Catch Your Breath In The Second Wind Sprint

Welcome to the inaugural running of The Second Wind Sprint! We have 12 nice fillies and mares making a run at this 7F G1 event. A few of the higher ranked fillies have a distant shot at making the Breeder’s Bowl if they can take home the victory on Saturday. Let’s take a look!

Tsunami’s silver-haired mare Ten Bucks arrives as the eldest runner among the 12 fillies and mares entered in Saturday’s race. Ten Bucks will be hitting the track for the 52^nd time in her career. The mare saw the height of her career come and go as a 4yo, two years ago — within that year she was, at best, stakes placed in an owner-restricted race. Her last trip to the winner’s enclosure came more than a year ago in restricted allowance company. From January to September of this year Ten Bucks has been sent to the starting gate 14 times! This mare is screaming to be retired. She has zero chance to hit the top 3.

Strike The Beat(tur) is relatively new to the ranks of graded company and seems to be struggling to find her place amongst these. Her best finish in graded company was 6^th of 17. She has struggled in basic overnight stakes, as well, with her best finish again 6^th of 12. This raises the question of the filly’s class. Another con to meguire’s trainee is her poor performance on offtracks. Her last victory came in March, 6 months ago, in restricted allowance company. With that said, Strike The Beat(tur) does have a nice string of triple digit speed figures, but those will need to improve a little bit to be in contention here.

Crystal Seer is a multiple stakes winner, but when it has come to graded company she’s run into a few brick walls. Borrow’s filly, however, has begun coming into her own as a 4yo. She is currently riding a 2-race winning streak in restricted allowance company. Crystal Seer’s last 5 starts have brought 3 victories and two 2^nd place finishes. She has shown an interest in running on off tracks with her 2^nd by ¾ length three back over a short 5.5F event. Seven furlongs is no problem for her. Will need to improve slightly in her speed figures. Keep Crystal Seer in mind to hit the board.

Pazbarn’s filly is the deserving favorite of this race. She spent a good portion of her sophomore season running on the turf. Last winter she made a switch back to the main track. Pegasus Prayer has made 12 trips to the track already this year, which is fairly frequent for a filly of her caliber, however, she looks like she may be thriving on the tight racing schedule. She recently became a stakes winner just two starts back at the beginning of August. Pegasus Prayer’s speed figure for that 7F race was a career best 112sp. Last time out she attempted to wire the G2-Go For It Handicap but was caught late and settled for 2^nd beaten by a short ¼ length with a 107sp. She is a live favorite.

This mare is a great example of why one shouldn’t give up on a 2yo too soon… hold on to ‘em for 3 years! J Actually, Cold Gridlock did not race as a 3yo or a 4yo. This year she has made 13 starts to the track winning on distances of 6.5F, 7F, and 8F. Her lone stakes attempt came four back over 9F. Cold Gridlock closed from the back to finish 5^th of 9. Her most recent start came in a restricted 7F allowance where she hung back about 10 lengths in last and closed rapidly down the lane to win by 1 length with a very nice 107sp. This will be a big step up in class for her, but she looks to like the distance and will appreciate a quick pace up front. Mystery horse has an outside shot to surprise.

Billet Doux(jpn) comes from the powerful group of trainers that make up the Super Stables. The filly has made just two trips to the winner’s circle in her 9 starts this year with her career best speed figure coming 3 back in a 6.5F open allowance; Billet Doux(jpn) won the race with authority and a 114sp. She appears to have bounced in her trip back to the track in a 7.5F overnight stakes, struggling home last of 7 with a measly 89sp. Last time out, however, restored faith in her followers as the filly cruised home 2^nd, beaten by 1 length with a 104sp, in a 6.5F overnight stakes. Of her 3 stakes starts, last time out’s 2^nd place finish was her best. She could rally for an on the board finish if she doesn’t throw another clunker out there.

