Frickazeed Fillies
An interesting collection of juvenile fillies graces us with their presence for this weekend’s Grade I Frickazee Stakes in America’s Armpit, New Jersey. Several fillies will be trying graded company for the first time. On top of that, fully half the field will be routing for the first time, and only one of these girls has gone as far as this race’s 8.5 furlongs. They’ll be running for a hefty $500,000 purse and vitally important stakes points.
Next to the rail will be Autumn’s Ee Bright Light. A daughter of Fantasatic Light, this will be her first route. She really blossomed last time out when she stretched to 7.5 furlongs, winning Grade III Little Momma with a 91 fig. That race was such an improvement for her, the question is whether it was a fluke or a true sign of maturity. She should appreciate the extra ground and she’ll have a competent jockey aboard. If she can equal her last race, she has a superb chance of winning.
Next door will be Zooomr3’s Wiki Waki Woo. She ran a solid third last time out in a Grade III, but her speed figs have yet to break out of the mid-70s. That’s not going to cut it here. On top of that, her jockey is absolutely wretched. She looks like she’ll like the increased distance, but I don’t think that’ll be enough for her this time around.
Third will be Saver’s Full Hearts, who sits at 7/1. She’s an interesting filly with 2 wins in 3 starts, a royally-bred Gone West x Northern Dancer x Alydar filly. Her first win was a MSW and the next was a four-horse stakes, so this is a huge step up for her. On the one hand, her best speed fig is an 80, on the other hand, she hasn’t really been asked to give more. She’ll appreciate the added ground for sure, but she’ll need to take a big step up to play here. She may well be capable of it, but it’s too soon to tell.
Storm Forecast will run with Spewu’s silks. The Vision and Verse filly is coming off a win against a small stakes field. Before that, she finished third in a graded race. She’s never been past 6.5 panels, so this is a big change for her. Her sire tends to produce sprinters, so it’s hard to say how she’s going to fare. Her current speed figs in the mid 80s would put her in contention to hit the board, but this distance change adds a lot of questions. Very good jockey will help. We’ll know a whole lot more about this youngster after this weekend.
Dundey’s Baseball Fever will break from the five spot. She’s had a lot of success for a filly who debuted with a 49 fig. She has been improving steadily as she stretches out. This will be her first time at a mile or more. If she continues that improvement, she could be in the mix. She’ll try to head to the front and if she can hang on past a mile, she could be a factor in how this race ends up.
2ofus’ well-named Battle Music (Unbridled’s Song x War Chant) is a long shot at 17/1, but she’s a successful gal. She’s won two of five starts, but those two races were her last two races and were both routes. She has certainly blossomed as she’s stretched out, but this is a big step up from the allowance company she’s been keeping. She’ll need to speed up a ton to do well here, but she looks like she’s on her way to a nice career regardless.
6ward2’s I Love New Orleans is the longest shot on the board at 33/1, but she’s done all right for herself anyway. She’s been placed carefully and therefore got herself some money and stakes points in 4-horse stakes fields. But this race is a very different story. With a 5% winning jockey and no truly tough races under her belt, the Arazi filly looks outclassed. A nice little horse, but this isn’t likely to be her week.
Wemblem sends Pandaemonium, a Bernardinin filly who has been on the board in all three starts so far. She’s improving with each outing, but this is her first graded race and her first time in a full field. She has yet to hit the 80s. On the plus side, she’s been improving steadily and seems to like two turns, so if she manages to take a big step up here, she could get a piece of the pie.
Topicountb presents us with the Seeking the Gold daughter, Powerseeker. She’s won two of five starts and seems to be perking up as she stretches out a bit and switches to the dirt. She ran a much-improved 82 fig last time out and a big question will be whether that was a fluke or a sign of things to come. This will be her first time beyond seven furlongs. She should like stretching out more, but it’s still an unanswered issue for her. If she improves a b it off that last run, she could do well this weekend.
Smelly Slimey will be running for Flurgen4 this weekend and will break from the ten spot. She just broke her maiden in her sixth attempt, so it’s awfully ambitious to be placing her in a Grade I. She has been improving with each run and is the only horse here to go 8.5 furlongs, but she would need a whole lot of improvement to be a factor this weekend. I’d like to see her prove herself a bit more before I’d back her in this kind of race.
Robinson Flat is the 5/1 favorite in this race and will be running for Goldnmist. The Forestry filly is 2-for-2, including a win in a five-horse overnight stakes. In that seven-furlong race, she ran an 86, the second highest number in this field. Those two first races look great, but she has a lot still to answer, including whether she can handle a tough field and whether she wants any part of a mile. The answers could well be yes, but I’m not yet sure.
Sevenspanishangels, running for Texasace02, is a wicked-tough looking daughter of Bernardini who has won 3 of 4 races. She’s won twice at a mile, but those were miniscule fields. She faces a much tougher field for the first time. She could go either way, but she looks like a good one to me, and having a terrific jockey could make a big difference for her this weekend.
Hornedfrog’s Dance Away Renee got herself the best jockey in the field and that’s sure to help this daughter of came home. She’s coming off a very tough 13th-place finish in the Grade I Getaway and it’s tough to know what to make of that. Did she not want to go as long as 7 furlongs? Bad news, if so. She has won and finished second in Grade IIs, so the level of competition is unliley to be a problem. So is she a sprinter or did she simply have a bad race? We’ll have to tune in to the race to find out.
Last is Super16’s Scorch the Earth, which is a name both horrifying and awesome. The Dehere filly is bred to run all day, but so far she’s run only a minute and 36 seconds that we know of – a win in a mile-long MSW. She won easily in a respectably-sized field, but posted only a 73. Who knows? Anything could happen with this gal, but her connections might as well shoot for some stakes points while they can. Pathetic jock is a problem.
Looks like a wide-open race, with lots of horses with unknown abilities at this distance and this level of competition. Should be fun!