Soul Hacker against nine in a Smokeshow.

Grade 1 winner Soul Hacker makes her 4-year-old debut in Smokeshow Cup.

The first of two fillies sired by Invincible Spirit in the lineup is from Francua, Soul Hacker (#7, 8-1). She got a late start to her career but came out running to break her maiden at first asking. Last season she ran through her conditions and was progressing very well when they took her to California for the Grade 1 Common Cup. At this 5.5 furlong distance the filly flew home to dust a field which included three Graded winners. The connections kept her happy and fit and enjoying the West Coast sunshine as she was entered to try two more Grade 1 Turf sprints. She responded by placing in both and earning a new speed badge of 110 in her latest. Her numbers suggest she’s ready for this test against older company. This lightly raced filly is looking for the upset at 8’s in the market.

Kingdamo’s Stakes winning mare, Aimonare (#4, 6-1) comes into the race fresh and with good form. The Air Force Blue mare was trending upwards at the end of her 3-year-old campaign and was properly placed by Kingdamo to begin life against older fillies and mares. By last summer she was still in terrific form after placing in two sprint Stakes events. Her breakthrough moment came August 19^th when she stormed from last to win the Matador in Victoria. She was a fading 8^th in the Grade 3 Everclear. She shook it off and was back in form last time out when a fast closing second in a 6 panel turf Stakes race. She equaled her speed badge of 105 on that day and needs to keep improving as she moves into Grade 1 waters now.

Lenny sends Supersonix (#9, 6-1) to England for this Grade 1 dance. The mare by Invincible Spirit won the Sakhees Flyreyev last April. She was even better in her next start when she earned a new speed badge of 108 when a rallying second in the Go Now. The 5-year-mare has been kept in terrific form and won back-to-back Stakes events at 5.5 furlongs earning a 107 and 105 figure. In her latest start she ran evenly in Italy when third to her stablemate. She immediately cuts back to a shorter distance and dives into Graded stakes racing. She’s got a winning attitude and has banked $414k for a high percentage barn. She looks like one of the main players in this field.

One of the classiest mares to meet the starter this Saturday will be Tenpoint’s Weight Management (#6, 7-2). The 5-year-old No Nay Never mare has 17 top three finishes in 23 career efforts. In her campaigns at 2 and 3 she took 3 wins but struggled to really cut through her conditions. But the light went on at the age of 4. She’s been handy, gritty and much faster. In May, she was a very good third when Supersonix was about a length better in second. The effort led to a soaring victory in Paris when she earned a new speed badge of 116. In August she won the Grade 3 Susanna Kallur with an impressive 114 speed figure. She ended her campaign by finishing on the edges in two tough assignments. Her race two-back would probably put her in or close to getting her picture taken on Saturday. She’ll try 5.5 panels for the first time. Her fastest races will win the Smokeshow and the question will be, do the connections have her ready.

Daniel’s Eir Guta (#8, 12-1) could supply speed to this Smokeshow on Saturday. The 4-year-old daughter of Gutaifan from a Redoute’s Choice mare is a six-time winner from 14 career starts. Her sire, Gutaifan had a short productive career and was fast over sprint distances. He’s passed on this ability to Eir Guta as she’s quick to get going and has shown a toughness to stay in some good spots. She’s four-time Stakes placed and lethal over soft ground. She doesn’t get the cut in the ground this Saturday but she’s been improving and should get to the front. Her game will be to bottom out the field and keep going. It’s a tall task but she comes from a high percentage barn and will be trained to the minute for this race.

Corza’s Plate of Thunder (#10, 4-1) is a 5-year-old mare by Night of Thunder. Bottom end of the pedigree has Snitzel so this one was probably well loved from get-go. She showed good jump in her juvenile races mostly at longer distances. At three she found a home running turf sprints and finished 7 times in-the-money, including two wins. Towards the end of her season the speed numbers were getting better and you can’t blame the connections for planning an ambitious 4-year-old season. Looking back she could’ve been dropped at any time to destroy opponents in a lesser race. She wasn’t and let’s give the Corza Crew props for this as she was running hard and very unlucky. Her third place in the Grade 2 Turf Queen with a speed badge of 111 is a terrific race. Two-back she ran a 109 when a fast-closing third in the Five Car Garage. She normally races slightly longer and was fourth in a Stakes race the last time she tried this distance.

Trotter has a late developing mare by St Mark’s Basilica set for the Show this weekend. Dynasilica (#5, 11-1) is a 4-year-old bay filly who didn’t make her first start until December of her juvenile season. She’s made ten career starts and in this field she’s a bit light in the speed category, but not by much. Her starts in 2023 were better as the season progressed and better as the races got tougher. She closed the campaign with 3 wins from her last 4 efforts. She’s got enough early jump to sit in the second flight and get first run on the leaders late. She’s still developing and if she improves her 104 speed badge it’ll make her a tough filly to handle late in this affair.

Corza’s other runner is Crystals Drive (#3, 40-1) a mare by Crystal Ocean. This mare was showing signs early last season but her form got muddy in the Spring. The connections ran her hard and got the distance blender out for her as they tried everything to get her back to solid form. She’s 1-11 at routes which clearly pointed them in another direction. They hope the new campaign is better than the old one. Her class and speed will be tested on Saturday and the market has ignored her.

Atthewire has One Hell of a Tale (#1, 3-1) as a mare generating steam from the oddsmaker. The 5-year-old by Tale of Ekati is the slight favorite in the market at 3’s. There is things to like about this runner from a high scoring outfit. The mare won her only turf sprint with a 106 speed figure. She has stayed happy and fit and consistent for about two years. But could only win four times and has five wins overall on her card. As a miler on dirt she was very competitive but usually came up short. This trip could be too sharp for her. She hasn’t run this short since her debut in 2021. The view on this mare is seems always runs her race and is more consistent than some of these so will she come up short again on a surface she just discovered. The punters will need to worry about her.

Kitten Cries (#2, 25-1) from Derbykings barn is a filly with loads of potential. A 4-year-old by Kitten’s Joy from a Street Cry mare won on debut in August of last year. It was the Large Marge Stakes at the trip she encounters on Saturday. Unfortunately she’s failed to duplicate the race while facing some tough assignments. She faced the starter two weeks ago in Italy and wasn’t involved at any part of the contest. The one-time winner needs to find more this weekend.  

Fastest Speed Badge	Fastest Speed LTO	Fastest Speed      T-5.5f	Graded Stakes Earnings	Wins
Weight Management	Soul Hacker	Supersonix	Soul Hacker	Supersonix
Plate of Thunder	One Hell of a Tale	Soul Hacker	Weight Management	Weight Management
Soul Hacker	Aimonare	Aimonare	Eir Guta	Eir Guta
One Hell of a Tale	Plate of Thunder	Dynasilica	One Hell of a Tale	Crystals Drive
Supersonix	Dynasilica	Plate of Thunder		One Hell of a Tale