Short Field Draws into I Said Be Quiet Classic
One of our undercard graded stakes this weekend prior to the featured Caribbean will be the Grade III I Said Be Quiet Classic. This race, which will be the fifteenth on the Saturday racing card in Florida and the race immediately preceding the Caribbean is held over the dirt oval at seven furlongs and is open to three year old fillies. Last year’s winner of the annual I Said Be Quiet Classic was Turf Angel, who of course, will not be running in the race again due to age restriction. The weather here in Florida has been free of rain all week until today when showers struck late in the afternoon. More rain is expected Thursday and Friday, but in all likelihood the track will probably be dried out by post time on Saturday. Things are starting to head up here in Florida with a forecasted high of 78 degrees on Saturday. Some trainers may have opted to go for bigger prizes this weekend or avoided a track that potentially may not dry out by post time, but currently, we have seven fillies that will be going to the gate this Saturday.
1. Mazurka – pigeon – C. Faucher – 20/1
Selecting the rail in this seven furlong sprint is this lovely chestnut filly (Giant’s Causeway x Galileo (IRE) x Unbrilded), who is out of the stakes placed mare Anna Karenina (IRE).. The Kentucky-bred filly is raced by Wests Tigers and has been lightly raced with a total of nine career starts. Her last start came last month during a six furlong allowance caliber race over a sloppy track where the filly finished second, off the pace of the leader by length with a speed figure of eighty. The filly has primarily been raced over the turf in her previous starts until pigeon picked up the filly in a $60,000 claiming race in South Africa. Despite this, the filly has never finished worse than second in a dirt race. Of her three dirt starts, only one was a win. This came hen the filly broke her maiden as a two year old over five and a half furlongs and set speed figure of sixty-three. Though she is somewhat inexperienced over the surface of dirt and she was previously in a claimer, there appears to be no doubt that the filly can run over the dirt and at least be a successful allowance racer. This Saturday will be the fillies stakes debut.
2. Fatale – pr – O. Barrett – 3/1
In the second slot of the seven horse field is this chestnut filly (Grand Slam x Forestry x Easy Goer) who was also bred in the heartland of thoroughbred racing, Kentucky. The fillies most recent start came last month in the seven furlong listed Fried Camcorder Special in Massachusetts. The filly broke out of the second post position and went straight for the lead and never looked back during the entire seven furlong race, winning by one and one-fourth lengths with a lifetime best speed figure of ninety-seven. The chestnut filly has consistently been running ninety-plus speed figures for her last five starts, all of which have been listed stakes races. Her worst finish of these starts were a couple of fourth place finishes in the Rotten Ant (NZ) Challenge an the North Stock Stakes., both of which were also routes instead of sprints. The filly will be making her first graded stakes start this weekend and despite never having started in a graded stakes, looks like she could be an on the board threat in this small field of the I Said Be Quiet Classic.
3. Kepler Tintus (JPN) – teaplanter – W. Mayberry – 39/1
The longshot of the I Said Be Quiet Classic is this Japanese-bred filly (Rock Of Giblartar (IRE) x A.P. Indy x Sadler’s Wells), who is out of the graded stakes winning mare Kepler Grape. The bay fillies last start came last month in a nine furlong allowance caliber race overseas in New South Wales where the filly finished sixth in the race, eight and one-fourth lengths back from the winner with a speed figure of seventy-five. The filly is returning to the dirt this weekend after a five-race detour to the turf. Her last dirt start came in February of this year during a nine furlong allowance race in Ireland where she finished fourteen lengths back. The filly has won one race over the dirt, which was when she broke her maiden as a two year old. Other than this win, her best dirt finish was a third place finish in an allowance race in Epsom when she was more than seven lengths off the pace. Her other dirt starts leave the filly a combined forty-four lengths off the lead. Though it doesn’t seem that the dirt is this fillies forte and she is probably outclassed by the rest of this field, we’ll she if she can pull and upset this Saturday for Goytus Stables
4. Bassett Girl – jockster – L. Buchta – 3/1
In the middle post for the I Said Be Quiet Classic is this chestnut filly (Woodman x Turkoman x Storm Cat), who is out of the race winning mare Turcat. The chestnut fillies most recent start came last month in Eastern Kentucky during the seven furlong DelPenn Beaumont (G3) where the filly broke out of the fourth post position here as well and went straight to the lead in the seven furlong dirt sprint. She led the entire field down to the stretch where she was caught by a couple late closing fillies and settled three and one-fourth lengths off the pace in third, though setting a lifetime best speed figure of one hundred one in her first graded stakes on the board finish. The filly has been running fairly consistently in the nineties and high eighties in speed figures over the dirt and has the second highest best lifetime speed figure of any filly in this years I Said Be Quiet Classic.
