All Lanes are Clear from Manhattan to Queens in the $100,000 ESR Midtown Tunnel Stakes

A field of Seven Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Up will enter the Big Apple starting gate in the $100,000 ESR Midtown Tunnel Stakes.  The race will be run a Nine Furlongs over the Dirt Course.

The Queens Midtown Tunnel was opened in November 15, 1940.

FDR took the inaugural ride through the Midtown Tunnel.

Between the years 1981 to 2011, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel was closed one night of each spring in anticipation for the annual Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Animal Walk, when elephants march from Queens, through the tunnel and to Madison Square Garden.

5,000 people had the opportunity to walk through one of its tubes a few days prior to the opening.

The Field

BISCUITS CADET – the cadet trained 3 Year Old scratch-bred Bay Filly by Posse out of a Scat Daddy x Halo mare will be taking on older rivals for the first time in her career; the lightly raced Local Bred passed tired horses in her last start, a 9-furlong NY-bred Allowance race, to finish a leg weary third to MONROE COUNTY, the third choice in this ESR feature; beaten soundly by AFROBEATNIK, the second favorite in this week’s ESR feature, in the ESR Fourstars Allstar back in July suggests the conspicuously named filly faces a tough task here on Saturday…overmatched

STRATE CASH HOMIE – toss out that last race over the sloppy going for this francua trained 3 Year Old scratched-bred Bay Filly by Effinex out of a Storm Bird x Valid Appeal mare, where she clearly disliked the wet going to finish off the board for the first time in her seven race career; the promising local product has been holding her own against older fillies since early July, with her last victory coming against older rivals while making her first Local appearance two races back; racing at 9-furlongs for the first time in her career, the lightly raced NY-bred has all the earmarks of a filly striding toward her best races and could be a serious contender if the distance is within her wheelhouse…might surprise

AFROBEATNIK – when you record six victories and three second place finishes in your first eleven career starts there is good reason to be touted as one of the top choices in the ESR feature; the itch trained 3 Year Old Bay Filly by Big Brown out of the very successful performer, LET IT BE ME (Pulpit), is no stranger to Residency races, winning the One Mile ESR Naughty New Yorker Stakes before just getting caught in the ESR Fourstars Allstar Stakes in July; back-to-back victories at triple digit speed figures at the 9-furlong distance further enhance her chances here on Saturday…dangerous

MISS ALFALFA – providing a veteran presence against a somewhat inexperienced field is the casino trained 5 Year Old Bay Mare by Alpha out of a useful racing mare with more than $350k in career earnings, VELOS (More Than Ready); the elder stateswoman of ESR Residency races is making her ninth Rez Race appearance while posting two victories, a second, and two thirds in her previous starts, thus earning her the distinction of morning line favorite; her unyielding gate speed was on display once again in her last outing where she broke away from the field by more than six lengths and was hand victory…one to beat

TENNAFIR – the kingman trained 8 Year Old Chestnut Mare by Bluegrass Cat out of a War Pass mare may be the oldest mare in the field, but her 17 career starts suggests a NY-Bred with many more starts in front of her; inactive throughout the 2014 racing season, the revitalized local bred impressed in her only two appearances of the 2015 season but was once relegated to the bench, spending most of her 2016 season on the shelf before registering nine starts between April of 2017 and now, perhaps a testament to her struggle for consistency…your call

MONROE COUNTY – the trotter1 trained 3 Year Old scratch-bred Bay Filly by Effinex out of a Summer Squall x Roberto mare has turned in three consecutive victories at this distance while posting triple digits in her last two; the winner of the ESR Asylum of the Daleks Stakes and the ESR End of Time Stakes as a 2yo was pointed toward the 2018 Oaks, but a 4^th place finish in the G2 Miss Bonnie, and 5^th place finish in the G2 Mellow Breeze Handicap took her off that trail putting a focus on the Local competition; reset after finishing behind AFROBEATNIK in the 7-furlong ESR Fourstars Allstar Stakes, the one-time Oaks hopeful has returned to racing around two turns where she has remained undefeated since…main threat

FORTY Q S – the sremel trained 4 Year Old Bay Filly by Forty Tales out of a Bernardini mare has registered 15 victories in 25 career starts with earnings in excess of $320k; while most of the hard earned winnings have come at the claiming and starter level, the resourceful local bred proved she can still compete at higher levels when she turned in a solid 3^rd place finish at the Open Company Allowance level against open bred’s, however she is still faced with a difficult task having never recorded a triple digit speed while making only her second stakes appearance while not racing around two turns in her last 17 starts…must show more

Handicapping the Field

Despite only seven horses showing up for this week’s ESR feature, the field looks fairly competitive amongst five of the entrants.  TENNAFIR and FORTY Q S haven’t shown enough to be regarded as serious contenders while BISCUITS CADET is certainly capable to improve, lacks the experience to be considered a threat against more seasoned rivals.

MISS ALFALFA and MONROE COUNTY have withstood the rigors of competition at the highest level of local bred racing and have the results to back them up while AFROBEATNIK has displayed enough talent to surpass them both.  STRATE CASH HOMIE appears loaded with potential, but that will have to translate over the nine panels before I can put her at the level of the top three.

The Picks

MONROE COUNTY – hard to overlook her starts at 9-furlongs

AFROBEATNIK – might be the best of them all

MISS ALFALFA – no stranger to ESR racing