Ten mares meet to battle for the title of Mighty Ms.
Mighty Ms Quinn really wasn’t so mighty. In 30 starts she won 5 times, splitting her F-ranked exploits between trainers Wahoo, Ohiovalley, and Bet2wice. She never won, or indeed placed, in a stake. Heck, the daughter of Sea Hero never actually competed in a stake. It is surprising then that this six-figure earner still managed to get a stakes named after her, but she did, and here we are in North Korea to celebrate her lack of accomplishments in the Mighty Ms Quinn Bonanza. An even ten fillies and mares have flown over to Communist country to attempt to win this 12f turf stake. The $65k purse must have been tempting enough to make the long trip.
The favored We Miss Al has made the most of turf marathons in her career. The 5yo Giant’s Causeway daughter has done very well at the listed ranks, hitting the board in all but one attempt at the stakes level. She has yet to run at 12f, but given she is a stakes winner at 11 and 13 there is no reason to doubt she will love this distance. She needs to be up front or on the lead early to have much of a chance, so keep an eye on her if she breaks well and settles during the first mile. Runs for the Deadwood6 stable at 3-1.
Australia’s Hello I Love You last ran 12f 16 months ago (she finished second in a stake), but the 4yo Green Desert filly has been cleaning up in the 10-11f stakes ranks since then. Her last couple efforts have been decidedly subpar. One can be excused as related to company above her abilities in the Equinics, and the last doesn’t really have an explanation. If Hello isn’t in first at the first call, she pretty much has no chance. Even if she is, she is vulnerable to a strong closing effort. 4-1.
The 4yo Sadler’s Wells filly Certified Evil has never finished off the board going 12, but she’s in a seven-month win drought. If anyone can get her back on top it’s trainer Fairhaven. She’s pretty lightly tested in stakes but Evil is clearly improving SP wise with maturity and could be sitting on a big effort. Getting back up to marathon distances after a brief foray into classic races can only help. Another filly that prefers the lead. 5-1.
Also at 5-1 is Woette’s Desperado. Trained by Titje, the 4yo Desert King filly is returning after two months off. Her fifth place in the Equinics 14f race was exhausting enough to require a break. She’s another one who needs to be on the lead to have a chance at winning, but at least she has the stamina to stick around for a placing if she doesn’t get her way. Also making her first start at 12, but hey, a filly that can win at 10 and 14 should have no trouble at all here.
We have yet another filly that likes the front in Sunny Future. Luckily Haasil’s 4yo daughter can also capably stalk the pace, which means if her jockey is patient the duo will let the rest of the field burn themselves up jockeying for the lead and happily destroy them all with a romp of a finish. Since she was claimed for $15k in March Sunny has picked up four wins and a third in a G1 last out. Smart claim indeed by trainer Southern.
Stablegroupmate to Woette’s Desperado is the 7-1 Well What. Trained by Woette4, the 5yo Dream Well mare is also a former claimer (she was purchased for $10k back in 2006) but has developed into a twice-graded-placed mare in long turf events. Well What is very much hit or miss – either she is red hot or she runs dismally. Might be that 12f is a bit too short, but she is capable of winning at this distance. Once again, another frontrunner.
Vicki’s Bold Bullet also likes to be up front, but like Sunny Future she has won from off the pace. The 4yo Red Bullet filly was an auction buy back in 2006, and has developed into a graded-placed turf marathoner. She is a winner at 12f, but seems to prefer 14 much more. 9-1 odds.
Rare to see a mare capable on both surfaces, but Sheetwise’s Not Today is a good example of such a creature. Yet another former claimer (a $150k buy about a year ago), the 4yo Johar filly has picked up a dirt marathon graded placing as well as several dirt stakes placings. Back on turf the last two starts, she has an allowance win and a bad G1 loss. She’s much more comfortable at the listed level it appears, but on both surfaces wants the lead. Can she get it? 11-1.
The 20-1 Empire Maker filly Blame Greg actually poses a serious threat here. Not because she’s fast (she’s not), but because she’s a legitimate closer. In a field of speedballs, Larsonisto’s slowish 4yo filly actually stands a fighting chance solely due to her propensity to dawdle on the track. To her credit she did run second in her only stakes attempt, and she is a winner at 12f.
The final entrant is Oggerz’ 24-1 filly Drujwan. By Kayf Tara, the 4yo was purchased by her current owner for $2k back in 2007. Since then she has won a maiden claim, three starters and an allowance, all by good margins. Once stakes appearance in June did not go over so well but she’s back in after a couple light allowance efforts. Really not much of a chance on current form, especially considering she too wants to be up front.
We basically have 9 horses that want to be right up on the lead and one that prefers to come from behind. Two of the first set are capable of stalking or running from a bit farther back. Given the abundance of speed, I’m calling a Sunny Future / Bold Bullet / Blame Greg trifecta.