The Bad LA Bonanza
Today’s D.C. stakes race – the Bad LA Bonanza – features a large field. Thirteen three-year-old fillies will compete for the $40,000 purse. The race is 1 1/16 miles long, and the track is fast. 1 (7/1) – TEN YEAR STORM (KY) easily eclipses every other horse in the field when it comes to earnings – she’s earned over $1.5 million, ten times as much as most of her competition. Her two-year-old season was nothing short of spectacular: six starts, five wins (including a victory in the Breeders’ Bowl Juvenile Fillies), and one second. Ten Year Storm’s three-year-old season has had more mixed results. In June she finished a disappointing last in the Carby’s Redhead Memorial. Since then, however, she has come back strong, winning two allowance races and finishing second in another, while running competitive numbers. 2 (16/1) – MAGIC LUGEY (KY) is the longest shot in the field, but you can’t count her out. She’s a two-time stakes winner already and has improved considerably since a mini-slump in spring and summer. She’s coming off three allowance wins in a row, and has run numbers above 100 in her most recent two races. 3 (12/1) – HOME RIDGE (JPN) has talent, but is somewhat lacking in the consistency department. She hasn’t yet won a stakes race although she has the speed numbers to do so, partially because a more lackluster version of Home Ridge is the only one who shows up sometimes. 4 (8/1) – DIE VERWANDLUNG (GER) is coming off an allowance win. She’s been running numbers above 100 all fall, except for a try on turf, which clearly isn’t to her liking. A stakes winner and Grade I stakes-placed, Die Verwanglung is certainly capable of mounting a challenge for the win. 5 (7/1) – THE WICKED SISTERS (IRE) hasn’t yet won a stakes race, although she came close in her most recent race, the Bank on the Fly Special, where she ran a very nice 107 and finished third, displaying a real closing kick. The numbers indicate she can be in the mix, but can she keep improving after such a nice effort, or has she plateaued? 6 (7/1) – SMELLY GREEN STUFF (ENG) has never shied away from tough competition, often facing high caliber fields. She’s Grade II stakes-placed and a listed stakes winner, but she hasn’t won since January. Unlike some other horses in the race, she doesn’t seem to be improving. With a 104 as her lifetime best number, she’ll need to be at her absolute best to fight for the win. 7 (12/1) – SELFISH CAT (ENG) is a nice filly who’s done well in allowance races and even picked up a stakes win this summer in the Ray’s Dancer’s Memorial. This field, however, will probably prove to be a little beyond her capabilities at this point. 8 (13/1) – BLUFF’S TOUCH (KY) has a remarkable record in allowance races. She’s won half her races and has never finished off the board. She has also never tried a stakes race before, and only once has she run a number over 100. Like Selfish Cat, she looks like a quality horse who’s not quite speedy enough for this field. 9 (14/1) – PANTIGANA II (KY) is no stranger to stakes races, having run in eight of them. However, hasn’t yet won a stakes race either, although she did finish second in the Bee the One Stakes in early May. She’ll need to run faster than she ever before has to be a factor in the Bad LA Bonanza. 10 (6/1) – With just seven lifetime starts, co-favorite AMANDA MARIE (KY) is light on experience, but has plenty of talent. No other horse in the race has matched her 109 speed number that carried her to an allowance win in October. She’ll hope to repeat that performance Saturday in her stakes debut. 11 (6/1) – Co-favorite VINSPECTOR GADGET (KY) has won two allowance races in a row with numbers above 100. She’ll be fighting for a piece of the purse if she reproduces those efforts. 12 (12/1) – ENJOYING THE VIEW (IRE) jumped up a little after switching from the turf to the dirt, but like Selfish Cat and Patigana II, still hasn’t shown the brilliance she’ll need to do well here. 13 (10/1) – GIZNADELLA T (FR) belongs in the same category as Enjoying the View: a nice horse who would need a lifetime best to have a realistic chance.