G1, The Great Dame: The girls will fight this one out going 9f in New York.

I am heading over to one of my favorite track which is New York. Again this weekend they have another good G1 race on the card, The Great Dame. They will host this field of fillies and mares that will run over a distance of 9 furlongs on a Fast Dirt track. This looks to be an exciting race with many fine horses in this field of fourteen. I have had time to go over to the barns and check things out a little. The horses look in top form for the race and have been working out well on the track. The odds are now set and the post positions have been drawn. So now lets take a preview of horses that will be running on Saturday in the G1, The Great Dame here in New York.

1

DIGITAL TIDBITS

KY

4F

cadet3

T Stone

12

4

83%

$215,555

17.13

12/1

This four year old Union Rags filly has been doing well for her owner hitting the boards ten times in twelve career starts.  Her last trip to the track came on 08/08/2020 when she went 9 furlongs in Massachusetts in the S.S. Blonde Dirt Mare Challenge.  She fired in that race at the third call as she lingered just behind the leader.  She ran big down the stretch and drove herself home for a 2 ¾ length win.  She takes a big jump in Class for this race to head out for the first time at the Graded level.  She will have jockey, T Stone in the saddle who is a familiar jockey to her from here in New York.  She gets a good post draw for her running style and could show up to be a contender coming off a 114 speed rating her last time out.  They will head out at post time to represent the Empire State Racing residency.

2

OH SO GRAND

JPN

5F

orsolya

M Kelly

24

9

71%

$603,406

46.00

7/1

This five year old Bay Mare sired by Heart’s Cry has had two nice recent performances on the track.  She ran on 06/13/2020 in Mexico in the G3, Vogue Handicap of which she made a nice closing effort and hit the wire first to take the win by two lengths.  She came back out for her most recent run in New York on 07/26/2020 in the G1, Go For The Gold Stakes.  He put up another nice effort moving up in Class and crossed the wire in third with a 113 speed rating.  The owner has placed the call over to Delaware to find jockey, M Kelly that is willing to come in and take to the saddle for this race.  This first time pairing will be headed out to their post draw to the sounds of the cheering crowd.

3

EMILIA

ENG

4F

gowansfl

D Givins

12

6

83%

$336,305

37.00

8/1

This four year old filly is a scratch bred by (DANSILI (GB) x SADLER’S WELLS x BLUSHING GROOM).  She has shown that she likes to win and in twelve career starts has picked up six wins and has only missed the boards twice in her starts.  She had put up three wins in a row and then took the leap to run in Graded company in New Jersey when she ran in the G2, The Pitchers Molly at the distance of 8.5 furlongs.  She showed she could compete at this level as she attempted to make a gate to wire run but was caught late and finished up second with a 111 speed rating.  That race earned her a GP badge that day and she is looking to improve as she is in the hunt for another trip to the winners circle here in New York.  She will get the services of jockey, D Givins who is coming in from Kentucky to take to the irons.  They will enter the track in the post parade representing the Blazing Saddles residency.

4

KEENY MINEY MO

KY

4F

corza7

E Bernstein

19

2

32%

$213,600

1.13

24/1

This four year old Brown filly sired by Keen Ice will be one of the longer choices in the field according to the odds makers.  This horse has had a career of racing on both the dirt and turf surfaces.  She has raced in many Graded events but a trip to the winners circle has always eluded her.  Her last two races came on the turf and they were kind of lack luster performances.  Her last trip to the track was in South Africa on 08/23/2020 when she tried to go 11 furlongs in a Listed Stakes race, Dahliyev Turf Mare Stayer.  She could not compete in this field and crossed the wire in fourth and was over 18 lengths back.  She makes a return to the dirt here in New York and will find jockey, E Bernstein from Germany in the saddle to ride with her.  This familiar pairing will head out of the paddock representing the Queensland Racecourse residency.

5

DIOURON

KY

5F

johnkarczewski76

C Jamison

17

6

88%

$269,950

21.00

11/1

This is a five year old Bay Mare that is a scratch bred (SHACKLEFORD x CONQUISTADOR CIELO x BE MY GUEST).  She has shown the Class to contend in Graded company and has shown some nice speed ratings before.  She will need to run one of her better performances here if she is going to find herself on the boards here in New York.  She put up a very nice effort back in May of this year in Ontario when she ran in the G2, The Golfer’s Wager and threw down a 114 speed rating that propelled her to close for second place.  She will get the services of jockey, C Jamison from who is a local jockey here at this New York track.  He will need to find a way to keep this mares head in the race and see if he can get another of those good speed ratings out of her.  They will head to the post to represent the Universal Racing Club residency.