Magpie Fever is an interesting entry to this field. The 4yo chestnut is a hardworking filly in the classic division. This season has seen her put together a record of 8: 0-4-3 — talk about a bridesmaid ready to become the bride! Magpie’s last victory came in a 12F starter allowance in December. One must go back to September of last year to find her last start in a sprint; the race was a 7F $7500 claimer. Magpie closed quickly to finish 2^nd within ½ length of the winner. She has since matured, running in the triple digit speed figures regularly for the past 6 starts. She is also one that has a love affair with the mud having won 3 of her 4 trips on the wet stuff. Vawomen’s trainee has won on a muddy 7.5F claimer in July of 2007. Another positive is that Magpie Fever has finished 3^rd and 2^nd in a G1 and G2, respectively, in her last two starts. It will be very interesting to see what she does being dropped back down to sprints. Keep an eye on her.

Thunderinthedark is a very lightly raced 5yo mare. Jsbstables has been waiting patiently on the mare to mature which she looks to be doing finally. She is the freshest horse in this race with only 2 starts this year, one in March (4^th) and one in August (1^st). Her last start came in a 7F restricted allowance race. Thunder was quick out of the gate, taking the lead and stretching out nicely to win with a 105sp. If that’s an indication of things to come then it’s a good one. Her lone stakes attempt came last September on a sloppy 6.5F course; Thunder finished 5^th of 8 that day. In 3 attempts on an off track the mare has failed to hit the top 3. Both that and her questionable class make me weary of picking her to finish on the board this time around. Nice mare with a good future.

Pisanof’s mare is another fairly fresh horse coming into Saturday’s event; Falkish(ire) will be making her 5^th start this year, and first trip back up to graded company. The first and last time she attempted to run in this league resulted in an 8^th place finish of 13 runners. She has won an overnight stakes (after several attempts). This brings into question her class. Falkish(ire) does enjoy offtracks, however, finishing ITM in 5 of her 6 starts on the slop. If she is to be competitive Saturday Falkish(ire) will need to improve in her speed figures by about 8 points. Should be running close to the front early on.

Fifth Street comes from the ever-competitive stables of Lenny. A second thing that adds an edge to this silver filly is the fact that she’s made four trips to the winner’s enclosure in her 7 starts on the dirt this season; in her other 3 trips on the dirt have seen her finish 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th. The third perk here is that Fifth Street loves the mud — winning 3 of 4 starts. Fifth Street is a G1 winner. She has been improving consistently in speed figures this year, topping out at 106 last time out. I personally do not see many things to knock Fifth Street for. Great bet to upset the favorite!

Erendira Sweet is another who is improving according to her speed figures, however, she has not been showing the same consistency that she displayed as a 2yo. She appears to have an infinity for the off track if her lone start in which she finished an honest 2^nd (104sp) has anything to say. Erendira’s filly is also a multiple stakes winner. On the other hand, when it comes to graded races, the filly has only managed 10^th and 6^th. She runs best close up to the pace, either leading or sitting just off the pace. If her trainer decides to rate her much more than that then I don’t think she’s hit the board. Decent chance, but I like others better.

Bucks Big City is 2 for 2 on the mud which will help her out a lot on Saturday. The bay filly has struggled a bit in overnight stakes, though, which isn’t such a great thing. She prefers to lag at the rear of the field and then making a big run down the lane. There should be a quick honest pace up front set by several fillies; the filly will need to get moving a little quicker, though, to catch some of these. Her speed figures are good. She’s only won twice this year in 9 starts, both in restricted allowances. Buck has made one start in graded company, two years ago in the G3-Desert Filly Juvenile. She finished 4^th, beaten by less than 2 after closing rapidly. Could surprise, but I think Bucks Big City may be a better miler now that she has improved.

1^st: Fifth Street (8/1) — Very consistent filly with improving speed figures, scored 3 of 4 wins on offtracks, loves the distance, G1 winner.

2^nd: Pegasus Prayer (5/1) — will be running on the lead, has good speed & class, enjoys this distance & has finished on the board 2 of 4 times on offtracks

3^rd: Magpie Fever (7/1) — improving filly that has won 3 of 4 trips on offtracks & finished ITM in all 4 of those starts, has been running strictly over classic distances for the past year, graded placed, hasn’t won in a year

4^th: Crystal Seer (6/1) — on the board finish in lone offtrack start, improving, on winning streak, multiple stakes winner, questionable graded company class

5^th: Billet Doux(jpn) (8/1) — comes in with great connections & good improvement lately, hasn’t proven she likes the off track and has been fairly inconsistent.