Goldman Sachs Looks to Repeat in Ladies Stayer Classic
Last years winner of the DPCD Ladies Stayer Classic, Goldman Sachs, is returning to defend her title. She will join 7 other fillies & mares, all age 3 or older, which will be competing for a one million dollar purse. This Grade I race will be contested on the dirt track, going the long route distance of a mile and ¾ (14f). Can she repeat? Time will answer that question, but we’ll look and see how she matches up against her foes.
1. Corinna 4-1
2009 record: 10 starts 5-0-3
Breeding : A.P. INDY x DEPUTY MINISTER x BUCKPASSER
Corinna certainly has shown her stuff this year. She comes off a win in The Radiant (G2) going 14f in a career best speed of 110. She reeled in the field from 8 back at the half and drew off to a 3 stride victory, doing all of this on a good track.
Corinna gets arguably the best jockey in the field with H. Ross (24% win) sitting in the saddle. What makes this race interesting is that there are no speed rabbits in the field. Virtually every entrant in the race likes to ride in the middle of the field or the rear. Corinna is no exception. Someone will have to set the pace and I doubt Corinna will be the one. Her best attribute is to launch a late run and she rarely misses hitting the board.
Corinna has won 3 graded races this year, including the million dollar G1-The New Yorker (12f). Her speeds have averaged 107 over her last 5 starts. She is currently the c0-top ranked horse (tied with Goldman Sachs) and she will be one to beware of.
2.
2009 Record: 10 starts 3-1-2
Breeding: BERNARDINI x NIJINSKY II x
Her odds seem to be pretty generous in his field and I’m not sure what the oddmaker’s are seeing that I may be missing.
It’s hard to throw a lot of support her way, however, she has never run further than 13 furlongs before and the extra distance may buy her just enough time to wiggle her way to the wire first.
3. Coyote Smuggler 7-2
2009 Record: 8 Starts 4-1-2
Breeding: A.P. INDY x UNBRIDLED’S SONG x EL PRADO
In September of this year, Coyote Smuggler was moved up to the graded level of competition after much patience by trainer Bluegrass3. It took this gal a long 7 races to break her maiden. After achieving this, she went on to win three in a row. Moving up through the allowance ranks and into non-graded stake races, where she continued her success winning or placing in 8 of 11 races after breaking her maiden.
So September of this year she was promoted to the graded circuit and won the G1 Pawned Handicap (12f) in a speed of 112. She followed this with a second in the G3 Victory Marathon (14f) closing 7 lengths in the final quarter and speed of 99. She came back with a decisive win in the G2 (16f) The Rocky Top Oaks last month with a 4 length win in a speed of 105.
Coyote is currently ranked third and can really kick up a cloud of dirt as she generally waits until the last quarter of the race to make here move. She’s averaged a speed of almost 106 in her last 5 starts. With no speed in this field, she shouldn’t be too far behind and will be dangerous.
4. Alondrita 12-1
2009 Record: 10 Starts 4-2-1
Breeding: KINGMAMBO x KRIS S. x BUCKPASSER
Alondrita started off the 2009 season sharp, winning 3 of her first 5 starts, all at the allowance level. This filly has one graded race which was the King Classic (G2) back in October where she finished ninth going 9.5 furlongs in a speed of 102.
Alondrita has surpassed the 100-speed barrier three times in her career and she has averaged just over 97 in her last 5 starts. She definitely has her work cut out for her with minimal stake racing and her speeds need a booster shot.
This race lacks early speed and this could be the opening for Alondrita. She has shown a few races where she was near the front and her best shot may be to try galloping off to a huge lead early on. Albeit, there is one other cloud that looms over her. She’s shipping all the way from
5. Goldman Sachs 9-2
2009 Record: 8 Starts 4-1-0
Breeding: GHOSTZAPPER x
Last Years winner of the Ladies Stayer Classic is making a return in an effort to defend and retain her title. Last year, the race was run on a good track and Goldman Sachs made a strong move after passing the half to rally up to the second spot, 4 strides off the leader by the ¾-pole and continued to drive on by winning by 4 in a speed of 106. But that was last year. In her last start, The Rocky Top Oaks (G2) she was 4 back at the half and stormed to a 4 length lead at the ¾-pole, however, she was rundown by Coyote Smuggler and beaten by 4.
This 5 year old veteran has raced exclusively at the graded level this year and she has been on the board 25 of 32 starts on the dirt, collecting 17 wins over her lifetime. Speed-wise, she has averaged a tad over 103 over the last 5 outings.
Jockey Silver (16% win) will give her an honest ride with this #1 ranked horse (tied with Corinna). She may not be the favorite in the race but you must respect her talents.
6. Blame the Keyboard 9-2
2009 Record: 20 Starts 6-6-1
Blame the Keyboard has shown herself to be a very durable horse. She has appeared in 20 races this season, a relatively high number of races, and it hasn’t seemed to affect her form. She has one start in graded racing, finishing second in the G3 Lapel Pin Stakes (10f) in a speed of 108, and missing by 2 strides.
She’s a strong late closer and seems to fit into this race despite having only the one graded start. She has appeared in 6 non-graded races and collected a pair of wins and places, all at distances in the neighborhood of 10f.
Blame the Keyboard has averaged 104 in her last 5 appearances and is ready to go. 9 of her last 11 starts have produced speeds over 100. The only concern I see is that she’s been racing pretty much at 10 furlongs for the later half of the year and has never gone 14 furlongs. She will be tested with the extra distance and I think she will show she can handle it as her breeding favors the routes.
7. Early Morning Rain 5-1
2009 Record: 12 Starts 6-4-2
Breeding: MINESHAFT x ALYDAR x MISWAKI
Wow is a word one might use when looking at Early Morning Rain’s past racing history. This 4 year old filly has not finished worse than third since January of 2008. That’s 23 consecutive races that this #2 ranked horse has finished on the board. This run also included a 7 race win streak that ran from November 2008 through May 2009.
Early Morning Rain has done well in graded races, posting a record of 1-3-2 in her 6 starts at this level. She has averaged just over 103 in her last 5 starts, which may not be the highest in the field, but she hasn’t done much wrong in a long time.
She does jump the big puddle, traveling from
8. Bilbo Rocks 8-1
2009 Record: 11 Starts 5-1-1
Breeding: LEMON DROP KID x IN THE WINGS(GB) x WILD AGAIN
Bilbo Rocks has had some good outings this season, winning the G3 Victory Marathon (14f) in October and the G3 Long Walk Home (14f) in June, with speeds of 101 and 110.
Bilbo Rocks tends to like running in the middle of the field, but I see her running between 1st and 3rd in the early going, as there are plenty of slower runners that will be content to run behind her. She has fared well running near the lead in the past, but many of those races were in small fields.
Bilbo Rocks form has been a little erratic of late. Her speeds have fluctuated in the mid 90’s to low 100’s in her last 5 outings, averaging 99. Her finishes have been inconsistent too over this period ranging from 1st to last. This never gives me a warm and comfy feeling.
This will be an interesting race to watch, especially to see who will set the early pace and how much ground the late closers will have to make up. I have a feeling they won’t be too far behind at the half. This race is hard to pick a winner out of as well as the top three..but here we go.
Corinna will get my top choice solely based on her getting the services of top jocky H. Ross. This race could go to anyone, but the jockey was enough to give her the edge.
Coyote Smuggler can really eat up the track late in the race and should find a lot of room to make it towards the front.
Early Morning Rain cannot be ignored with her history of hitting the board in each race.
Those are my top three, but if you are going for the triples, definitely consider Goldman Sachs and Blame the Keyboard in the mix.