Well matched field looks to provide thrills in Bright Account Stakes

It’s a big week for Virginia race fans this week, as the Bargain Bred Racing Series makes a stop in town, and we welcome our guest reporters to bright sunny Virginia. On the regular stakes card, three year old fillies are set to battle it out this week in the Bright Account Stakes. The race will run over seven and a half furlongs of turf, rated as firm for this event, and it carries a $45000 purse. This is the fourth year that Virginia has hosted the stakes, a springboard for these young fillies. Eleven of fifteen prior entrants have gone one to stakes wins, with the other four being at least stakes placed, an unusual record for a three year old open stakes. Generally a slower paced race, with a top winning speed of 94 for the first three runnings, the first two runnings were both taken gate to wire. This jinx was broken last year by Polaxed(KY), who nosed past race favorite Torch The Flame(KY) late to notch a thrilling quarter length victory. This year we have a field of six fillies, most still looking for their first taste of stakes glory. There is no real breakout early speed, and the early front runners should have plenty left for the second half. This is another one that should go right down to the wire. The odds reflect this, with four of the six entries going off between 2/1 and 9/2, with 6/1 and 13/1 bids rounding out the field. We should see some decent while not spectacular payouts at the betting windows, but it’s going to be tough to call this one.

PP 1) Sunday Peak(MN) Sired by Emigrant Peak, Trained by bdljuz. Sunday Peak(MN) sees action in her seventeenth career start here. After breaking her maiden in her second start of this season, she has run a mixture of low level allowance, claims and one stakes start. She is looking for her first stakes win. Her last ten starts have produced a record of 2-1-3-1-0, with a top speed number of 75.6 in her maiden win. Her last start was a 10K open claim right here in Virginia, where she never really managed to get going, finishing eighth in a field of ten. Twelve of sixteen starts have been on turf, and her average speeds have fared slightly better there, as has her success. The bulk of her running has been in the six to six and a half furlong range, and nearly all of her best runs have been in that range. In this distance range she has a third and a fourth place finish to show for three tries. She generally like to break just off the lead, and both career victories have come gate to wire in more slowly paced fields. Other than one start where she broke at the back and showed a very decent close, she has shown little inclination to play catch up if she can’t get a piece of the early action. Her trainer was obviously looking for a short field here to test her out at this level, but narrowly missed getting it. Look for her to break with the front runners early, but see hasn’t exhibited the speed she will need to be a real threat, and should most likely be fading as they hit the first call.

PP 2) A Kirbywinner(IRE) Sired by Danehill Dancer(IRE), Trained by mustwin. A Kirbywinner(IRE) takes the gate in start number thirteen in this race. She is an experienced stakes runner, but she is still trying to shake a jinx at this level and pick up her first win. She’s put together a 2-2-1-3-0 record in her last ten, showcasing a top speed of 90.4 on an off track two starts back. We saw her right her in Virginia in her last start, the Fantastic Ollie Handicap two weeks ago, where her close came way too late to be effective, finishing sixth in a field of eight. She has been on turf since her second career start, and her last race was the only time she has finished worse than fourth on the grass. She has done well anywhere from seven to eight furlongs, and in this distance range, she has three top three finishes from five tries. She is a deep closer, and her close has been the picture of consistency, although she has had a bit of trouble bringing it all the way home. This field is a double edged sword for her, with no real break out early speed meaning she shouldn’t have quite as much ground in the second half. It also means though that the frontrunners will have something left in the second half, which means she going to have to show a good jump as they pass the half pole. Her last race was the exception rather than the rule, so expect her to be right in the mix as they drive down the stretch.

PP 3) Flying Kitty(KY) Sired by Storm Cat, Trained by bigjet. Flying Kitty(KY) is a regally bred filly, coming into her fourteenth career start in this race. She is the only prior stakes winner in this field, with one stakes vitory coming last October. Her last ten starts have seen her run to a 1-2-3-1-1 record, posting a best speed of 88.3, a figure from the end of her two year old season which she duplicated last outing. She comes off a start in the Don’t Miss Out Handicap here in Virginia five weeks ago, where she didn’t find her legs till deep in the stretch, settling for a fourth place finish in a field of five. She spent the first half of her two year old season on dirt, but the switch to turf was a good one for her, and she hasn’t failed to collect a check in her eight starts since. She has shown comparable speeds at anywhere from six to eight furlongs, but this distance range has been her meal ticket, and she has finished top three in all three turf tries in this range. She runs as a midpack to deep closer, and while her close was quite consistent last year, she seems to be having some problems being effective this year. It is worth mentioning that her best run of this season came right at this distance. Her two flops were both in longer races, one of those on a yielding track, and her last was a shorter race where she ran out of real estate before she could get started. While she doesn’t hold the highest speed in this field, she does hold the highest average. She shouldn’t be far off the lead at the half, and if she gets her legs under her, she could be a serious threat down the stretch.

