The Shadow Monster Casts a Huge Silhouette Behind the Gate in the $100,000 ESR Mind Flayer Stakes

A field of Ten Older Fillies and Mares enter the Big Apple starting gate in the $100,000 ESR Mind Flayer Stakes.  The race will be run at Twelve Furlongs over the Turf Course.

MO DEEP SLEEP – the kingab trainee has tabbed a steady workload of 16-Furlong Turf Stakes races over the last twenty months, nine to be exact, while taking home the top prize in five of those contests; you will have to look a little deeper into her past performances to conclude that she might actually be better runner at 12-panels, but one thing is for certain about this Uncle Mo 5 Year Old Bay Mare, she is in no hurry leaving the starting gate, and if I am right about the 12-furlongs, she just might appear as a blip on the radar as she gobbles up ground in the final stages…fast late

LAPHROAIG CADET – you could surmise by the loss of ground at every turn in the Purple Flute Turf Mare Stayer in January that 12-furlongs is not the optimal distance for this cadet trained daughter of Deep Impact, but when you realize this mare has only embarked on a Turf career over her last five starts and has already recorded a G3 victory two races back in the Blue Wind you become less critical of her first Turf Stakes appearance in January; last could cause some hesitation the betting windows, but that was a G2 and as good as this field might appear, this is a considerable drop in class…freshened, chance if ready

AMENDS – you have to believe that the spinround trained daughter of War Front was happy to return to the Turf Course in her last start after a series of Dirt races over her last five starts; the winner of the 2016 G2 Corn Shucker Stakes turned in a solid effort in the 12-Furlong Carolina Light Turf Mare Stayer LTO; although this was the first time she has hit the board at 12 panels, her previous three tries came at the Graded level and she does own a victory at this distance at the Allowance level as a 4yo; last suggests a top effort is on the horizon for this re-energized filly…chance off last

ROYAL BLESSING – the frankster trained daughter of Giant’s Causeway out of the sensational mare MAGNIFORMA certainly makes you realize that the rest of the horses in this filed are battling for second prize money, or are they…the 2018 G1 Equinics Champion has displayed a level of vulnerability in her last two starts, albeit Graded appearances, when she was beaten by a combined 34-lengths in those races raising a red flags all around; rumor has it that the Princess of the Turf may be running in her last race here on Saturday…stay tuned

DA MACHO COMMANDER – the sremel connections struck gold when they claimed this 7 Year Old Light Grey Mare by Macho Uno for $60k back in April of 2017; the KY-bred recorded her only stakes victory under the tutelage of her new connections in the Uno Cayenne Turf Mare Endurance in November, but has been unable to keep up with stakes level competition moving forward over her last four starts; career race 34 may punctuate the career of a horse whose best races are behind her…would surprise

LITTLE EGGSY – thirty races into her career and this trotter1 trained 5 Year Old Bay Mare by Kingman never disappoints; the ENG-bred has been handed a steady series of Allowance preps in hopes that she can summon up enough ability to be a factor in this field, but alas, I think her stakes days are well behind her now and 12-panels is just a couple of furlongs longer than she wants to run…happy with part

DARLING OF DARLEY – I absolutely admire the grit and determination of the casino connections and this 5 Year Old Bay Mare by Bernardini, but from a betting standpoint I have a difficult time making a case for betting a favorite who has never raced beyond 10-furlongs and has shown little to know affinity for the Turf; do I question myself on the easy dismissal of a horse that is 5-2-1 over her last nine starts, absolutely; I love what this horse has done, just not here…underlay

CLIFTON LEGEND – you know you have to take notice when you have a 7 Year Old Mare return to the races after a two year layoff and pop a 102-speed figure in a 5 length victory going 13 panels over the Turf Course; the bristolred trainee bounced a bit in her next two starts at the Stakes level but has prepped nicely in two Allowance appearances in an attempt to record her first stakes victory since 2015; my gut tells me this daughter of Curlin’s stakes winning days are behind her, but these are accomplished connections that are used to winning at a higher level…your call

MO CITY SONG – the stakes winning 5 Year Old Bay Mare by Uncle Mo hopes to reverse her form for the pointguard racing stables in her return to the Turf Course after her 4^th place finish in the Nurey Evermore Turf Mare Stayer Stakes in December; it’s always difficult to endorse a horse that has lost her last three starts by a combined 37-lengths, and perhaps a switch to the Turf is the wake up call this gal needs, but even an improved effort could leave her on the outside looking in…not with these

DARK THAT WAY – you just know that when the marathon races are carded at ESR the deeprock connections always show up; this 5 Year Old Bay Mare by Novellist has done her best racing between 10 and 16-furlongs and recorded her first victory in over a year in an 11-furlong Open Allowance race in Mexico two races back; the JPN-bred is looking to record her first stakes victory of her career, but is faced with a difficult challenge here on Saturday…tough task

Handicapping the Field

You look at the entrants in this field and you ask yourself is this a G1, G2, or G3 race.  Sometimes I think entering a graded gives me a better chance than some of these ESR races.  Let’s face it, if ROYAL BLESSING is right, she lays over this field.  Even at 75% she is better than these.  Connections have hinted that this might be the last race of a glorious career for this outstanding mare.  Maybe she’s not the same horse she once was, but she has earned this level of respect.

Damned if I don’t think MO DEEP SLEEP is a better horse at 12-furlongs and is going to breeze past this field as they head to the wire.

LAPHROAIG CADET may have found her calling on the Turf, I’m just not convinced it is going this long.  She did bounce badly in her last, understandable off her G3 victory, but that leg weary finish in the Purple Flute Turf Mare Stayer triggers my hesitation.

AMENDS got a wake up call in her last and makes for an interesting venture at the betting windows.  LITTLE EGGSY is a hard trying sort that would be happy with a piece of the purse but a more likely candidate to round out the superfecta.

I may have been too harsh on DARLING OF DARLEY, but there are certain guidelines I follow when handicapping and she fit every profile of a favorite that can be eliminated.

CLIFTON LEGEND has raced competitively at the Allowance level, but I find her a risky proposition at the Stakes level at the stage of her career.

DARK THAT WAY, MO CITY SONG, and DA MACHO COMMANDER are faced with a tough task and fill the role of longshots.

The Picks

ROYAL BLESSING – she is much the best if right

MO DEEP SLEEP – I don’t usually get too excited about a selection, but this one I am

AMENDS – something about that last race tell me not to ignore this one