The HOPEFULLY BLOCK Special

Beanstalk will be starting in post position 1. Giant’s Causeway sired this 6yo mare trained by icechaser. She set a top speed of 111 her last time out which was also at 7.5f so the distance will not be a problem for her. If speed comes into play, she’ll have no problem there, either. She is able to pour on the speed on firm turf as well as an off track and bring home the win as well. I expect that you will see this girl at the front of the pack if not in the lead at the wire. Her odds are 7/2.

The Matador will be starting in post position 2. Sired by Rahy and trained by ebryant, this 4yo mare is a force to be reckoned with on the track. Since her first time racing on the turf she has only one race where she placed worse than third, and that was in a Grade 3. She has a high speed of 110 on an off track and 109 on the firm turf, showing that she can easily handle any track conditions. She has also performed exceedingly well at 7.5f. She is the favorite with odds of 3/1.

In the gate at post position 3 will be Mambogate, a 4yo sired by Lydgate and out of Littlemissmambo. This mare has never placed out of the money in any of her 18 turf starts and has won 8 of those times. She’s quite capable of producing speeds up to 110 and the track condition doesn’t make a difference to her. Her trainer, glbstable, will be hoping that she brings her speed with her in this race and bring home the win. She goes into this race with odds of 9/2.

Post position 4 will hold Redoute’s World, a 4yo mare sired by Redoute’s Choice and out of Dixie Chix. This girl really perked up when she was put back on the turf after a couple of races on the dirt, bringing home the win her last two times out with speeds of 102 and 108. She has wins at 7 furlongs but has fallen short her few times out at 8 and 9 furlongs, so the question in this race is if that half a furlong will make a difference between coming in 2nd or bringing home the win for trainer kensei. She is one of the two long shots with odds of 8/1.

swiftpony trains the 4yo mare in post position 5, RJ’s Samantha who is sired by Mountain Cat. On the dirt, this mare made her mark as a great allowance horse winning 7 out of 11 starts but once she was switched over to turf in August ’07 she started flying, showing a top speed of 112 and winning 6 out of her 9 starts. She’s only ran once at 7.5f but she led the entire race and won it by 3 lengths so the distance shouldn’t pose a problem for her. She’ll start the race with odds of 7/2.

Awaiting the starting bell in post position 6 will be Go On, a 6yo mare sired by Galileo out of Sparky Saint. This mare has shown that she is an excellent allowance horse and very capable of pouring on the speed but she has been unable to capture a win in 5 Stakes starts. She has come very close with a couple of close 2nd’s and trainer tenpin2 will be hoping that she is the first under the wire. Very able to achieve speeds over 100 and plenty of experience at this distance as well as longer distances, it is quite possible that you may be seeing this girl in the winner’s circle. She is the second long shot with odds of 8/1.

In post position 7 Running Scared will be awaiting the start. Trainer crazyjoe brings this 5yo mare sired by El Prado to this race. She has proven that she can easily reach speeds of 109 and can win at distances up to 9 furlongs however, she hasn’t been able to pull of a win since August ’07. The ability is definitely there and fingers will be crossed that she can shake her losing streak and bring home the win. She’ll start with odds of 4/1.

So, there is the field, and a great bunch of mares. It’s definitely a hard call this time around to decide just who is going to be under the wire first. But, as many of you already know, I’m not right very often so let’s see if I can be right this time. I believe it’s going to be Mambogate x RJ’s Samantha x The Matador. Please don’t hurt me if I’m wrong again……

Good Luck and Happy Racing.