Photo Finish Anyone?
This week the three year old fillies hit the turf track for the SLICKFEST Bonanza, a 6.5 furlong stakes, chasing a purse of a very healthy $80,000. This looks at first glance to be a quite closely run affair so let’s take a look at the field.
1. GOLD WATCHER – pg48 – Quite a nice little filly backing up from a solid stakes show in her last start. Yet to crack the 100 mark, but a career best of 97, is still very much motoring for a three year old little lady. A repeat of somewhere near that best if not improvement will have her very competitive here indeed.
2. KEUKENHOF – blueriband – Results no worse than the show, in fourteen starts, make for very impressive reading indeed. There’s certainly every chance of that record continuing, however to challenge for outright honours and improvement on a current career best speed of 93 will have to be found.
3. COLE DIESAL – hydrogen – Six wins from ten starts yet this girl finds herself as second of the outsiders, but there is reason. Shrewd and careful placement whilst entering is solely responsible for the fantastic results thus far, rather than outright ability. This week she finds herself against genuine pace, and may well struggle a little.
4. ANGEL WINGS – fuzzycat – A return to a dry track and open stakes conditions can only prove positive for this youngster. She was at her very best before heading into graded company where she really wasn’t able to carry over her form. The drop back is likely to see a return to the ability she displayed six starts ago where she posted a career best speed and unluckily missed the win by only half a length.
5. SEMELE – phillyfarm – This filly claims favouritism for this race and for mighty good reason. A stunning speed figure (101) last time out, after shortening back up to sprints, must stand her extremely well heading into this one. I believe she’ll be very hard to beat.
6. BARB’S DOG PEN – barbstable – A steady and solid improvement with each run has come for this girl so far in a very short career, and she makes her stakes debut this week. Personally I’d have given her a little longer a race, as the flop three starts ago I feel was more a surface issue rather than distance. Her best so far was at her last at the distance of this week’s race, so I guess time will reveal all.
7. TOP GOOSE – plumridge – An allowance win last time out, no doubt has this filly making her stakes debut, but unfortunately the speed simply isn’t there at this stage to see her competitive here. Consequently the morning line has her ranked as the outsider. It’s a little unfortunate, but I think she’ll have quite a tough time of it.
8. LYPHRAIDA (BRZ) – sampson – Likely to be the pace setter, this lady makes her stakes debut also after some very promising runs at allowance level. Although not winning anything other than her maiden, her speeds are just about up there with the likely front pack, it’s only a matter of whether the form can be transferred over to the higher level. With this in mind she could just rattle a few prides amongst this field.
Although a relatively short field for this week, there appears to be a bunch very closely matched here. SEMELE must be considered the class of the field and the likely winner, but the other placing’s become a bit of a dart board affair, with so many needing only a fraction of improvement to challenge. For the betting man, the favourite would probably be the safest investment, but from a spectator point of view, this one shapes up as a must watch.
Cheers