5. Lursa – wenlock – P. McJulien – 9/5
Pre-race betting favorite is this Kentucky-bred chestnut filly (Cat Thief x Northern Dancer x Miswaki) who will be breaking from the fifth post. She has been lightly raced with seven career races, the majority of which have come over the turf. Her most recent start came last month in Illinois during the Jockey Guild Stakes (G3) over eight and half furlongs over a good dirt track. The filly broke out of her sixth place post and slid into fourth, stalking just off the pace before moving into second at the turn. She lost it in the stretch, however, and finished back where she began her race, four lengths back in fourth, though setting a speed figure of one hundred on the off-track dirt. Her previous and only other dirt start of her career came over eight furlongs in the We Get Signal Stakes (G3) where the filly finished second, just off the pace by three-fourths of a length with a speed figure of one hundred two, the highest of any filly in this years I Said Be Quiet Classic. Wenlock Stables will be cutting the distance back in this dirt start to see how the chestnut filly takes to the sprint. Her previous starts over the turf have all been impressive, her worst finish came in the Whodini Shootout (G2( where she finished fourth, which is far from a disappointment.
6. Fire West – graywolf9 – W. Graziano – 5/1
In the sixth slot is Florida’s own homebred, the Wolf’s Den owned bay filly (Fire Slam x Bright Launch x Gone West), who is the only Florida-bred in Saturday’s race. Her most recent start came last month in the six furlong Warfare Farm Stakes (G3) where the filly finished fifth, three lengths off the pace after making a late run at the wire after sitting off the pace in ninth. The filly topped the race off with a speed figure of ninety-four. The bay filly has been an impressive allowance winner for Wolf’s Den but has yet to win a stakes race, though the bay filly did finish second in the listed La Yokel Handicap over six furlongs last March. Her best graded finish to date was her last start in the Warfare Farm Stakes. Though the filly may not be an immediate threat to the top three finishes in the race, through it is possible, you could definitely look for to come out with an in the money finish in this weekends race.
7. Silver Splendor – squity – R. Maire – 5/1
In the far outside post of our seven horse field is this striking light gray filly (Badge Of Silver x Danzig x Seattle Slew) who is proudly raced by Baggio Stables. The royally bred Kentucky-bred filly had her most recent start last month in the Pebbles Flintstone Stakes (G2) over seven furlongs in Nebraska. The filly broke out of an outside post position here as well and got up into the third place position, just off the pace of the front runners. It wouldn’t last however, as the light gray filly dropped back on the turn and the stretch after going wide in the race to finish four lengths back in sixth. Her most recent win came in the listed Fern Indy Stakes where she won by one and one-half lengths with a speed figure of ninety-one after stalking the leader in second. The filly has only had three dirt starts to date however, the majority of her races coming over the turf. The filly was successful over the turf, particularly as a two year old, winning all but four of her eight two year old starts. She was switched to dirt earlier this year after a disappointing finish in the Whodini Shootout (G2) where she went up against I Said Be Quiet Stakes Favorite, Lursa and finished ninth in the six furlong race.
Sorria’s Picks
Win: Lursa
Place: Bassett Girl
Show: Fatale