EQUINICS 2018: Buda With The Slew

An impressive field of 13 older fillies and mares are set to head to the post in the $1,250,000 Buda With The Slew, a 10 furlong race on the dirt in my adopted home state of Vermont. 

This Grade 1 Equinics event is named after Hall of Famer Buda With The Slew, one of the earliest stars of the Sim. The 20-year-old son of Danzig, out of a Seattle Slew mare, raced 35 times for capeside at the beginning of the century. Buda With The Slew finished in the money in just over half of his trips to the post, earning nearly $4,000,000 for his connections. Among his ten victories were an awesome six Grade 1 wins! 

As a two year old, Buda With The Slew broke his maiden in his second start in July, before winning an allowance race in his fourth start in late August. His next race, the Grade 1 High Flyer Stakes on the grass in Ireland, marked the beginning of a brilliant stretch, during which he finished in the money in 10 of 11 starts in graded company on both the dirt and the turf. Buda With The Slew won the High Flyer by more than three lengths, and he followed up that effort with a third place finish in the Grade 2 Manofjunk Stakes. He then posted a 106 speed figure while winning the Grade 1 Breeders Bowl Juvenile by nearly three lengths in his first attempt on the dirt since a third place finish in his debut. He finished off his two year old season with a third place finish in the Grade 1 VideoLand Colt Division. 

Expectations were high for Buda With The Slew as 2001 began, but his three year old season got off to a slow start, with a seventh place finish in the Grade 2 StarHandicapping.com, followed by a pair of in the money finishes in Grade 3 events. Things began turning around for him when he won the Grade 1 Corkscrew Stakes in March, followed by a win in the Grade 1 Santa Clara Derby. This set Buda With The Slew up for the Grade 1 Bluegrass Stakes, which he won by 3 ½ lengths as the 8-1 second choice. Next up was the Grade 1 Middle Jewel Stakes, which he won by a quarter of a length to deliver his fourth consecutive Grade 1 victory! 

Sadly, the Middle Jewel victory represented the peak of Buda With The Slew’s career. He finished a distant eighth as the 7-2 favorite in his run at the Triple Crown in the New Yorker, and with the exception of one race, was never quite the same horse after winning the Middle Jewel. Some have speculated that wear and tear finally got the best of him. Buda With The Slew raced 15 times over the first 11 months of his career, delivering eight of his ten career wins, including all six of his Grade 1 victories. He did bounce back from The New Yorker, winning the Grade 2 Buckeye Derby in July, but then won just one more race in his final 18 trips to the starting gate.

But what an effort that final win was! After concluding his three year old season with seven straight out of the money finishes, expectations were tempered as Buda With The Slew began his four year old season. Only two horses went to the post with longer odds in the Grade 2 San Valenzuela Breeders Bowl Stakes. At 13-1, Buda With The Slow delivered a performance for the ages on a sloppy track in California, running a career best 129 speed figure to best fellow Hall of Famer Western Groom by nearly three lengths. The third place finisher was more than 20 lengths behind the winner. It was clear that Buda With The Slew’s best days were behind him after that race, however, as he registered just two third place finishes in his final ten races, wrapping up his storied career with a fourth place finish in an Allowance race in Nevada in September 2002. While today’s field is quite accomplished, none of these fillies and mares have yet reached the same heights that Buda With The Slew did almost two decades ago. 

That said, it is an impressive field, and we are expecting a very competitive race. Let’s look at the contenders:

1 – Noodle Salad (13-1)

One of ten Stakes winners in the field, trainer grtnotion (atthewire) plucked this nicely-bred four-year-old (Candy Ride x Danzig x Mr. Prospector) out of claiming company last July. Since then, she has won four of five races, including back-to-back stakes wins. For her career, Noodle Salad has won six of 15 starts, earning over $275,000. While the public likely won’t back this representative of EWC, there’s a lot to like here, as she’ll be well-rested, is proven at today’s distance, and is coming off a career best 113 speed figure.

2 – St. Louis Orchestra (13-1)

Representing Midas, St. Louis Orchestra presents a bit of a challenge for bettors. Her in the money percentage is best in the field, as she has missed the board in just one of 13 starts. However, this gael5-trained (shagfarms) filly has the lowest winning percentage of any entrant, with just two trips to the winner’s circle. One of only three horses in the race without a stakes win, we think this daughter of Arch might be in a bit over her head today, but we can’t fault anyone for using her on the back end of their exotics.

3 – Divine Kingdom (6-1)

The Minnesota Testbarn Residency is represented by Divine Kingdom, a six-year-old daughter of King Kamehameha. Spruce3 claimed the mare for just $25,000 in late 2014, and resuscitated her career with a move to the dirt. She has now won seven of 20 starts, earning over $300,000. Divine Kingdom had a solid season last year, hitting the board in five of seven starts, with a pair of wins. She won the Grade 3 Lapel Pin Stakes against a pair of today’s rivals at this distance in October, posting a career best speed figure of 118. Hard to ignore, but at today’s odds we’ll probably look elsewhere in a very even field.

4 – Shades of Dawn (17-1)

This asrstar8-trained (tenpoint) filly highlights the depth of today’s Equinics field. Shades of Dawn has won half of her 14 starts, earning nearly a quarter of a million dollars, but she will head to the gate as the longest shot in the field for ASR. The daughter of Dawn Approach, out of stakes winning mare Forty Shades Green, prepped for The Buda With The Slew with an easy hot race victory last month over 11 furlongs on the grass. We think she’s better suited for the turf than the dirt, and would be surprised to see her in the photo. But what do we know? Her connections have tried the turf-to-dirt angle with her three times in the past, and it has delivered a pair of wins at today’s distance.

