Arizona Shoot-Out Draws Twelve

Arizona Shoot-Out Draws Twelve

Arizona – This week kicks off the graded stakes year for 2 YOs and there are two races, one in Kentucky and one here in Arizona.  The weather is expected to be dry but still only twelve trainers dropped their entries for the four and a half furlong race over the main track.  Here are some interesting tidbits about the race.  The Arizona Shoot-Out was elevated to a Grade III status in 2002.  Three of the jockey’s riding on Saturday have already won this race once before.  One entered is still a maiden, three have made more than one start and all of the fillies are being asked to run shorter than they have ever run.  The second ranked filly in the world is entered and I assume she got the ranking by winning an allowance race to break her maiden.  The rest are not ranked and several ran a much faster speed figure than the ranked filly did.  In fact the filly holding the top speed figure in the race is 20/1 and she did it on a track listed as “good”.  Here is a look at the field by post position.

Drawing the inside is rangy chestnut filly by Stevie Wonderboy out of a Sir Cat mare.  Icanseecanyou (29/1) is trained by Miltlink1 and was a winner in her only start at slightly longer.  The rail draw will probably force her towards the back as she doesn’t have a world of speed from the gate but she will be running late.  Unfortunately she doesn’t have a lot of real estate on Saturday and there will be many others making the same move.  She has a top speed figure of 71 and will be ridden by Q. (The Boot) Boutie who has only won three races in the past four months.

Another closer will also break near the rail and that is Button And Bows (6/1).  The copper chestnut filly is by Pulpit out of a Storm Cat mare, Ties That Bind.  Ties won only one race in her career of 24 starts before succumbing to a tendon injury and this is her only foal.  Bows is another that will need to get aggressive early.  She won her only race by racing mid-field and then drew off to win by 3/4 of a length with a 66 speed figure.  She is in the capable hands of Aussie conditioner Dundee2 and will be ridden by 6 % rider Steve Sims.

Corzak entered his nice filly Sounds of Thunder (7/2) a well bred gal by Storm Cat out of the Danzig mare Higher Ground.  HG only managed to win two races from her 33 starts and this is her only foal to race.  Sounds Of Thunder, on the other hand won her maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs and even though the Shoot-Out is at a shorter distance she did make the lead mid-turn and won easily.  She is shipping in from Norway and will be ridden by 6 % rider N. Stryzinski who has won two races this year.

Another making a long ship, this time from Dubai, is Demambo (7/1) a nice looking dark bay filly by Dehere.  She is out of Botwisted who is by Kingmambo.  Botwisted won three of 21 and she has had six foals to race, all of which are winners, two are stake’s winners and one is Graded Stakes winner.  Demambo had only two beat at the first call of her Dubai race, but rallied to win by 1 1/4 lengths going 5 1/2 with a 70 speed figure.  Sherwoodpk2 will leg M. Graybill up on race day and he will be looking for only his eighth win of the year.

Devil His Due will be represented by Fourth Seal Opened (22/1).  Trained by Bhm, FSO is the only foal out of the Slew Of Gold mare; No More Lies who was stakes placed and won seven of 41 starts.  FSO has yet to win a race but did pass tired to finish third in her only start.  She gets the services of top rider Nancy Gardner who has already won 67 races this year.  Nancy will need all her skill to get this plain brown filly home on top.

Primary Appeal (36/1) is a pretty chestnut filly trimmed in white by Primary Suspect.  She is another closer and trainer Funkytown was absent the day of the draw and was give the house rider Ray Rehberger who has not won a race this year.  Primary Appeal is the only foal out of four time winner Argumentive by Successful Appeal.  Shipping in from Malaysia, she is yet, another closer.

The number two ranked, Repeat Performance (9/2), is a lovely red filly by Awesome Again out of a Secretariat mare.  She is undefeated, as of course are many of these, winning her only race at six furlongs and she will break from post seven.  Trained by Metallinut, Repeat Performance started her career in a California allowance race and she showed good speed as she took the field gate to wire.  She will get the riding services of Willie Kewmwa who is one of the leading riders here in Arizona, with 79 wins and a 26 % strike rate and all with only one year of riding experience.

Hoochie Glide (29/1) is a light chestnut filly with a big blazed face.  She is by Purge out of Jade Heart by Fargo.  Jade Heart was a nice mare that won nine of her 56 races and not only was a stakes winner but was graded placed.  She is the dam of three foals to race, all winners and one is a stakes winner.  Trainer Slowjet trains Hoochie Glide who traveled six furlongs in her debut but because she took control of her race early on, the connections thought she could handle the turn back in distance.  Nate Trumbull who has won 27 races this year got the call.

Tailwins, a division of the Twinhollow racing empire, will saddle Warm Wind (14/1) on Saturday.  Warm Wind is a lovely liver chestnut by El Nino out of the Gone West mare, Lexington North.  Lex won two of her three races before breaking down in a training accident.  She was retired to the breeding shed and has since had six foals.  All of them are winners and two are stakes placed.  Windy won easily in her first start splashing home through the mud but failed to follow that up in a 1X allowance race next time out.  Rich Zombie, a winner of 17 races this year, will be in the irons.

Post 10 will hold Yishadra (4/1) a beautiful bay filly by Storm Cat out of a Mr. Prospector mare.  Trainer Ceclaim7 reached deep into his pockets to get her and she is going to be one of the ones to beat.  She’s got a lot of gas going wire to wire in her only start.  Depending on who you talk to – they almost caught her at the wire or she was eased up, but either way she earned a 66 speed figure.  Eight race winner Anthony Sutton will ride.

Kithara (5/1) was a fast closing second in her debut at five furlongs and won easily in her second at 5 1/2.  Her top speed figure is a 71 and trainer Ovidus selected 14 % rider Laurie Sutton, wife of Anthony, to ride.  Kithara is by Gone West out of the Storm Cat mare Bastet.  Bastet was a nice mare in her time, winning 4 of her 33 starts and was a graded stakes winner.  Kithara is her only foal and comes in to this race with a top speed figure of 71.

In the outside stall will be Never Star (20/1), a roan filly by Starcraft out of a Runaway Groom mare.  Never Star won at first asking on the dirt over a “good” track after an okay performance on the turf.  She was close early and won by1/4 of a length and even though they hung the photo sign it wasn’t all that close according to trainer Nane5.  Never Star has the top speed figure in the race of 75 and was completely overlooked by the morning line people but maybe, it has more to do with jockey Rene LeBlanc who has yet to win a race this year, than the talented filly.

That is the field for this year’s Grade III Arizona Shoot-Out.  There is very little speed in the race and I would think Repeat Performance or Yishadra will try to take the lead out of the gate with Hoochie Glide, Button And Bows, Sounds Of Thunder and Kithara all close behind.  The closers will find it hard, but not impossible, to win at this distance.  Good luck to everyone.