Irish Prayer Heads Ostend Feature

The STRIKE THE POSE Memorial
Stakes
Seven and half furlongs
Firm Turf
$50,000
Fillies and mares, 2 years old

PP  Horse ID  Horse  Owner  Jockey  Odds 
1 STICKY DIAMOND  win7932  Ji Walsh  5/1 
2 LA GOMERA  bagur  J Holmes  5/2 
3 HALLOWED TURF(GB)  elesto  A Smith  5/2 
4 IRISH PRAYER(IRE)  pazstables  T Littleton  3/2 
5 NINJA GIRL(GER)  crowblack  E Dobropolski  7/1

 

A short but classy field of two year old fillies will go postward in Ostend’s feature this Friday Morning.  Let’s take a closer look at the field from the hedge outward.

 

Breaking from the inside gate is the late running Sticky Diamond.  The chestnut daughter of Diamond and Memo To Self dropped from the clouds to score at 16-1 last time out in an Ascot maiden special event.  She has improved in each of her four lifetime starts and has yet to miss the board.  Solid threat in an evenly matched field.

 

In stark contrast to the stretch charging pole sitter is the free running Fu Peg filly, La Gomera.  Bagur’s homebred can flat out fly from the gate and has made two of her three starts gate-to-wire victories.  Her only stakes run resulted in an unplaced finish behind the sensational Celestial Reef.  If she gets a lonely lead on Friday, she may prove very hard to catch.

 

Next up is Elesto’s Hallowed Turf(GB).  The striking gray won a Tassie stake two back and just failed to last while favored in an Irish added money event last time out.  She loves running in front as much as La Gomera so the pace should be light and lively.  Hallowed Turf will have the services of ace jockette Amanda Smith and that will be a big plus.

 

Favored Irish Prayer(IRE) proudly carries the Pazstables banner into battle from post four.  The big daughter of Noverre(IRE) and the Desert King(IRE) matron Global Girl(IRE) comes off a smashing victory in Portugal’s Phar In The Saddle Stake.  In that test Irish Prayer(IRE) headed immediately to the front and was never seriously threatened while heavily favored.  She showed the ability to rate in her first two starts and I feel she found herself on the point last out simply because she was so much the best.  No surprise to see her come off the pace and repeat.

 

Rounding out our small but classy field is the German bred longshot, Ninja Girl.  Despite being the outsider, Ninja Girl shows enough promise to potentially outrun her 7-1 odds.  She was a sharp winner in Italy three back at 22-1 and subsequently fell only a length shy at 17-1 in a French allowance.  In her last try, an Italian stake, the daughter of Samum(GER) had trouble getting hold of the track.  Upset chance in here.

 

All five fillies appear to be in with a chance here.  Should be a fun race to watch!