Prime Pickings in Priority Princess

A pair of pentets of primadonnas promises to promenade – perchance prance – to the post parade at Portugal’s Priority Princess Stakes.

Whew. Enough of that.  This does appear to be the best field of three year old fillies ever assembled for this Grade III sprint.  Two of the top five rated sprinters crossed the Atlantic to battle it out here, only to run into some other accomplished runners, and, of course, several up and comers.

Here is a look at the field:

1. TURF ANGEL(KY)  (RAHY x IS IT TRUE x DANZIG) bred by zonking, trained by dokki3 (17%) Odds: 3-1

She comes here at the top of her game, off two straight graded wins at this distance.  She faces tougher here than the crew she beat last time, but barn is unconcerned.  She easily handled a full field in the Grade II Pebbles Flintstone two races back and was closing fast on Three D in the Grade I Finland Filly before that.  No previous winner of the Priority Princess has ever come into the race with such an impressive win streak.  Barn scored a coup in getting top jock to pass over Three D.

2. MAGPIES CAUSEWAY(ENG)  (GREEN DESERT x GIANT’S CAUSEWAY (IRE) x GONE WEST)  bred by Punter14, trained by turfwins (8%)  Odds: 11-1

Did a nice job to hold on to a close fourth in the wet Grade II Mellow Breeze last time and her speed figures are making steady progress.  On the other hand, she’s still eligible for nw1x, and at one turn she’s been in the money but once in her six starts.  She may be prominent early, but her backers would likely be happy to earn a minor award after that. 

3. SUPERCILIOUS(KY)  (STORMIN FEVER x SALT LAKE x TOUCH GOLD)  bred and trained by rottn1  (10%)  Odds: 8-1

Winterhart has done very well with this daughter of her mare, Ali Baba’s Gold.  We should expect to see a half-sibling soon, I would guess.  This filly has four wins in seven sprints, and enters here off a nice second, where she showed a big jump in her speed figure, maybe promising more.  Not to take anything away from her race, but the field she faced was very weak.  Two past races stand out as most important:  At age two, she entered the GII Duchess of New York off her two stakes wins and contended for a half before fading.  In January, she tried the GII Yanta Snez, where she again got caught in a hot early pace and faded, though not so badly.  She’s going to face early pressure again today, but with some expected improvement, she may hang around for a piece of it today.

4. KOKO TAYLOR(FR)  (HIGH YIELD x CAPOTE x FORTY NINER)  bred and trained by banditkllr (10%)  Odds: 5-2

Failed as the favorite last two races and she’s back as the favorite again.  Why she wins:  1. She was running seven furlongs with speed figures in the upper nineties months ago; with normal maturity she’ll be plenty fast today.  2.  She had no chance last two races because I picked her to win, and today I will go against her.  3.  Pace scenario is ideal for this filly who likes to come from just off.  4.  She returns to her better distance.  Why she won’t win: 1. Already making her ninth start as a three year old, she may need some freshening.  2.  Her speed figures have been declining her past few races. 

5. MACHU PICHU(KY)  (SKY MESA x CONQUISTADOR CIELO x SEATTLE SLEW)  bred and trained by bmr002 (6%)  Odds: 10-1

After this filly’s second straight 8^th place finish in routes, barn may be convinced one turn races are better for this one.  Favorable pace scenario and return to the distance make her a live longshot.  She showed what she could do against a massive early speed duel in January when she passed several to earn a close third in the GII Yanta Snez.  Lost by two to Koko Taylor two races back, then she took a bit of a break.  Second off the shelf, she might just turn the tables.

6. RAISE A LAKE(CA)  (SALT LAKE x RAISE A BID x BOLD SPHERE)  bred and trained by rlogan (11%)  Odds: 16-1

Lightly raced filly takes a big jump in class, but at these odds looks to be a good value play.  She’s already three of four, always as a longshot.  $2 bets on all of her races would cost $8 and returned $124.40.  Speed figures have been growing by leaps and bounds every race.  This is the toughest test to date, but you could say that for all of her races.  May trail early, but should be flying at the end.  Barn snares a nice jockey, too.

7. STORMY JANE(KY)  (STORM CAT x SADLER’S WELLS x GULCH)  bred and trained by dowelly (15%)  Odds: 11-1.

I’ve been writing one race article a week for the BTB since about 1957.  Or so.  And one thing I know is the most desirable sire in the Sim world is Storm Cat.  Guess how many graded winners in the three year old crop have been sired by him.  Here’s a hint: there have been 123 runners.  Go ahead guess.  No, fewer.  Only one.  And that was a boy.  Stormy Jane is the best filly in the crop and enters here off of two listed wins.  Her speed figures haven’t cracked the 90’s yet, and there are several in here that can do that routinely.  On the other hand she is showing recent improvement.  Wow. And here I sit with a stable full of Storm Cat get….

8. THREE D(KY)  (SHORE BREEZE x ROBELLINO x MARAUDING(NZ))  bred and trained by monaro(7%)  Odds: 5-1

With 11 wins, including eight stakes wins, in her 16 dirt sprints, this speedster obviously commands respect.  Her most impressive race was the GI Finland Filly, where she wore down the other early speed horse only to be overtaken at the end by a longshot closer.  She’s certain to face early pressure again today, but you can’t ignore this gamer.

9. AYMARA(ENG)  (RED RANSOM x MISWAKI x SEEKING THE GOLD)  bred and trained by lasthope1 (26%)  Odds: 9-1

Any entry out of the Dixiedotco Stables merits strong consideration.  This filly has been fading in her last two sprints, including a pretty severe fade two back in the Finland Filly.  On the other hand, the speed figure she earned last time portends a big effort here, and it was big enough to make her competitive as it is. 

10. BODB(IRE)  (SADLER’S WELLS x KINGMAMBO x RAISE A NATIVE)  bred and trained by trifecta (17%)  Odds: 13-1

She’s the only filly that was already in Europe for her prep race.  Speedy filly is used to getting the early lead, and that should only add to the assuredly hot pace.  While speed figures are very short compared to others in here, it’s not that unusual to see much smaller numbers on the grass than on the dirt.  And that’s the big question here.  Bodb makes her first start on dirt.  Expensively bred filly could be any sort here.  It’s tough to find any filly in this race you can’t picture winning.

Summary.  As a handicapper, I’ve been colder than the look I get from my wife when I ask when she’s going to start her diet.  And I hate to jinx such nice fillies, but here goes:  Turf Angel/Machu Pichu/Koko Taylor