Grade I Green Lady May Decide Division Leader

The Green Lady Handicap

Grade I

Six and one half furlongs

Firm Turf

$500,000

Fillies and mares, 4 years old and up

Welcome to the crisp, autumnal confines of Ontario Racecourse.  Most of the top ranked older female turf sprinters have arrived, along with some pretenders.  The battle up front will be fierce, which may allow the favored runners to pick up the pieces.  For that reason, I’ll put my money on 5/2 ASSAULTED(ENG).

1 96068 THREE TAPS(KY)  slewsback  C Muncie  8/1    

The Tapit mare is ranked 45th in this division.  She took a nice step forward after turning four, and has recorded three stakes wins this year.  She followed her biggest figure, a 109 in the Alyscorn in Washington, with a tepid 98 in Northern California two weeks later.  I’d figure a reasonable rebound is likely, but her usual speed is about 101-103, so will that be good enough?

2 82196 DEHENNY(KY)  tsunami01  V Luong  99/1    

Strange story – she was claimed by tsunami01 in April for $2k, then fed a steady diet of Grade 1s (!) in which she was often distanced.  The lone exception was a winning effort in a 155 CPU allowance.  She’s got back class as a stakes winner on dirt with triple digit speeds, but the wear and tear factor must be getting to her after 42 races with three months left on her 4 year old year.  Still, a better bet than Washington Mutual.

3 15426 WONDERGIRL EDEN  zeco5  V Townsend  6/1    

By contrast, a 6-year-old Storm Cat with only 30 races, but she is not a stakes winner.  That resume omission is countered by a nose-out loss in the Grade 1 World Vision.  Restricted though it was, she put up a 107, and that plus a fifth in the Hoover at this track last out was enough to rank her 30th in the division.  Nice tracking style, but sometimes spins her wheels in the stretch.  Worth trying in exacta and trifecta positions at least.

4 107949 INFLECTION(GB)  sanatarium  P Ashmore  7/1    

5-year-old Pivotal was third in that Hoover on August 30th, and she’s running as well as she ever has.  The frontrunner type was four lengths clear but caught by returning foes ASSAULTED(ENG) and ALBERTA FIRE .  It will take quite some doing to avoid the same fate, but it still might happen.  It would have been better if she could have kept top jock Linville, but maybe Ashmore will be more successful harnessing her speed.

5 124006 IDOLATRIA(KY)  victoryrun  T Sherr  5/1    

This Buddha babe is 7th in the division, getting a quick break after finishing behind SJ’S SJ(KY) and WONDERGIRL EDEN in the World Vision in early August.  She’ll be pushing up front as well, and while that has served her well in a pair of Grade 3 wins this season, it could be her undoing amongst this bunch – the top turf sprint closers are here as well.

6 133626 ASSAULTED(ENG)  simsters8  B Renfroe  5/2    

Number 4 in the division, winner of four straight and eleven overall, this Red Ransom 4-year-old is the now horse.  Three of her last five she’s posted over 110 speeds, and she was only been beaten in those by division #2, RUDY.  On paper, only a bad trip or a freight train could keep her out of the winner’s circle.  She’ll have all the help she needs setting up her late run with the multitude of speed types in here.

7 123425 MORE SLEW(TUR)  phillipj  K Ebner  16/1    

Mujtahid lass has been banging around the turf sprints all year, including a stakes win, but it will be tough meeting the division leaders when you top out at 101.  She’s got the late running style to take advantage, but she hasn’t looked like a graded stakes horse despite sneaking in second in the Grade 3 Si’ Senorita last year.

8 89650 ALBERTA FIRE  oilspill  R Heenan  9/2    

The number 1 ranked mare turf sprinter, she tried to catch ASSAULTED(ENG) last out but finished a length in arrears.  She’s not been as consistent as she was last winter, when she reeled off seven straight wins.  Maybe the cooler weather will agree.  She can blow by the frontrunners here with her best effort, but will have to do better to catch her inside rival this time down the stretch.  Jock Heenan returns aboard the 16-win Seeking the Gold older mare, and he’s got a score to settle with Renfroe aboard the favorite.

9 26458 AWESOME LESSON(KY)  stungunn  B McCafferty  16/1    

Okay, she’s ranked 332 compared to these, but that 104 in an allowance last out in Arkansas showed some promise, didn’t it?  That stamps her as an Awesome Again 4-year-old that might be coming into her own, so a step up to stakes is warranted.  This is a tall order.  I think she’ll run well enough and learn something, becoming a likely winner in her next listed stakes.

10 133161 SJ’S SJ(KY)  booberry  N Linville  6/1    

Interesting, and not a bad bet.  Smarty Jones offspring are doing well on the turf in the sim, and she’s got two straight graded scores with mid-100s speeds.  WONDERGIRL EDEN pushed her to the limit in the World Vision, but her other two recent wins were more facile, indicating more could be in the tank for the #6 ranked gal.  She’ll need to do it while fending off INFLECTION(GB) and IDOLATRIA(KY) up front.  The services of N Linville should help.