Nine Go to Post in My Tulip
It’s a small field for the Grade III My Tulip, but nine tough broads have shown up to duke it out over 8.5 panels on the lawn.
Astapor’s Lamentations is one of the race’s three 9/2 co-favorites and is looking quite good coming into this race. The daughter of War Chant is coming off a strong win in an overnight stakes race. Expect her to go straight to the front. She can be pretty inconsistent, but has won her last two handily and has been improving over her last several. Her only prior graded appearance was a respectable fourth. I like how she’s coming into this race and how she compares to the other mares. I wish she had a better jockey aboard, but I think she has an excellent chance of wiring the field.
Next door will be Oaklawn66’s Worldly Wisdom. She’s coming off a couple of pretty bad races in allowance and stakes company. Her best effort would be competitive here, but after a hot streak in late 2006, she’s been tapering off. If she can find that form again, she’ll be tough, otherwise she’ll have problems. A 9%-winning jock won’t help her out much. She’ll probably head to the front, where she’s likely to be outgunned by Lamentations.
Alluvial’s Breakdance earns pretty steady paychecks in stakes company. A consistent runner, she’ll come from behind and with a typical effort has a good shot at hitting the board. If she can run back to her best, she’ll be right in the thick of things. I fully expect her to earn a check and she may well get up for second or third.
Western Cat BG is coming off a nice allowance win for Drpag. The Mountain Cat daughter will have to suffer through the ministrations of B Alt, a jockey with only a 3% strike rate. He’s unlikely to bring out the best in the hardworking filly, and she would need her best effort to hit the board here. She’s a nice horse, but I don’t think this is her week.
Alma has seen a steady decline over her last few races, so trainer Usoz is shaking things up by putting her in a shorter race than those she’s run recently. A Grade I winner who looks like she may have peaked last year, she is one of the most accomplished mares in the field. If she can find her way back to last year’s form, she’ll be something to watch. Even this year, she has managed to hit the board in graded company, which still looks good compared to others here. If the shakeup in distance helps her, she could do quite well.
Buck Wild is an accomplished mare with graded wins under her girth for Lenny11. The five-year-old has been less impressive this year, with only an allowance win. But this is a relatively lightweight field for a graded race. She’ll need to run better than she has in a while, but she has enough talent to do some damage.
Mizuno’s Angel Fire is one of the three 9/2 cofavorites in the race She’s been very consistent so far this year, finishing on the board with speed figs right around 99. Continuing that record will put her right in contention for the show this week. Good new for her trainer is that although she hasn’t won in ages, she is consistently on the board, whether in overnight stakes or graded races.
Loubrown’s Sun Turns to Moon has been running very well lately, with 4 wins by daylight in her last six starts. The bad news is, she’s pretty consistently awful in graded races. Still, if you toss her last effort, a graded run on an off track, she’s in beautiful form right now. She’ll sit just behind the early speed and be prepared to pounce. She’s a question mark, but deserves being at short odds.
Beeascout’s More to Say will round out the field, breaking from the ten hole. This will be only her second stakes outing and the first was in a four-horse field, so it doesn’t really count. In general she’s been unspectacular, but she ran an astonishing 111 fig in an allowance once. Don’t count on it, but if she can replicate that the race is hers.
And that’s it! I think the odds are about where they belong. I think it’s most likely that Lamentations will take it and cofavorites Angel Girl and Sun Turns to Moon will duke it out for second and third, but it’s far from a sure thing. There’s nothing left to do but sit back and watch.