The FOREST HANNAH(GB) Memorial Stakes

The FOREST HANNAH(GB) Memorial Stakes
A mile and three quarters
Firm Turf
$70,000
Fillies and mares, 3 years old and up

The ground is riding well and we have a hot favourite for this long 14 furlong marathon.  The runners are:

BUSKER(IRE)

Trainer: bigskyfarm

(High Chaparral (IRE) x Nureyev x Forty Niner)

Odds: 6/1                                Earnings: 710,995                  Runs/Wins: 38/14

Master Stable : Lilbitfarm Stables

Turf Long Rank : 34

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Nasha Watete Memorial (Argentina)

                                    The Slipstream Challenge (Washington)

                        2007    The S. Well Challenge (Denmark)

                                    The Giolla Padraig Special (Longchamp)

                                    The Jen Jen Jaroo Stakes (Longchamp)

                                    The Doctor Caliope(GB) Handicap (Arkansas)

                        2006    The Prospector Dancer Special ((Wisconsin)

                                    The Bart’s Era Stakes (Victoria)

                                    The Sandy Bat Bonanza (Louisiana)

                                    The Your Strawberry Stakes (South Africa)

                                    The La Cecil Challenge (Taiwan)

A 5yo mare bred from a G class mare.   A winning mare who has been very successful for her stable over the last few years and who is still capable of making a good play when it suits her.  She’s recently been targeted towards short fields, which suggests to me that her trainer is beginning to lose faith in her and I would not be surprised to see her retired in the not too distant future.  This is not a distance she will relish and she may even struggle to find a money place which is a crying shame.

ALPINE WINGS(IRE)

Trainer: foxon4

(Azamour (IRE) x In The Wings(GB) x Rhythm)

Odds:  5/2                   Earnings: 335,384                  Runs/Wins: 23/9

Master Stable : Foxon Stables

Turf Long Rank : 135

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Jawing For Groom Challenge (Longchamp)

                        2007    The Sister Bro(IRE) Bonanza (Spain)   

A 4yo scratch bred filly bred by paschal. A short priced favourite that has been in some very tough races lately but had her first outing at this distance last time in a restricted G1, where she put up an excellent SP#.  On that kind of form she will be extremely hard to beat and if she leads out as per usual will be difficult to peg back.  Her last stakes win was here and she looks a good bet to repeat that placing.

MAADLY(TUR)

Trainer: claimace

(Manila x Broad Brush x Boldnesian)

Odds:  6/1                   Earnings: 407,620                  Runs/Wins: 19/5

Master Stable : Jacklad Empire

Turf Long Rank : 10

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Dancewithatigress Handicap (Queensland)

                        2007    The Mississippi North memorial (Victoria)

                                    The Polar Affair Challenge (North Korea)

A 4yo scratch bred mare. Another mare whose recent form is better than her finishes may suggest, posting her best SP# in her last race over the full two miles.  We know her stamina is not in question but the big challenge will be finding a turn of speed over the last furlong sufficient to catch the fast starting favourite, and that may just be too tall an order over this shorter distance.

ROBBER BBOR

Trainer: simond5

(Soviet Star x Polish Precedent x No Robbery)

Odds: 7/1                    Earnings: 149,919                  Runs/Wins: 36/9

Master Stable : Hornedfrog Stables

Turf Long Rank : 220

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Red Damselfly(GB) Stakes (Mississippi)

A 5yo scratch bred mare bred by killerz. She took an absolute age to finally break her maiden tag and eventually wound up in a $2,500 claimer from which her previous trainer claimed her.   Her current trainer was happy to claim her for $150,000, a gamble that was rewarded with a stakes win four months later.  Since then she has struggled to repeat that performance and was well beaten by Alpine Wings(IRE) over this distance so this will definitely be a struggle.

NIGHT DANCER

Trainer: b4rca

(Night Shift x Shirley Heights(GB) x Native Dancer)

Odds:  7/2                   Earnings: 291,392                  Runs/Wins: 39/7

Master Stable : B4rca Stables

Turf Long Rank : 127

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Horn Knee Buda Handicap (Italy)

A 5yo scratch bred mare.  She seems to have hit the form of her life over 12 furlongs recently, winning her first stakes race.  She will need to repeat that over this longer distance though in order to reverse recent losses to both Alpine Wings(IRE) and Maadly(TUR), and I don’t think the extra two furlongs will be a lot of help to her. 

K’S KACHET

Trainer: vertigo2

(Pine Bluff x Roberto x Northern Dancer)

Odds:  6/1                   Earnings: 567,288                  Runs/Wins: 36/14

Master Stable : Pompeya Thoroughbred Racing Corporation

Turf Long Rank : 25

Stakes Wins : 2008    The S. Mama Stakes (Wyoming)

                                    The Brush Christy Challenge (Maine)

                                    The Calm Crawler Challenge (N. California)

                        2006    The Mother Babe Bonanza (N. California)

                                    The Twilight pass Challenge (Newmarket)

                                    The Sky Mixing Special (Nevada)

                                    The Dry Rain Memorial (Utah)

A 6yo scratch bred mare.  Hs wins over both Alpine Wings(IRE) and Busker(IRE) to her credit so it’s difficult to see just why she isn’t a shorter price.  Presumably some very poor performances earlier on this year have put a lot of people off but at 6/1 this fast finishing mare could be the bet of the day.

NEW EDGE(IRE)

Trainer: turfwinner

(Generous(IRE) x Pleasant Colony x In The Wings(GB))

Odds:  7/1                   Earnings: 164,404                  Runs/Wins: 21/6

Master Stable : Twinhollow Stables

Turf Long Rank : 375

Stakes Wins : 2008    The Zinc Nijinsky Handicap (Sweden)

A 5yo scratch bred mare bred by notaxmax. An auction purchase as a 4yo this mare has been a fairly solid allowance runner for her trainer, and her stakes victory came in a short handed race over 10.5 furlongs.  This distance will probably be far too long for her and I can’t see her featuring much because of this.

IRISH INVENTOR(IRE)

Trainer: upgrade

(Desert King (IRE) x Galileo (IRE) x Gulch)

Odds:  17/1                 Earnings: 136,723                  Runs/Wins: 38/6

Master Stable : Tulloch Stables

Turf Long Rank : 94

Stakes Wins : N/A

A 5yo mare based on an E class horse and bred by longnose.  A mare that has been through many hands via claiming races until her current trainer secured her for just $2,000.  Since then she has put in some nice winning runs in starter allowances and has placed in a couple of stakes runs.  Sadly this race features a much higher level of competitor and life will not be so easy for her this time.

KIRBY’S RAINBOW(AUS)

Trainer: stupendous

(Fastnet Rock (AUS) x Rainbow Quest x Awesome Again)

Odds:  25/1                 Earnings: 62,200                    Runs/Wins: 19/8

Master Stable : Red Dirt Runners

Turf Long Rank : 294

Stakes Wins :

A 3yo scratch bred filly bred by kirby4jeep.  Another filly that has been through the claiming ranks, changing hands a few times before eventually being claimed for £25,000 a couple of races back.  She immediately rewarded that faith with an allowance victory but this race is a whole different ballgame and she needs to find a completely new level to her running if she is to make a dent here..

Summary

A nice field of mares and fillies ready to battle it out over this marathon race for our entertainment.  There are a few runners who look very hot just now and with that in mind I think K’s Kachet, who has some winning recent form over some of the more fancied runnere here,  is probably running warmest of all at the moment.