Black Gold Stakes – There Be Gold In them HILLS

Race ID: 3679.5515

Black Gold Stakes

Grade 1 – A Mile and One Quarter on the turf for fillies and mares 3 and Up

A field of ten meets in Queensland this week to take down the $400,000 purse in the grade one Black Gold Stakes.

1. XTRA SMART – Four year old Smart Strike mare out of ejdstable is 9-1 on the morning line.  Relatively lightly raced she has 5 wins in 17 lifetime races and posted her career best speed figure at 9 furlongs when she blew up a 110 to win the G3 Panhandle Oaks in October of last year. Since then she has bounced around at several distances with mixed results but the stakes win at 10f back in April is encouraging as 9-10 appears to be her preferred distance. Early in her career she was a speed ball but she has been attempting to rate more so she has speed that can be used anyway jockey S DeBerg chooses.

2. BOTJEU TETE – You see a lot of “TETE’S” running around in the sim and this one is a 5 yr old Montjeu X Kingmambo mare with 24 career races and 15 in the money finishes. She’s has been testing longer distances since March and has been achieving pretty good results. Her last try at graded was at today’s distance back in September of 2007 in the Grade 1 World Cup Ladies Turf where she finished a respectable 4^th. She’s usually in the thick of things for you exotic bettors but I am going to have to seek others for the top spot.

3. MOSTLY IN BROWN – Odds makers love this 5 year old Theatrical mare who has been installed as the 5/2 favorite in today’s contest. She ran a beautiful 106 finishing 3^rd in the highly contested Smackdown and should be primed for a big effort today. She runs for Jakematt under the Delpenn colors and shows every indication that she will do them proud. She tends to run from off the pace and the primary question is how far back will she be? If jockey M Radke can keep her 5-6 lengths back at most I really like her chances.

4. BOLD BULLET – This four year old mare has been doing her best running on the grass at the longest of distances (between 14-16 furlongs) and shortens up for the first time since July of 07. She will be the pacemaker or right near the lead in today’s affair and is a good chance to outrun her 16-1 morning line odds. I’d like to give trainer twoofus special mention for purchasing this beautiful Red Bullet in auction back in 2006. She has done nothing but earn since then and is a fine addition to any stable.

5. HORRIFYING STORM – Four year old Storm Cat X Danzig X Lyphard is lightly raced with only 16 lifetime races to her credit, but she has gotten good in a hurry. She broke through the graded barrier last time out when she won the Grade 1 Flounder Turf Distaff at 10.5 furlongs over the yielding NewMarket turf. She will have no problem with today’s distance as it is well within her range and her race pattern screams that she is going to run a big race as she tends to string together big runs after a bounce (two back). Trainer Jrogue has a really beautiful mare on his hands who should continue to flourish well into her 5 yr old campaign in 09.

6. HAMMER DROP – Tees of EAAA Racing brings this 4 year old Powerscourt mare to today’s race off a nice open stakes race at 10 furlongs. She has a bit of a case of seconditis with 8 placing in 23 lifetime starts so it would be hard to see her grabbing the top spot today but she has proven the eye of her connections who claimed her for 30k back in September 2007.

7. KUCHIKI – Three year old High Chaparral filly is the longest shot on the board today at 19-1 as she takes on older but there are glimmers of hope for her connections. She finished a solid 3^rd last out in the 9 furlong Grade 2 Bluto Cup and has handled today’s distance successfully two back. That being said she has her work cut out for her as she needs significant improvement over her career best 101 to grab a share of today’s race.

8. PUBLIK ENEMY – Despite spelling that would appall any grammar teacher the odds makers have instilled this 6 yr old Rainbow Quest mare as the 7-2 second choice. She is extremely seasoned with 36 lifetime races and nearly a million dollars earned in her career. Her last two races have seen her form deteriorate but if she bounces back to her 4/19 effort in the G2 Adrian Adonis Stakes (106 over 10 furlongs) she could likely win the day here. She does her best running 5-7 furlongs back of the leaders and if she fires trainer ledwith may be dancing in the winner’s circle.

9. EXOTIC FILM – Wins my seal of approval as best named horse in this field the name is provocative without being sleazy. This three year old filly is the most modestly bred (Halling X Palace Music X Mountain Cat) so breeder Dwightski deserves some major kudos for her success. She is 13-7-3-1 lifetime so she is ultra consistent. She ran a big time 105 over 8 furlongs in a stakes win last out but the longest she has ever gone is 9.5 furlongs so distance is a major concern. For those reasons I will pass but once again major kudos.

10. FAMOUS INDY – I believe you sim readers are among some of the smartest people out there and I’m willing to guess at least one of you guessed this one was sired by super stud A.P Indy. Running for Cobra Kai Racing this gal is the greenest with just 8 career starts. She has run 11-12 furlongs her last 4 races (finishing a strong 2^nd in the Adelaide Oaks three back) and should love being shortened up a bit today. She often gets up to 16 furlongs back and then makes a dramatic surge so look for her to get running late and make the biggest move of all at the end. A win wouldn’t shock me but she will need significant improvement (which I expect) to her lifetime bests. Fear does not exist in this stable, no sensei.

OUTLOOK: I give the edge to the older runners in today’s race due to their seasoning and edge in experience. MOSTLY IN BROWN looks like a legitimate favorite but from a betting perspective I like BOLD BULLET for value at 16-1 as I think she will be close to if not on the lead and she easily could hang on for a share. FAMOUS INDY should fare the best of the three year old contender’s so look for her to round out the trifecta and pick up a share.