6

WHISKEY OVERLOAD

KY

5F

zia4

F Gossett

20

6

75%

$528,348

54.00

7/1

This five year old Light Grey Mare is a scratch bred (AWESOME AGAIN x UNBRIDLED’S SONG x GIANT’S CAUSEWAY) and she has been hitting the boards nicely for her owner in her last two outing.  On 05/23/2020 she stepped it up going 9 furlongs in Arkansas in the G3, Poor Mona Lisa Handicap.  She closed at the third call from over ten lengths back to make an explosive run in the stretch and get up by 2 ½ lengths at the wire.  She then came back out on 07/26/2020 here in New York to run in the G1, Go for The Gold Stakes where she made another big closing effort to get to the wire in second.  If she can bring that top speed rating of 117 to this race she could be dangerous.  She will have jockey, F Gossett from California flying in to take his place up top for this Graded outing.  A good pop of a stinging whip should get her to fire around the third call.  They will head out to their gate draw to the sounds of a roaring crowd.

7

NORTH CHANNEL

KY

4F

xpansion6

C Gerhke

19

9

68%

$634,710

50.13

8/1

This four year old Chestnut Filly is a scratch bred (GIANT’S CAUSEWAY x MR. PROSPECTOR x DEPUTY MINISTER) and she is coming off two nice wins as she steps into this race.  He won an Allowance race in July in Kentucky and then headed back out for her most recent trip to the track in Illinois on 09/05/2020 going 9 furlongs in the G3, Chicago Matron Handicap.  She fired like a bullet at the third call and found her way to the winners circle in that outing with a 112 speed rating.  She is coming in on a short rest of which I have concern and her top speed rating is 112 of which I see better in this field.  She will have to prove she has the ability to step it up a little in this race with jockey, C Gerhke in the saddle who is coming in from Maryland to take the ride up top with her.  This pairing will be headed out at the call to post representing the Midas residency.

8

OTTO PAUNCHI

KY

5F

kaner6

P Wright

21

10

71%

$992,560

100.00

5/1

This five year old Light Grey Mare will go out at post time as the morning line favorite at 5/1 according to the odds maker’s selections.  She had a good thing going with five wins in a row until she hit the wall running 8 furlongs in Vermont on 08/02/2020 in the Equinics G1, Taj Mahal.  She never found her stride in that race and went around the track fairly flat.  She crossed the wire in ninth place with a disappointing 105 speeding rating.  This G1 winning filly has the goods, she was just a little off that day and I think she will be looking to rebound here in New York with a nice run.  She will have the services of veteran jockey, P Wright from Arizona in the saddle for the first time.  I am sure he can handle this mare and get her to perform.  They will be heading out at post time to represent the GR Simsters residency.

9

IDEAL MATCH

AUS

4F

futurestar

J White

19

9

74%

$699,370

6.25

10/1

This four year old Bay Filly had been running on turf and doing quite well for her owner.  She is a multiple G3 winner and is a fine looking daughter of American Pharoah.  American Pharoah is known to be a dirt sire as is the mare of this filly, Equine Royalty who is a G1 winner and million dollar winner.  This mare has certainly been producing well for this owner.  Ideal Match made the switch to dirt in her last outing after exclusively running on the turf.  She went out to the dirt track in India and ran in a Listed Stakes, Dixieland Deputy Dirt Mare Route.  She showed up with a nice performance the first time running on the dirt and showed up in third at the wire with a 109 speed rating.  She is going to need all of that 109 and then some if she is going to compete with some of the mean girls in this field.  Her owner has place the call to jockey, J White from California who has rode this filly successfully in the past.  He is familiar with this horses running style of which she likes to linger in the second tier in most of her best outings.  They will be headed out on Saturday at post time to represent the Midas racing residency.

