All Equal In First Start On The Grass

All Equal In First Start On The Grass

Mississippi –  A small field of five 2 YO fillies will all try the turf for the first time in the $45,000, six furlong, Purple Wing Bonanza.  Heavy rains late Thursday morning left the course in what will surely be classified as yielding by Saturday.  Purple Wing is an 6 YO mare by In The Wings who won six of 46 starts and is stakes placed.  She has one foal to race – a maiden.

Clouds promising rain and a freshening wind greeted me as I made my way trackside early Thursday morning.  I wanted to catch the entrants in their last workouts before Saturday’s race.  First on the track was the petite dark bay filly, Ermington Celeb (9/5).  She came by with the pony and looked a bit bewildered, mothering up to the pony as she went around the track.  She will be making he first start and is being thrown to the wolves by owner/trainer Pigeon5 who likes to find out early whether they will sink or swim.  Looking for only his 5th win of the year, Ernie Witter will take the reins of this daughter of Pientre Celebre.

Bonefort Cavalery (9/5) is a light chestnut filly by Forty Niner and is conditioned by Ksparrow.  She came by me in a two minute lick pulling strongly.  She won her debut on the main track and followed that up with a closing second last time out in a conditioned allowance at six furlongs.  She was certainly hitting the ground well and looked deserving of her favored status.

Agate Lake (3/1) came by in a slow gallop under a tight hold.  By Exploit, this pretty bay filly has a first and a second over the main track.  She followed up her maiden win with a big  run late in the Doctor Jo Ann last time out and has been trained throughout her career by Ads2.

Not For Kirby (7/2) is by Not For Love and is trained by 4play.  She is a dark bay or brown, big-eared filly who has three wins notched on her belt.  She has two allowance wins and was a closing second last time out in The Repulsively Pop at longer.  She has experience on her side and looked fit and ready as she blew down the lane in a short lung-opener.

Queer sends out the undefeated bay filly Sally Hemings (10/1), the longshot on the morning line.  By Colonial Affair, she came by in a slow gallop, her white feet flashing over the track.  Her connections hope that she will handles an off turf course as well as she handled an off dirt track in Mexico.  With her breeding she should be a monster when the distances lengthen out.