Don’t call her June
The ten fillies and mares in the Kentucky feature this weekend aren’t your typical housemares. They don’t believe in letting their men go out and win the bread. No sir, they far prefer to make their own careers and put their own stamps on the racing world. The winner’s share of the $225k purse will go a long way toward ensuring the victor in today’s grade 2 event either finds her place or stays on the sim-wide stage of prestige. It will take a big effort to eclipse the Mrs Cleaver Stakes record of 1:41.2 set in 2004 by Barb’s demi, but this field of capable of doing it.
Reevejohn’s One Point Three just won a pair of races at today’s distance of 8.5f, but she’s trying graded company for the first time. Sim veterans will recognize her hmo-mom’s name: Carson And Dane was a top dirt horse back in the day. The Point Given daughter hasn’t lived up to her parent’s name yet, but One Point Three is just rounding into form as a 4yo and looks like a pretty good shot here. She’s at 11-1 odds but I suspect we’ll see a better effort from her than that. Prefers to close, can do so from well back or midpack.
Foolish Chant, a 5yo War Chant mare, is very lightly raced given her age with just 16 starts. She’s moving into graded company for trainer Tenderfoot after establishing a solid base in the listed ranks. A couple listed stakes wins and a pair of places sets her up very well for the move-up. What I like are her strong efforts at 8.5f , a perfect series of preps for this effort. The big drawback is her seven-week break between races; is she raring to go or a bit stale? Watch for her to stalk the lead. 8-1.
Red Royal runs for Romeshome with odds of 11-1. The 5yo Royal Academy mare was second in this race last year. She’s a good mare, a G3 winner and placed several times. I have to wonder however if retirement is nearing. The 18+ length loss in a GR Simsters event last out is rather disheartening, but then again it was a 10f race and she clearly prefers the 8-9 range. Still, classy mare could pull off a big win. She’ll run from the back half of the field if she runs at all.
Sdmf6 just might find himself owner of yet another millionaire if Stricken cooperates. She’s about $60k short of the seven-figure mark, and looks to be in fine form to at least earn a piece of the purse. The 5yo Dynaformer mare just picked up a G1 win at 9f three back, and has been posting some real nice high SPs this year. Love to see the older mares run well like this one has. She likes to run from fourth or so, and has some real nice speed, but has a serious tendency to run second in the big stuff. If she can overcome that, she has a great shot. 6-1.
From the last crop of Jumron kids we get Jumron’s Memory, a 5yo mare trained by Bigblueone. She’s a stakes winner, and multiple graded placed, but has yet to find her spot on the big stage. Have to love her recent three-straight 105+ SPs, and two back she won at 8.5. This is a great spot for the mare to get her graded win. She prefers to run near the front through the first half but should be in the lead moving into the turn if she is to pull it off. 5-1.
Caliracing’s Native Mambo is the baby of the field at just 3 years of age. The El Prado filly isn’t getting much love at the betting window with odds of 10-1, but my oh my can she run fast when the whim strikes. A 111 three back at Smackdown is proof positive. She’s never won at longer than a mile, but then she’s only had one race longer than a mile. A confirmed frontrunner, if Mambo gets loose on the lead she just might be able to steal the race from the big girls.
Clifden Castle runs for Mav1763 as the 9-2 field co-favorite. The 5yo Sadler’s Wells mare just won an 8.5 listed stake with a superb 112SP and really comes in looking perfect for this race. Surprisingly Castle has won only one graded event (a G2 at 8.5f in April), but she is placed multiple times. She’ll be coming from way way back, so keep an eye out for the chestnut blur streaking down the stretch.
Bizalls1 enters the 6-1 Tete In A Zashaan. The 5yo Zabeel mare was second in a 9f G3 two back and is a stakes winner at 8.5. She’s done well for a former claimer; the owner spent his $75k wisely in buying Zashaan. She prefers to be up front but can do some damage from a bit farther back. If held back to follow the lead she might have something left in the tank to notch her graded win. I do have to wonder if she would find more successin the 9-10f range.
Tupungato starts at 9-1 for trainer Hipica. The 4yo Rahy filly just edged out Tete In A Zashaan last out in a 9fG2. She has yet to win a stakes at 8.5, but she’s fast and cannot be counted out at this shorter distance. Capable of popping 110+, 9-2 odds may not be short enough to indicate just how good she can be. She loves to run up front but can and has won from second position. Must be considered very dangerous.
The final entrant is the 9-1 Bad Kicks. Verona’s 4yo Encosta De Lago filly is a G1 winner at 10, but has yet to try 8.5f. It’ll be interesting to see if she can back up in distance with success. She’s a midpack runner, which will serve her well against some speedy fillies and mares who want to be out front. I like her here as a longshot.
Overall this is a good field of very nice mares. Tupungato gets my support, but Native Mambo looks like she’s sitting in a big race and Jumron’s Memory has to be ready to break through.