Stakes-winning filly Thetis takes on boys
Rhode Island– Troy5’s Lion Heart filly Thetis, fresh off of a stakes victory at British Columbia, tackles the boys in the rich $70,000 Sheep At The Woods Special. An assortment of recent MSW winners as well as stakes-placed freshmen colts and fillies navigate six furlongs on a fast track……..
A supreme closer, Thetis (5/1) rallied in time to capture the 6f British Columbia event versus fillies. The filly boasts a precocious start to her career — she’s been knocking heads in GSR owner-restricted company, hitting the board in 5 of her 6 calls to the post. Thetis breaks from post 6 as the third-choice in the field of nine. She looks to better her lifetime best 81 SP# mark.
Anything can go though when facing unknown MSW winners. The bookies tab twinoaks royal bred Fusaichi Spirit as the sure-enough odds on 8/5 favorite. By FuPeg of course, the colt dispatched his intial MSW bow over 6f. Afterwards, ‘Spirit gamely tried 7.5f at ALW level, finishing a distant but decent 3rd. With a pair of 80+ SP#s in the bank, the colt is bred to go two-turns and thensome. He’s just beginning to find his racing roots — still, a worthy favorite on paper.
Fusaichi Sprit breaks from the rail and, on the opposite end of the spectrum, another MSW winner breaks from the far outside. By Point Given, Mr. Purespeed (3/1) galloped graciously to hit the board in his career bow — the colt then pocketed an 8f MSW with serious wire-to-wire ease. Purespeed’s trainee is also bred for two turns, but creditably boasts the highest SP# of this bunch: 86 SP#. Will be challenged for the pace, but classy enough at this point to lead from gate to post.
At 7/1, boxerwood’s White Stripe checks in off of two straight stakes placings. The Afleet colt made the most of the pace scrambles over the ultra-short 5.5f distance. The speedster has yet to break the 80 SP# barrier despite seven trips to the post. Nice little guy should be competitve here — but you gotta experiment over something else eventually.
The rest of the field go off at 11/1 odds or more:
- Letsroll’s Balwood(IRE) (11/1) is a former $10k claimer. Did rally from off pace to score a 77 SP# in a runner-up ALW effort LTO. Wildcard if he can scale the class hurdle. Possible for the board.
- Purespeed sends out the other half of their entry: Pure Love (IRE) (12/1), by Moon Ballad(IRE). The colt doesn’t really boasts great numbers, but has consistency. Didn’t like the 7.5f stakes trip LTO — I’d wager that that was due to a class issue. Not much of a chance.
- Frankie’s Maker (12/1) from dementa stable won’t do much with 60 SP#s. Tale of The Cat colt could vie for lead, but not much after that.
- The other filly in the field, Peter Panda (12/1), didn’t enjoy the turf LTO, but previously was pretty consistent over the dirt. Interestingly, she hasn’t been past 5.5f yet. Storm Boot daughter has some guts pressing the pace — but hasn’t passed the class level test. Could be mildly competitive for jeremyf.
- At 13/1, ravenwood’s D’Arcy’s Song looked impressive when winning his career MSW debut, beating a big field to win going away over 6f. Interesting outsider, but untested. Keep an eye on this closer by Coronado’s Quest.
Snowchief’s Picks:
Win: Mr. Purespeed
Place: Fusaichi Spirit
Show: D’Arcy’s Song or Thetis
Good luck to all.