Wild West Dash

The Wild West Dash Stakes features an enlarged field of 15 entrants. This grade-2 stakes event is being held for fillies and mares to be run at 6f on a dirt surface. The weatherman is predicting some rain that should end in the early morning with the sun drying the track out by post time.

1. Punch the Monkey 11-1
Punch the Monkey enters his 3rd stakes race and first graded event for trainer Ebryant. She finished 6th last time out in her first stakes outing since 2006. Prior to this race, Punch put in a series of nice efforts (finishing first or second in 8 of 9 starts), however, these were generally against lower $ allowance races. This will be a tough task for Punch to take, and gets struggling jockey L. Jones (on board once in 21 starts).

2. I See Your Point 21-1
Trainer Baggio enters this mare after establishing a career best speed of 104 going 6.5f in last against allowance. This horse is taking huge leap into the graded stakes group which could take its toll. Although she has improved in last two races, she will need her best effort here.

3. Wraith Point 7-1
Wraith Point comes off a poor 13th place finish in her last stakes race at 7.5f. Trainer Freddurst has opted to drop her to 6f where she has put in some good efforts. Two races back, Wraith set a career best speed rating of 111 and likes to run down the field from the rear. I think the last race doesn’t reflect her true ability and she should be a contender. Jockey Gossett will ride in the saddle, which only improves her chances.

4. Gulch Quay ETS 60-1
Simcup07 returns Gulch Quay ETS to the graded company after decent 2nd and 3rd place finishes in lower stake purse affairs. The mare has improved nicely and established matching career marks of 93-speeds in both of those efforts. The speed is the concern for Gulch here as others in the field are above the 100-level

5. Cinematic 7-1
Trainer Topicountc returns this Seeking the Gold horse to the graded stakes. Cinematic has been 1st or 2nd in 16 of her 25 sprint races. In dirt stakes, she has a decent record of 12-3-3-2. Back in January, she set a career speed mark of 109, however, she hasn’t broken 100 since. If Cinematic can kick it up a few notches, she will be a threat.

6. Queen of the Sky 48-1
This 3-year old, trained by Skipnhappy, has an impressive record of 10-5-2-1 and never has finished worse than 3 1/2 lengths back. Her last race, she finished 6th and was never much of a threat in her first graded stakes. She has yet to break the 100-speed level, which will be necessary to take this race.

7. K’s by the Way 6-1
Trainer Vertigo2 has to be happy with the way this horse has matured. Last May, K’s by the Way graduated to the stakes level with a quick win. Since then, she has amassed 4 wins and 2 places in 9 stakes starts. This week she’s moving up to the graded stakes for the first time. She has been consistant with a nice run of 100+ speeds lately and fits nicely into this field

8. Slewer 8-1
Slewer faded to 9th in last, which was her first graded stakes effort for trainer Curlypuub. This will be her 4th stakes event and she’s put in some decent 100+ speeds lately. The concern I have is that she hasn’t visited the winners circle since last May. Her times are decent and we should see improvement off of her last race.

9. Terri Irwin 47-1
Terri Irwin has struggled in the graded stakes level. In 4 tries, the mare has yet to hit the board. Terri did establish a career mark of 96-speed under the guidance of Hardygirl in her last race. It will be a tough task for Terri to upset this field.

10. Stocking Filler 15-1
Stocking Filler has won 5 of her 15 sprints for trainer Jennah2. She put in a nice win in her last race going against low allowance company achieving a speed rating of 102. She has only one stakes race where she finished out of the money. Stocking is capable of popping an occasional 100+ speed race, but is taking a huge jump into the Graded compaany.

11. La Santa Cruz 7-1
Trainer Santacruz3 is taking a big gamble here. La Santa Cruz has 6 wins in 31 starts and earned over a half million dollars. She has a habit of having some good runs, intermixed with a few not-so-good. The gamble I alluded to earlier is that La Santa Cruz is making her debut on the dirt. I would pass on her here until solely based on the uncertainty of her liking the dirt.

12. Elegy 8-1
Elegy has been consistant in sprints for trainer Chevrolet, hitting the board 16 out of 18 starts. She’s coming off a string of 2nd place finishes in stake races. She set a career best in her last (a G-3 race) of 106 speed at 6f. She likes to charge from the back of the pack, and if Jockey Simox can keep her in striking range, Elegy may be seen in the winners circle.

13. Leader of the Pack 14-1
Leader of the Pack has struggled lately for trainer CQK. She shows a win back in October against low $ allowance putting in a speed of 103 for 6.5f. Leader has been flipped between dirt and turf surfaces throughout her career and is back to the soil. Leader has only 2 wins in 20 stake efforts and draws Jockey Straw who is winless this year, making the chances more complicated.

14. Rakharo 4-1
Rakharo is entered by trainer Salamander after 3 impressive graded stake races (3rd, 2nd and 1st). She’s dropping to 6f after running 7.5f and 8.5f in speeds of 107 and up in last four. A very classy A.P. Indy horse with a stakes record of 13-4-3-3. She will be closing hard and should be considered a threat.

15. Friendly War 20-1
Trainer Shagger is putting Friendly War to the task. With one stakes race (5th at 6.5f in last) and only 6 career races, Friendly has shown great ability. In her short career, she is already putting in 100+ speed races. Jumping into graded competition may be a bit agressive, by the experience gained will pay off down the road.

My top choice goes to the favorite, Rakharo. Rakharo has been sharp and very consistant. She is a late closer in a field lacking front runners and shouldn’t have problem getting to front. Elegy has also been consistant and will be charging with Rakharo. She’s been 2nd in her last three and why not extend that to four in a row. Elegy is my second selection. My third choice goes to K’s By The Way. This one may turn out to be the front runner. She just ended a 3-win streak and may be ready to start a new one.