furlongs is no problem for her to sweep past everyone down the lane, but will she have enough real estate to get there going only six? 11-1 is a huge overlay on a horse this talented, but she’ll need every inch of the stretch to get there.
Battlefield Earth(GB) knows how to win and does it quite frequently. 9 out of 21 lifetime and an even more impressive 7 of 11 sprinting tells you that she is well handled by trainer mrbigb. The 4yo Diesis(GB) filly can go right to the lead or stalk just off the pace, throwing speed figures in the 106 range in 4 of her last six dirt starts. Her last start in the G2 Distaff Breeder’s Bowl Cap looks like an aberration, as she ran into multiple buzzsaws in her first Graded appearance. Today’s race is no cream puff, but she may find this field a little more to her liking. Much to like at 9-1.
Birds of Paradise is the other millionaire in the field, and she might collect $2 million by the time dixiedotco decides to generate little future stakes winners with her. She’ll attempt to duplicate the perfectly-executed turf-to-dirt maneuver that allowed her to bag a DelPenn Grade I contest back in December. Her only start since then was a Grade III turf prep, where she finished a dismal 11th after a 2 month layoff. It remains to be seen if that was just a workout, or the #3 ranked sprinter has finally hit the wall after 47 lifetime starts. Interestingly, this 6yo daughter of Seeking the Gold was 2nd in last year’s rendition of the Sister Dumb to Dublin Lass, who is entered in a condition allowance race in Illinois this week. 6-1 co-favorite would not be a surprise.
Speaking of Illinois, illbred stable sends out his homebred Danzig mare Spined Runic. Danzig, Gone West, Seeking The Gold, on and on they go…there are so many blue-bloods in this field that they’ll need some serious body armor to keep the hormonal studs at bay (yes, that was a “spined runic” reference!) Although she is not the most consistent sort, she is extremely fast out of the gate and may be a threat to steal it all in a race that is not overflowing with speedballs. Six and a half looks to be her optimal distance, but I suspect that she’ll still be in the mix when they turn for home. Might have been a bit too sharp last time out with only 14 days between starts. Draw a line through that one and she’s a live contender at 7-1.
Zwylde certainly spared no expense when planning the mating of Wylde Thing. The 4yo Storm Cat filly certainly made her trainer’s heart sing when jumping up with a frontrunning 100 SP win in an Arizona allowance in December. Her two tries against older horses were not as promising, but beware – they were not at the sprint distances she prefers, and she will bounce back. You may think you love her, but she still takes a step up in class and is unproven at the stakes level. 17-1 for those of you punters out there willing to walk on the wild side.
Post Oak Bluff goes postward for a little outfit called super…I vaguely remember them…are they still playing this game? Seriously though, this Kingmambo mare has been well handled with 8 wins and nearly ¾ of a million in the bank. Still searching for that elusive Graded Stakes victory, it looks like she often runs a clunker in a listed stake right before she fires a big one to get all the money in her next start. 103 SP is her favorite number so far – maybe a tad short of the big time? – but her frontrunning style will help her have an impact in this contest. 10-1 if you like her chances.
Part Two: Sister Dumb, the sequel…coming to a BTB near you soon!!!