5 – Perturbada (10-1)

Sim Hispano is represented by Perturbada, a nicely-bred (Awesome Again x Empire Maker x Nureyev) mare trained by pato14 (pato7). The five-year-old has hit the board in 12 of 14 starts, winning seven times and earning over $268,000. After three months of freshening, she made her 2018 debut last month, easily winning an Allowance race at today’s distance while posting a 106 speed figure. Perturbada also has a stakes win at today’s distance to her credit from last April, when she won the A.P. Sadler Dirt Mare Route with a career-best speed figure of 115. She’ll need to be at her best in the Equinics to compete with this crew.

6 – Guns For Hands (11-1)

One of two Grade 1 winners in this event, this lightly-raced filly won the Grade 1 Sister Hen Stakes with a career-best speed figure of 111 last June. She’s raced four times for nepenthe14 (nepenthe) since then against top-flight competition, with a third place finish in the Grade 2 Cotton Handicap to show for her efforts. This representative of URC has won six of 13 starts, earning over $800,000. She clearly has the class to compete with this field, possesses sterling bloodlines (Empire Maker x Bernardini x Kingmambo), and should be well-rested after almost three months off, but we’re looking at others on the top of our tickets.

7 – Amulet of Mara (5-1)

Masterm07 (masterm) trains Amulet of Mara, the morning line second choice. The six-year-old seems to check all the boxes you’d expect from an entrant by the powerful GR Simsters team. More wins than anyone else in the field? Check, with nine victories in 18 starts. Regally-bred? Check, Tapit x Deputy Minister x Mr. Prospector. A blazing career-best speed figure? Check, with a 118 in an Allowance victory last March. She won her first stakes race last month by nearly six lengths, taking the Seattles West Dirt Mare Route at 10.5 furlongs. While she’s stepping up in class, ignore her at your own risk.

8 – Antrim Coast (12-1)

This daughter of Golden Horn (GB) out of the Grade 1 winning mare Lacada Paint wears the silks of xpansion9 (dixiedotco) while racing for Pastures of Green.  While five wins in 13 starts doesn’t sound that impressive in the context of this field, she is proven against top class competition, with almost $700,000 in earnings and a pair of in the money finishes in Grade 1 races at today’s distance. She was closing at the end her last time out, posting a career-best speed figure of 112 in a narrow miss in the Racey Opossum Dirt Mare Route at 9.5 furlongs. Antrim Coast is in the best form of her life, with seven straight triple digit speed figures, and should appreciate the extra half furlong today. Definite value here, so we can’t fault those who take a flyer on her at 12-1. 

9 – First Spin Gold (9-2)

My residency (ESR) is represented by the morning line favorite, a five-year-old daughter of Hard Spun out of the stakes-placed mare An Angel First. The kingny2-trainee (kingab) is the model of consistency, and hasn’t delivered a speed figure below 105 in nearly two years. She’s earned over $400,000, with seven wins and 14 in the money finishes in 17 starts. The three-time stakes winner has never competed against higher than Grade 3 company, so she will be stepping up in class against this crew. First Spin Gold will have to be at her best to bring home an Equinics Gold, but almost certainly will be in the mix as they race down the stretch.

10 – Sabora (11-1)

Racing HQ is represented by Sabora, a five-year-old daughter of I’ll Have Another. The keenfire-trained (zia) mare has won five times in 21 starts, earning almost $170,000. Some will immediately throw her out because she hasn’t hit the board in two tries in stakes races, but we note that she’s coming off the best race of her career, running a 115 speed figure in Allowance company in Oregon last month. She’s never tackled today’s distance, but we think she’ll appreciate a bit more length. That said, we still see better value elsewhere.

11 – Well Hello Dolly (7-1)

Representing Elite, Well Hello Dolly is the only Equinics veteran in this field. Two years ago she finished fourth in the Equinics at today’s distance against three-year-old fillies. This Grade 2-winning daughter of Union Rags has won seven times in 18 starts, earning over $662,000. She won three in a row for rac4 (summerset), two of which were at the graded stakes level, before a disappointing fourth place finish in an Allowance event last month. We’re assuming her connections used that as a prep race, and think she’s a live one. 

12 – Competitive Swag (14-1)

The only millionaire in the race, Competitive Swag has won seven races in 13 starts for trainer blazsadcfo (mtk76), earning almost $1.4 million. Last year this Blazing Saddles representative raced in three consecutive Grade 1 events in New York, finishing second in the Players Club National Oaks and winning the Birmingham Stakes before a 13^th place finish in The Great Dame in her first attempt against older competition. The four-year-old daughter of Competitive Edge, out of stakes winner Swagger Jacker, hasn’t ventured back into graded company since then, winning a pair of Allowance races and finishing second in a non-graded stakes. Despite her impressive on-track accomplishments, she’ll need a career-best performance to top this loaded field. 

13 – Picnicathangingrck (14-1)

The most experienced competitor in today’s field, this representative of Megalopolis has four wins in 24 career starts. The five-year-old Aussie-bred mare races for 5wide (fastnfirm), and has earned over $230,000 for her connections. The daughter of Fastnet Rock, out of stakes winning mare Looming Threat, has only raced on the dirt four times in her career, with two wins and a place to show for her efforts. She finished 11^th in the Grade 3 Lapel Pin Stakes, well behind two of today’s rivals, Divine Kingdom and Perturbada, in her last attempt on the dirt. Picnicathangingrck will need to take a major step forward to win against this crew.

POINTGUARD’S PICKS:

GOLD – Amulet of Mara (GR Simsters)

SILVER – First Spin Gold (ESR)

BRONZE – Antrim Coast (Pastures of Green)

BEST LONGSHOT – Noodle Salad (EWC)