Undefeated Echo Pass headlines Squaw Valley Special
The Squaw Valley Special is a special treat for California racegoers. The $125k stake is for 2yos running a dirt mile, and has drawn the #2 and #20 ranked fillies, as well as a half-dozen more looking for a big scorein a relatively protected stake.
The favorite at 8-5 is Malekfarms’ Echo Pass. She’s undefeated in four starts including a superb win in the Equinics last out. Her big challenge here will be distance – she’s yet to go beyond 6.5f. As a daughter of Ghostzapper, out of a Giant’s Causeway hemare, there’s no reason yet to think she can’t handle some ground. The 90SP earned at 6f is somewhat worrisome, however, It’s rare to see a 2yo this fast this early sprinting that can that swiftness into a strong staying performance. She does need a decent race to merit a trip to the Breeders Bowl in five weeks and to keep her on track for end of year honors.
The 9-2 second betting choice is a DelPenn rep running for Goomba1. It Never Works is a nice little Street Cry filly entering off a maiden win. She loves to be up front, and if Echo Pass can’t hold on for a mile, It Never Works has proven she can run 8 panels and still have something left in the tank. The top SP of 77 isn’t exactly up to Echo Pass’ sterling 90, but hey, it’s still solid.
Making this a very DelPenn stake is the 5-1 entrant Cuda Won. Tidy4’s Zabeel filly has never run outside stakes, and she’s earned a fair but of success this way. Two turf sprint wins highlighted her 3-race starter set, but she switched to the main track last out for a very nice third sprinting. This will be her first route try. Lately Zabeel offspring have been more sprinty than routy, but she has enough stamina infused via damsire Gone West to support a trip around two turns. Have to like the way she improved SPs to mid 80s on the surface switch, and her experience in stakes can only help.
And we have yet another DelPenn entrant from the Borinquen stable. Emperatriz also enters off a maiden win, which like It Never Works was run over a mile. Unlike that other filly, Emperatriz likes to come from way way back, so the distance perfectly suits her slow and lazy gallop down the backside before she really starts to run in the stretch. The Empire Maker filly already has a solid 79SP earning for this distance, and should be contesting more and bigger stakes in the near future.
Finally we get a nonDelPenner in the 7-1 Creates. The Pulpit filly runs for Pjlstables, a resident of EAAA. Creates stands out in this crowd by virtue of back to back wins a a mile including a stake last out. The 74 and 76SPs she has earned at 8f isn’t exactly world-beating speed, but she has a really nice consistent stalkerish style that should serve her well.
Greedy Gretchen gave chase to Echo Pass two back in a listed stake but couldn’t quite hold on and settled for third. Since then she racked up a second dirt sprint stakes win, and has been loafing in the barn for about nine weeks. Driver1000 (unaffiliated with any residency) bred the Chief Seattle filly from a Quiet American mare who preferred to mile. The upside to Gretchen is that her best SP (80) was earned in her longest race (6.5f). Nice to see her step it up in competition a bit.
Leesnyder hopes to Save the Day for Vermont. The Langfuhr filly started her career in fine fashion with a pair of wins against residency-restricted company but when facing open she faltered somewhat. A third in a 6f G3 on a wet track was good enough to prompt a G2 effort at 6.5, but Save The Day didn’t, finishing a well-beaten sixth. Pedigree is packed with sprinters, so the owner likely hopes Noholme II’s influence from the greatgrandad position wins out.
The final entrant, Rman’s Tap Tap Tap, represents Minnesota Downs. The Tapit filly also won a maiden last out at a mile, and reminds me very strongly of Emperatriz and It Never Works. The three fillies have nearly identical records, their real difference only in pedigree. And of course Tap3 is a striking gray filly thanks to her sire’s color propensities. Tap3 actually has a more than decent chance here. She improved mightily on stretch out and hasn’t exactly been tested by anything of great quality yet.
On paper Echo Pass is the clear class of the field, but the distance makes it a big question for her. The other seven fillies all have legit chances. It’s rare to see such a quality field of evenly-matched fillies outside the graded ranks. While Echo Pass already has a date with the Breeders Bowl booked, Creates could conceivably sneak in with a win here. The rest don’t have a chance at the big dance, but fall grades are fast approaching and a super race here could catapult into the big stuff coming up. The Squaw Valley Special should be a fun one for racefans simwide.