10

NILE CADET

KY

4F

cadet4

A Jolly

16

4

62%

$226,348

21.00

9/1

This four year old daughter of Pioneerof The Nile will be headed back up in Class to face this field as she comes off a nice gate to wire performance in Argentina on 07/19/2020 in a Listed Stakes, Carol Of The Bells Dirt Mare Memorial.  She came out of the gate bolting and never looked back in this 9 furlong race.  She put up a nice 116 speed rating and showed the way home by a 2 ¼ length win at the wire.  This filly has not missed the boards in her last five starts, but she is going to be taking a big jump in Class when she races here in New York on Saturday.  Her owner places the call to a familiar jockey in A Jolly from Louisiana who will crawl out of the bayou and make the trip to ride up top of this filly once again.  If this horse can bring her speed with her as she moves up in Class she could have a shot here when  they break from the gate representing the Empire State Racing residency.

11

BATTLE OF DOOTSIN

NM

4F

oldmoonelite5

L Kraft

16

8

62%

$444,950

48.00

10/1

This four year old Brown Filly sired by Archwarrior found a nice win back in March of this year in Arkansas when she won the G3, The Azen Breeder’s Bowl.  Since that time she has struggled to find a trip back to the boards.  She did participate in the Equinics running in the G1, Taj Mahal at 8 furlongs in Vermont on 08/02/2020.  She came in a disappointing eleventh in that race and is looking for a rebound here in New York on Saturday.  The owner puts in a call to Michigan to find an new jockey for his filly in L Kraft.  The owner is looking to spark the interest in this horse and needs to see improvements.  Her recent performances will not be able to match some of the horses in this field unless her jockey can rekindle the flames in her legs and find a speed rating close to that 118 career high.  They will be heading out at post time to represent the Only Stayers residency.

12

MERC WITH A MOUTH

KY

4F

mtkdynasty

A Kelly

11

4

55%

$126,256

6.50

22/1

This four year old Chestnut Filly is sired by Curlin.  She will be going off as one of the longest choices in this field according to the morning line.  I can see some concerns in that this filly merely has a lack of experience.  She has been doing well in Allowance races but has never run in a Listed Stakes or at the Graded Stakes level.  She is going to be taking a big jump in Class here with a career high 108 speed rating of which also draws concern.  Her last trip to the track came in Arizona on 08/08/2020 at a distance of 9.5 furlongs in a $34,100 NW3x Allowance race.  She went gate to wire in that race and got up by 2 ¾ lengths.  This is a fine filly but the lingering question is, is she ready for Saturday’s race?  She will get the services of first time jockey, A Kelly who will come in from New Jersey to take the ride up top for this race.  He will need to find a snappy whip and push this filly hard if she is to prove a contender when they break from the gate representing the Blazing Saddles residency.

13

STOCK DOWN

NZ

5F

corza

K Ledwith

32

4

56%

$308,692

17.00

11/1

The last two outing for this five year old Bay Mare have been a little disappointing for her owner.  She has just been missing her mark and her last two trips to the track were certainly lack luster.  She had been running well up until she took out on 07/11/2020 in Washington in the Moose Baby Dirt Mare Route.  She failed to perform with a 100 speed rating and walked up to the wire in ninth place.  She came back out for her most recent race in Idaho on 08/23/2020 going 9.5 furlongs in the Part Exchange Dirt Mare Route. She again failed to perform against the field of contenders she faced and came in sixth.  She is going to have to show up with a much better performance here in New York if she is to keep up with these bullies.  She will have jockey, K Ledwith that is flying in all the way from Japan to ride up top with this horse.  He will need to bring a full bag of tricks and a stiff whip on his travels as he needs to get a lot more out of this horse than she has shown in her last two outings.  They will be headed out in the post parade representing the Queensland Racecourse residency.

14

LOST BALL

KY

6F

soft

Z Ayya

15

5

67%

$150,485

2.91

27/1

This will be the matriarch of the field as she is a six year old Brown Mare sired by Pioneerof The Nile.  She has struggled in her career but is coming off an Allowance win in West Virginia of which she closed very nicely in a $34,100 NW3x.  She was claimed back in October of last year and under new ownership has done quite well.  However I kind of feel like the odds makers in that perhaps this trip to the track will be a little out of her league.  The owner took a walk over to the jocks room here in New York and found local jockey, Z Ayya available to take the mount on Saturday with this mare.  They will be headed out to the far outside post as the long shot in the morning line representing the Bargain Bred Racing Series residency.

Good luck to all owners and horses!

Skippy’s Watch List

2,6,8

Tarton’s Long Shot

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