World Cup Ladies Nine
Race ID:3350.1213
World Cup Ladies Nine
Grade I
A mile and one eight
Fast dirt
$500,000
Fillies and Mares, 3 years old and up
What a great and sunny day this is here Pennsylvania for this first edition of the World Cup. We have 3 teams that will be battling for the first 3 places and the points they can win in this race for the overall classification of their team. They bring us 12 fillies that will give their best shot for their team’s honour and glory in this race over 9 furlongs on the fast dirttrack.
Team Australia/New Zealand/Far East (FENZA)
In the gates for the Fenzateam we have a combination of youngsters and older mares: two 5y olds and two 3y olds. Let’s have a look at what they bring us today.
PP Age Name Trainer Odds Pedigree
4 5F MASTER AND COMMAND scream 6/1 Montjeu x Spinning World x Mr. Prospector
Record: 37 races: 11-11-8
Out of the unaffiliated stables of Binzaman this 5y old mare is currently ranked as 12th in her division and might form a good counterweight for the classy mares the American team has in this race. She had a good year last year winning a G3 and three other Stakes races. Also this year she has not done to bad: she won a Stakes and a G3 and placed herself in three other Graded races including a G1. For one reason or another she totally failed in her last race which was the Smackdown end of July. She has been rested since then and could be ready for another of her good efforts as also her odds indicate.
6 5F HANNAH’S BOO BOO rharfo2 8/1 Storm Cat x Singspiel x Gone West
Record: 30 races: 10-6-3
This 5y old filly of the Rharfo empire had her peak end of 2005 and 2006: at that time she wasting +100 speed figures constantly and won the G3-King Ranch Special in a careerbest of 108. This year her speed dropped a bit but she did won 2 Stakes races and placed in two others. She comes off from 4 races in a row on nine furlongs and each time she finished on the board. She even won her last one in a speedfigure of 104. Such a speed will definitely be necessary to be part of the race today. She looks ready.
2 3F SISSON’S CHANT hawk5 17/1 War Chant x Mr. Prospector x Nijinsky II
Record: 14 races: 7-2-2
This youngster with earnings of $2,321,700 should be known to most of you. She won the sim eclipse award last year for 2y old fillies and indeed had a remarkable season where she won 6 out of 7 races including the Breeders Bowl and the DelPenn Champions day. Unfortunately she had been struggling in her sophomore year till her last race. She failed to win until Smackdownday where she out of the blue won the 9f race in a speed of 107 which was 10 points higher than her best speed till that date. Let’s hope for her she found back her legs of last year and that that win is the beginning of a better second half of 2007. Difficult to predict what she will do in her first race against older mares since we have no idea whether the fire she showed at smackdown will last or not. Strangely enough she does not get any credit from the bookies who rate her only at 17/1.
3 3F CAT O’ NINE LIVES austar 18/1 Tale of the Cat x Riverman x El Gran Senor
Record: 13 races: 5-3-2
Here is the second 3y old filly representing the Fenzateam. She is 87th ranked in her division and that should explain why she should not be such a big threat in this race. She is a frontrunner who rather likes to stalk than to immediately take the lead. This year her form has been going up and in July she won a Stakes over 8 furlongs. After that win she was stepped up in class in a G2 but failed there. Her last two races she was dropped in class again in two allowances which she easily seemed to have won and she posted a careerbest speed of 104. She will be a little to light for this race and is no competition for the American team.
Team Europe/Scandinavia
It must be said that the European team seems to have failed in finding good ranked horses for this nine furlong race. The best ranked mare is only 146th ranked so in general we have a weak field of European contenders today: all 4 have the least rankingpoints of the starting horses in this race. Off course ranking does not mean all and most of them have raced some good races recently. They will all be the outsiders in this field today.
PP Age Name Trainer Odds Pedigree
10 5F PASS THE SILVER shamran5 12/1 Pulpit x Silver Charm x Believe it
Record: 37 races: 6-8-5
Pass the Silver will be competing in her 11th race of this season. She has not been doing too badly this year: very consistent allowance horse which is running speed figures of close to 100 and placing very regularily in her allowances. In her last race we saw her stalk the leaders and then lose more ground in the stretch, while still finishing 3rd in a 97 Speed Figure. Although she still seems to be a very good allowance horse she does not seem to have the capacity to distinguish herself in this field.
