Lightng99’s Five-Filly Entry Bloats Ice Cream Gold Field

Thirteen horses passed the entry box for Saturday’s $150,000 Ice Cream Gold Stakes (G3) in New Zealand, with five of those runners coming from the myriad of lightng99-owned barns. Eight other 3-year-old fillies will oppose that uncoupled entry in the one-mile turf stakes.

Lightng99 has five horses in the 13-horse field and they all break out of adjoining gates, four-eight, so starting with them in order we start with Audi Stock, the longest price on the board at 24/1. This one is a stakes-placed daughter of Tavistock out of a stakes winning Charitable Man mare. Showing a lone win from eight tries, she finished third in her last two, both sprinting in listed stakes races. She tends to be forwardly placed in races and will be ridden here by R. Whisper.

King Frost is another longshot entry, coming in at 19/1 and, like Audi Stock, this one has just one career win (from nine starts). She is a bay daughter of Zoffany who has raced a mile or longer on two occasions, finishing ninth on good going in The Champagne Mile (G2) and third in an allowance race at 1 1/16-miles last time out. In five previous stakes races, her best result has been a pair of fourth-place finishes. King Frost does her racing from just off the pace, where she will likely be close to her stablemate, Cute Zephyr, who occupies the starting stall just to her outside.

Cute Zephyr has also just one victory of which to boast, and a second in a dirt allowance race in her debut race is the only other time she’s hit the board. The daughter of Seahenge, out of a Commands mare, was assigned odds of 22/1 for this and would be a surprise here.

Impact Green and Dampa are more intriguing entries, though Dampa, like the previous three has just one career win. Impact Green has two career wins and is the lone graded stakes winner in the field. The roan daughter of Japanese sire Clean Ecology raced from just off the pace in September’s Park Place Stakes (G3) before collaring pacesetter Inishmore Isle at the top of the stretch and just holding off the late surge of fellow Ice Cream Gold entrant Lady Skysham to win by a head. She used similar tactics in The Miesque (G3) but flattened out late to finish fourth before a last-place finish in The Juvenile Filly (G1) in her first race at a mile. Clean Ecology has been getting mainly sprinters in his very brief sire career, but the similarly bred Carbon Footprint T (like Clean Ecology she is out of a Dark Angel mare) has earned her two best speed figures at a mile and Clean Khani (Pivotal mare) finished second in a 1 1/16-mile stakes earning a career high 95 speed figure. H Harzeim guides the 11/1 shot from post seven.

Dampa (14/1) is the lone lightng99 entrant who runs from well off the pace and she earned her lone career win in a 1 1/16-mile maiden race on a good turf course. The daughter of Territories then finished fourth and sixth in a pair of listed stakes. Hitting the board is not out of the question here for my favorite in this race of the five-horse entry.

Blast Oahu LV and Patriotic B are both four time winners from five career races. Themole’s Blast Oahu LV won a stakes race at a mile in her last start after a seventh-place finish in a seven-furlong listed stakes. The daughter of Lord Kanaloa is out of the graded-placed stakes winning mare Fastnet Surge and will be ridden by B. Wu. The 11/1 shot does her running from a bit off the pace.

Jakematt3’s Patriotic B (guessing the B is for Barb), like Blast Oahu LV, started her career with three wins in allowance company before losing for the first time in a stakes race. Like Blast Oahu, Patriotic B bounced back after the initial setback to win a stakes race, with Patriotic B’s coming in a 7 1/2-furlong race here in New Zealand. The daughter of The United States earned the fields highest speed figure (96) in that race. Patriotic B is another one who stays in touch with the pace and is one of three co-favorites at 5/1. Patriotic B has a big shot if she appreciates the added ground.

Roosters74’s Arms Deal also comes into the Ice Cream Gold following a stakes win, with hers coming in the Showtime Too Turf Juvenile Fillies. The daughter of Dundeel used frontrunning tactics that day to notch her second straight two-length win in a one-mile race. The lone confirmed speed starts from post 12 and will be ridden by D Dowell. Morning-line odds of 9/1 look like good value to me.

The two remaining 5/1 co-favorites are stakes winner Nolo Joy and graded-stakes placed Lady Skysham. Viperthree’s Nolo Joy has finished in the exacta in all five career starts with three wins to her credit. The daughter of Ghostzapper won a listed stakes race at 7 1/2-furlongs last out after a pair stakes placings. Should the mile distance not present a problem, this one should be closing stoutly down the lane.

Lady Skysham has twice earned black type in graded races, the head-length second to Impact Green previously mentioned and a third-place finish in The Calvados (G3) in which she gave up the lead late to lose by just a neck. Still, after eight races, this one has a lone win on her resume, a five-furlong dirt race in her April debut. The daughter of Shamardal, out of a Sky Mesa mare, has paired up 91 speed figures in her most recent two races which puts her in contention here.

Krfstables Ryans Marmalade breaks from the rail. The bay filly descends from a Northern Dancer-line sire, a Northern Dancer-line broodmare sire, and a Northern Dancer-line Dam’s Dam’s sire, a combination which seems to work in the Sim. In this case, we have Duke of Marmalade x Galileo x Caerleon. This one is proven at the distance with a maiden win at a mile and a listed stakes win at 1 1/16-miles. Ryans Marmalade (10/1) stays close to the pace early and jockey S. L. Ledwith may need to work out a trip through traffic.

Mendelssohn’s Heardyouloudnclear is graded place, earning that honor with a second-place finish in the one mile The Natalie (G3) where she was outkicked by deyoto5’s Eiffel Rose. She then tried racing males in the 10 furlong Saint Cloud (G1), finishing ninth, before returning to her own sex in The Juvenile Filly (G1), where she was a well-beaten fifth. The Lonhro filly is 9/1 on the morning line and will start from post position three.

Steller3’s Mystical Tutor has been improving steadily of late, improving to a 94 speed figure when second last out in a listed stakes race. The daughter of Camelot has three wins in six career races and closed from 12th early on in her last race but can stay close to the pace as well. The light gray filly is the fourth wagering choice at 6/1 and starts from post two.

So last week’s paper wagers did not pan out, lowering the bankroll to $969.25. This week I’m going to put $20 across the board on 9/1 Arms Deal (12), hoping she can carry her speed all the way against this field. I’ll also make a $1-exacta box using Mystical Tutor (2), Nolo Joy (10), Patriotic B (11), and Arms Deal. Lastly I’ll use those four boxed horses over Dampa (8) and Blast Oahu LV in $2 exactas. Those wagers reduce the bankroll to $881.25.