Juvenile Dirt Fillies Compete in Smackdown
The GR Simsters won the first two Smackdowns in a very impressive manner, defeating DelPenn 275-141 in year one and taking down the KYHorsemen and
The Smackdown tests a residency’s depth, and features a scoring system that rewards the top five finishers in each race (10-7-5-3-1 point system). Horses of all ages compete, and I’m going to take a look at the 2yo dirt fillies who will be representing their residencies.
GR Simsters Contingent
Bamana, 6/1, trained by Willyam13
Hold That Tiger x A.P. Indy x Nureyev
Two races and two wins for this beautiful filly. She broke her maiden easily at 5.5f with a 77 SF and then jumped up to win a 6.5f stakes with an 81 SF. She won the stakes by a nose so it was probably her ceiling at the time. She could take another step forward at 7f.
Appeal This, 7/1, trained by Given
Successful Appeal x Gone West x Roberto
After a narrow loss in her debut this filly won two in a row. After breaking her maiden with a 77 SF she jumped up to run very well in allowance company winning at 6f by 1-1/4 lengths with an 80 SF. 7f is a slight question mark but if she handles the distance she’s in with a chance.
Stays In Vegas, 7/1, trained by Texasace
Giant’s Causeway x
Two wins to start off the career for this lovely filly. The first with a 67 SF and the second with a 73 SF over a slightly muddy track. Her dam won a 119 at 7f to win a G3 so this filly should love the trip. She’ll need to run faster than she has been, but she has every right to improve.
White Knuckles, 17/1, trained by Lenny
Sky
Another with two wins to start her career, this filly won her debut at 6f with a 66 SF and then jumped up and won an allowance impressively with a 74 SF by 1-1/4 lengths. Her he-mare registered all three of his wins going a route of ground so this filly may eventually want to run longer than the 7f trip
Luck, 18/1, trained by Reman
Bradbury’s Luck x Giant’s Causeway x Deputy Minister
After running poorly in her turf debut, this filly switched to the dirt and won two in a row quite easily. The second came in a stakes on a wet track with a 76 SF where she won by a length. Her dam won all of her races sprinting so this filly should love the 7f distance.
DUR Contingent
Dehere That, 7/1, trained by Snappa
Dehere x Forty Niner x Storm Cat
Already a graded winner, this fast filly won the G3 Desert Filly Juvenile last time out rather easily with a sick 84 SF. Her family features horses that mainly won going at least a mile, but it seems you can throw that out the window with this filly. Definitely one of the top contenders.
Unbridled Desert, 9/1, trained by Jockeymax
Unbridled’s Song x Green Desert x Storm Cat
This filly won her debut easily at 6f with a 70 SF and then came up short in a G3 at 4.5f finishing 4th. Dropped into an allowance last time out she responded with aplomb to win easily with a 74 SF. Her game-dam’s lone win was at 7f so this filly should be right at home with the distance. She will need to improve in the SF department to have a shot, though.
Arrogant Star, 9/1, trained by Jockeymax
Aragorn x Forty Niner x
The second of this star trainer’s entry and probably the one with a better shot to win. After breaking her maiden with a ho hum 66 SF, she exploded last time out to win an allowance by nearly 4 lengths with a 79 SF. Her dam was winless in four starts and her two siblings are both claimers, so not sure where this one came from, but she could be mighty tough in this race.
NWRC Contingent
Distorted Bid, 8/1, trained by Pointblank
Distorted Humor x A.P. Indy x Spectacular Bid
Beautiful pedigree on this filly who won her first two starts. She broke her maiden at first asking running a 69 SF and then easily won an allowance on a wet track with a 73 SF. Her pedigree leans towards routes and she hasn’t run all that fast yet, so she would be a surprise to win this race.
Suicideplaydate, 9/1, trained by Selurnivek
Cacique x Fusaichi Pegasus x Northern Dancer
This filly was a G3 winner after only two starts, taking home the
Taking The Rap, 9/1, trained by Murray1
First Samurai x Mineshaft x Machiavellian
It took this filly four starts to break her maiden and that remains her only victory. That being said, she registered a very nice 80 SF in that win and came back to run 2nd in a stakes with an 82 SF last time out. Her he-mare ran 100+ SF’s nine times, but eight of those came in routes, making it likely that this filly’s best distances will be longer than the 7f she’ll see this weekend.
A Good Thing, 10/1, trained by Pointblank
Good Reward x Forty Niner x
The second from the Pointblank stable conglomerates, this filly comes from out of the clouds. That running style could really benefit her as this race has a ton of pace in it. She’ll need something to go her way as she is one of the only fillies in here without two wins to her resume. That being said, she ran a very fast 76 SF last time out and improve on that will have her right there at the finish.
Henny Anna, 13/1, trained by Crandy
Woodman x Hennessy x Ogygian
It took three starts for this speedball to break her maiden, as she did it with a 70 SF at 6f. Since that race she finished 4th in an ungraded stakes and ran a really fast 79 SF to finish 3rd by less than a length in a G3. She will probably break on top of this field and if she gets some confidence she could hang on to finish in the top three.
Recap
It should be a great race, and as always with lightly-raced juveniles, it can be really hard to tell who will run well. DUR’s Dehere That is the one to beat, but the GR Simsters have a really strong group of fillies that look ready to take on the graded winner. NWRC also has some very nice fillies, although it will be a mild surprise if one of their crew jump up and win this race. Good luck to everyone involved!