Seven tango in the The STUPIDLY DANCE Stakes
The STUPIDLY DANCE Stakes
A mile and three sixteenths
Firm Turf
$50,000
Fillies and mares, 3 years old
Only 7 runners have entered this 9.5 furlong turf race but it looks like a particularly competitive heat. The top two in the betting met in their last race and will be looking forward to battling against each other again, but all the other runners should not be overlooked. The runners are:
Beast Lord(KY)
Trainer: tripwire
(Gone West x Storm Cat x Dixieland Band)
Odds: 9/2 Earnings: 87,330 Runs/Wins: 9/3
A filly bred by Given Stables: Fire and Blood from a G class mare. She took a while to lose her maiden tag and has been sensibly trained since, winning her first stakes this year over this distance. Her 2nd place last time was a disappointing run however and she will be desperate to make up for that here. Expect her to be competing for the lead early on and if she manages to get it will be hard to pull back.
Mephibosheth(KY)
Trainer: kyladar4
(
Odds: 20/1 Earnings: 53,750 Runs/Wins: 9/2
A 3yo filly bred by Coomer3 Stables from an H class mare. The only filly here reckoned to be out of the running by the odds makers, but she may be a stronger proposition on the day. She won her only race of 2008 very comfortably over this distance and looks like she will get better the further she runs. Whether she is good enough to make the top 2 here remains to be seen but she will certainly not finish in last place.
Devil’s Triangle(IRE)
Trainer: afc
(Sadler’s Wells x Kingmambo x
Odds: 7/2 Earnings: 84,030 Runs/Wins: 7/3
A 3yo filly bred by Afc Stables from an A class mare (Devil’s Slide). Her dam managed 4 G1 wins in her career, winning $3.4m, so she has a big act to follow. Her 3 wins from just 7 runs have set her on the right track but she obviously craves for longer distances and may not come into her own until later in the year. Her 2nd place last time over 9 furlongs was a terrific performance but the winner of that race This Is Sparta(IRE) has turned up here too so she’ll need to find something special to reverse that placing this time.
This Is
Trainer: fairhaven2
(Sadler’s Wells x A.P. Indy x Buckpasser)
Odds: 8/5 Earnings: 98,953 Runs/Wins: 8/4
A scratch bred 3yo filly from The Evil Empire. She has 4 wins from her 8 runs but it is only as a 3yo, when she finally switched to turf, that she has looked something a bit special. She beat Devil’s Triangle(IRE) in her last race and if she continues to improve over longer distances will certainly be a force to reckon with for some time. I think she’ll probably be victorious here but her winning margin could be reduced significantly.
Profiler(AUS)
Trainer: socalsipe
(Face Value x Forty Niner x With Approval)
Odds: 4/1 Earnings: 44,260 Runs/Wins: 7/1
A scratch bred 3yo filly from Socalsipe Stables. With just one win so far this filly hasn’t really done herself justice and on many occasions simply didn’t seem to settle for second or third place too easily. This rise in distance may not be the tonic she needs however and whilst I would expect her to perform well I think she may simply run out of gas well before the finish line.
Incredible Chant(KY)
Trainer: tg1
(War Chant x Aljabr x Robyn Dancer)
Odds: 9/1 Earnings: 57,675 Runs/Wins: 5/2
A 3yo filly bred by Tg Stables from a C class mare (Sweeeeet). Her dam managed a G3 win as a 3yo but never really captured those highs again afterwards. This filly is certainly going the right way after improving greatly as a 3yo over 9.5 furlongs last time so she could be a slight danger to the more fancied runners, although I would expect her to be given a dirt run before too long.
Palace Station(KY)
Trainer: be1stfarms
(Theatrical(IRE) x Sadler’s Wells x Two Punch)
Odds: 6/1 Earnings: 41,249 Runs/Wins: 9/2
A 3yo filly from Coldwater Farm based on a B class horse (Parker). Another filly with graded wins in her immediate sire line she took a long time to shake that maiden tag. She managed an allowance win last time in a much improved performance but she probably won’t be quite good enough to take the victory here. Like the previous filly she could also be switched back to longer dirt races in the near future where she will probably do more damage.
Summary
The top two in the betting This Is Sparta(IRE) and Devil’s Triangle(IRE) certainly look to have this race between them on paper but I have a strange feeling that things may not go quite to plan as many of the other runners are quite capable of producing a ‘spoiler’ performance.