11 4F DIXIELAND DEPUTY lurch 21/1 Dixieland Band x Deputy Minister x Bold Lad
Record: 27 races: 7-6-5
Dixieland Deputy is a former Graded Winner, but that win dates back more than a year ago when she won the G3-The Big Ben Special Stakes in her first ever +100 speed figure. She confirmed that performance a couple of times later last year but that was the only time she fired in a Graded Race. She has been able to confirm this year on Stakes Level and won a Stakes at 12f and last race one of 9.5 furlongs (in a speed of 87). To me it looks like this race most likely will be too short for her and that she is entered in the wrong race. She might be able to come back a bit in the middle of the race but I fear she won’t have enough ground to make a total comeback.
8 5F HOT MOP DARBYY shamran5 13/1 Arazi x Chief’s Crown x Native Dancer
Record: 37 races: 9-6-5
This filly has been claimed in the middle of last year by trainer shamran5 for 30000K and the switch of trainer certainly did not harm her. In the sixteen races she raced for her new trainer she never finished out of the money and last time out she even managed to become second in a Stakes race over 9 furlongs although that was in a small field. But the three allowances before she all won. Just like Dixieland Deputy she seems to like going further than 9 furlong so I think that also for her this race will be over a little too soon.
5 4F LAKUNZA rioja 9/1 Bachelor Duke x Irish River x Damascus
Record: 33 races: 8-7-6
Probably the most modest breeding of the field but with a very good closing kick we again see a very good allowancehorse making her start in this Graded Race. Currently she is the one with the least rankingpoints at the start of this race but don’t forget that one year ago she won a G1 and has been ranked much better in the past. This year she has not yet run a Stakesrace but did very well in the allowances of which she won the last two races in a speed of 100 and 107 . She looks to come back into form silently but off course we will have to see what she can do against much better horses. She had the talent to compete with them and I’m sure that if one of the European horse has a chance it will be this filly who will be the most dangerous. If you look at her race, she always won ground in the end so I am sure she won’t give up midway either and one will have to take her into account till the very end.
Team North/South America
It is quite unbelievable with what a team the Americas are represented in this race: all mares competing for them are former Graded Winners and have already proven to be able to compete with the best of the best. What do I say: they are the best. If there is one goal for this team today it will be to become first, second and third.
PP Age Name Trainer Odds Pedigree
9 5F K’S JOAN BACH verdugote 4/1 Forestry x Mill Reef x Danzig
Record: 27 races: 14-5-5
Trainer Ledwith must be very happy to have such a good mare in his stables. 24 races out of 27 on the board and winner of three Graded Races (2 x G1), she at the moment is hot and eyeing for the first place in her division. She posted a triple speed figure 19 times out of her last 20 races and 9 furlongs seem to suit her very much. Where two races ago she failed to win the G1-Go For Gold Stakes on a wet track, in a 110 SP against Otto History , she won her last race pretty easily and posted her third Graded Win. There is no Otto History in this race and that means K’S JOAN BACH will be the horse to keep an eye on when the race is half: will she be able to catch the leaders and what fabulous time will she post? Rightfully the favourite at 4/1.
12 5F IRREVERSIBLE redturkey 4/1 Giant’s Causeway x Mr. Prospector x Never Bend
Record: 25 races: 12-5-3
Sixteenth in the rankings but lately almost equally as good as K’S Joan Bach and with the same odds is this mare trained by barndog. She has won six of her eight latest outings with a highlight in the Smackdown at 9f with a 109 Speed Figure. This was followed up by a very good performance in the G1-The Jujitsu Attack where she only lost by a neck at 8.5f. This race is a bit longer and that might be sufficient for her to show she is an equal contender as K’s Joan Bach.
7 3F ALL THE RICHES flagdown 13/1 Saint Liam x Dubai Millennium x Green Desert
Record: 14 races: 5-2-2
The future looks good for America. This 3y old trained by flagdown is currently ranked as 5th in the 3y old classic dirt division. This runner-up of the Bluegrass Oaks did already prove in May that she is able to compete with the older mares. In the G1-Middle Jewel she was closing in and ended as fourth. After that she had two offraces and did show in her last race at 9 furlongs that she can come on the board against the elder. She is not misplaced in this race and will show all that she is got. She could need a little more distance in my opinion and the race might be a little too short. The odds of 13/1 could have been better.
1 5F FORMAL AFFAIR surlyn 7/1 Black Tie Affair x Nureyev x Danzig
Record: 35 races: 9-9-6
Formal Affair is specialized in 9 furlongs and has run nothing else but 9 furlongs in her last eleven races. Her biggest win dates two races back and was the G2-D-Day Distaff in a speed of 108 and seven races in a row she managed to finish on the board. She might not have the status as a K’s Joan Bach or even Irreversible but she surely has shown recently that her speed figures are quite good enough to be competitive with them. Like most of the American team she is a deep closer and will battle with her fellow team members for the win in this races.