PP 4) Dumaani Punch(MD) Sired by Two Punch, Trained by kindone2. Dumaani Punch(MD) is a well run filly, making a field high nineteenth start in this race. She steps back up to stakes level for the first time since May of her two year old season, and is looking for that first stakes win. Over the course of her last ten starts, she has put up a record of 1-0-0-4-2, with her speeds topping out at 84.4 in her first start this season. Her last race was an open allowance at this distance on good dirt in Delaware, where she faded throughout, finishing eleventh in a field of fourteen. This will be the first ever turf start for this veteran dirt runner. Her sire Two Punch has not experience a lot of success among turf runners, but she does get a bit of a boost through Dumaani thorugh her dam. On dirt, her best range appears to be the six to six and a half range, though she does have a win and a place in six starts in the mile range. In this distance range, she has a single fourth place finish to show for four tries. She tends to break towards the head of the midpack, but she has shown very little real closing power in her last several starts. She’s a real wild card in this race. Many surface versatile runners like a bit longer race on turf than dirt, and that could put this distance right in the ballpark for her. If she likes the grass, a decent speed bump could put her right up there with the turf runners in this one. With only off track runs to give me any kind of clue, I’m going to have to pass on her in this one though.

PP 5) Terminus(IRE) Sired by St. Jovite, Trained by bursar. Terminus(IRE) runs in her eleventh career start in this race. This will be only her second career try at stakes level, and she seeks her first win against stakes competition here. Her ten starts have seen her run to a 4-1-1-0-2 record, posting a career best speed of 93.3 in her last start. That race was an A3x run at this distance in Maryland, where she bested a field of seven by a scant quarter length in a thriller. After lanquishing in two dirt starts, both against the boys, to begin her two year old campaign, the switch to turf paid immediate dividends, and she has four wins and six top three finishes in eight turf starts. She has had good success anywhere from six furlongs to a mile, and in this distance range, she boasts a win and a place in two tries. She is a deep closer, but her close has been a mixed bag this season, with two very nice runs mixed with two rather lackluster efforts. It is worth noting, though, that her two off races where at a furlong longer and a furlong and a half shorter than the distance here. Her other two were at this distance and at a mile, and she looked stellar in both of those starts. This field should provide a decent setup for her, and she seems to be improving quite a bit this season. At this distance in this field, I’m going to go out on a limb and sneak in a win bet on this filly here at 3/1 odds.

PP 6) Last Best Chance(PA) Sired by Attorney, Trained by mayflowers. Last Best Chance(PA) is looking at her twelfth career start here. She has recently stepped up to stakes level under her new trainer, her fourth, and is looking to grab her first career stakes win in this one. Her first eleven starts, the bulk of them in the claims and starter allowance ranks have lead her to a record of 3-3-1-1-1, showcasing a top speed of 88.2 which came two starts back. Her last run was a stakes race at this distance in Upper New York, where she fought hard into the stretch before fading to fourth in a field of five. She spent the first half of her career on dirt, with some mixed results, but switching to the grass bumped her average speeds by fifteen to twenty points, and she definitely seems more comfortable on this surface. All her turf starts have come between six and seven and a half, and she has a win and a place in three tries in this distance range on turf. She’s been breaking a stalker’s pace on turf, and it has worked well for her. She’s had at least a piece of the lead in several of her last starts, and her last victory came gate to wire. She has also shown the ability to close short gaps late when she needs to, showing she generally has something left late. She’s the most likely candidate to be a front runner in this one, and there is every possibility that she could hold a fairly good cushion at the half with something still left to give. She’ll have some hungry closers nipping at her heels in the second half, but I’d take a chance and box her in your trifectas here.