Blazing Saddles Breeders Showdown Marathon

One of the smallest fields in the Breeder’s Showdown is the Marathon of 1 ¾ miles for the ladies. Although the field is small, it is competitive, with five facing off on the dirt course. So let’s dive into the field.

1. Dehere What I Hear 5-1
Dehere enters the race as the longshot and takes on her first career stakes race. She comes off three near misses, finishing second twice and third once missing by less than a length going between 9 ½ to 11 furlongs. She has been posting speeds in the 90’s lately, topping out at 103 at 9 ½ furlongs (three races back). This is her first outing going more than 11 furlongs, but she has handled any added distance in the past with no difficulty. She’s been in the money in eight of nine starts and should put in a respectful trip.

2. Happy Gambler 7-2
Happy has been racing stakes level lately, with mixed results. She collected second place finishes in the Tuesday’s Gone Handicap (11f) and Sim Forever Handicap (10.5f). Mixed around those were less impressive results in other stake outings. She has tons of early speed and will be tested by Daeva for that early spot. Her struggles of late in stake events scare me away from her.

3. Cabinda 7-5
Cabinda has 25 starts under her belt, however, only four are on the dirt. She has just made the switch from a turf runner to a dirt runner very successfully. She has won two of her last three starts in allowance races and posted speeds above 100 in each start. Her last win was at 11 furlongs and a speed of 106. She is yet another extending out to 14 furlongs. The oddmakers think she can handle both the distance and the jump to stakes level. I agree.

4. Satisfaction 5-2
Satisfaction satisfied many in her last race, the Call it Again Sam Bonanza, a 2-mile marathon that she won by over 5 strides in a speed of 95. A winner of 10 of 26 route starts, Satisfaction has already won three stake races this year. She’s been in the money in 6 of 8 starts in 2008, primarily stake outings. Satisfaction will probably be the trailer in the race and she’ll show off her late kick and make an effort to take this one. Most of her speeds have been in the mid to upper 90’s and she should be a factor here.

5. Daeva 4-1
Rounding out the field is Daeva, a route race speedster. Daeva has recently joined the ranks of Stake racing with success. Her last four races were all stakes in which she has a win and three places. She was well placed into those races as the fields were all small. Ironically, this race is also a small field. Daeva has hit the board in 9 of 12 route starts with four wins. She’ll be contested by Happy Gambler for the lead early on which could result in a speed dual. However, has the services of top notch jockey W. Kewmwa (30% win) who certainly knows how to handle his mounts and may be able to conserve enough energy to make yet another trip to the winners circle.

Cabinda has been impressive since switching to the dirt and charting great speed numbers. The only thing that could stand in her way is the extra distance she’s being asked to run.

Satisfaction takes my second choice as she has dangerous late speed and is the only entrant dropping in distance.

Although Daeva has the best jockey on the track, I feel that she will end up in a pressured spot to get the lead from Happy Gambler that will take its toll. However, the lead built up early should be good enough for her to hang on to th