Fillies set to shake their tails in Gone At Last Bonanza

The Gone At Last Bonanza highlights a full Virginia card this week. This one is a showcase for two year old fillies to be run over seven and a half furlongs of firm turf. Everyone gets a check here, and they will split a $50000 purse. The race has drawn a short field of four fillies, all looking to make their mark here. Only one of the contenders has prior stakes experience, but no one can be counted out of this one. The oddsmakers put them at 7/5, 8/5, 3/1, and 4/1 odds. This one will give the trainers some chance to see how they will fair at a high competitive level. Look for a tight race here and another thrilling finish.

PP 1) Wondergirl Echo Sired by Sadler’s Wells, Trained by skynet. Wondergirl Echo is the oddsmakers’ favorite here, and the only filly in the field with prior stakes experience. She has gone 2-2-0-0-0 in five career starts, with her only stumble being her debut race on dirt. Her highest speed is a 78.8, coming in her first stakes start two races back. She comes off her first stakes victory at this distance on yielding turf on a tough Eastern Kentucky track in a short field in her last start. Since switching to turf in her second start, she hasn’t finished worse than second, with improving speeds as she stepped up in level. Her two wins have both come in the seven to seven and half furlong range, and the distance shouldn’t be a problem here. Sadler’s Wells throws predominately routers, many of the becoming long distance runners as they get older. They show a slight turf preference overall. Dixieland Band, on the dam side, has progeny that tend to prefer shorter distances, and they show an overwhelming dirt preference, though. The 2S x 3D cross to Northern Dancer should reinforce both the turf and the distance influences. Wondergirl Echo tends to be a fast starter, but usually has more than enough left not to lose a step in the second half. She has shown a tendency to to make her break too early if she starts off the pace. If she gets a good break from the gate, she is going to be tough to catch here.

PP 2) Jump The Gold Sired by Jump Start, Trained by egeorge. Jump The Gold makes her first stakes start here in her fifth start. Through four starts, she posts a 2-1-0-1-0 record. Her high speed is 81.2, earned in an open allowance in her last start. That start was an eight furlong run in Arkansas, where she easily bested a full field with a very strong second half run. She hasn’t been off the turf in her career, but with the way she has been running so far, there’s been no reason to switch. The distance may be a bit short for her here, as she seems to prefer route distance as she moves up in class. Her sire, Jump Start, is a relatively young sire, and his progeny have been all over the board, showing no marked preference for either surface or distance. This season’s crop are still trying to find their legs, with their stats being low in comparison to previous crops. On the dam side, Seeking The Gold shows a dirt preference though not absolute, and he show a strong tendency to throw sprinters. Jump The Gold runs as a midpack to deep closer, and she has shown a very consistent close. Her striking distance seems to be about the three to four furlong range. There is not a lot of overwhelming speed here, and she’ll have some rabbits in front of her here. She will be dangerous down the stretch here if an early speed battle takes its toll on the front runners.

PP 3) Hamilton Pool Sired by Rock Slide, Trained by austin. Hamilton Pool makes a hop skip jump to stakes level, from Maiden Special to Allowance to Stakes by virtue of back to back wins in her last to starts. In seven starts, she carries a 2-1-1-1-1 record. This is her first stakes start. She bested a good sized open allowance field in her last start in Illinois, in a seven furlong outing. She also posted a career best speed rating of 78.7 in that race. She made a switch to turf two starts back, and was rewarded with a nice speed jump, and wins in both of these turf starts. The surface seems to suit her. Those two turf runs were also the longest of her career, which makes it hard to determine whether she wanted the extra distance, or just the softer surface. Judging by her break from the gate in her last two, odds are on the softer surface. Her sire, Rock Slide, was a freshman last year and if one looks at the statistics, they would say he throws dirt sprinters. A lot of this is explained by race availability, however, and some of A.P. Indy’s older sons tend slightly more towards longer races, though the dirt preference still prevails. Skywalker, on her dam side, has crops bouncing back and forth between dirt routers and turf sprinters, and you can never tell what he might throw. Hamilton Pool is a fast starter, you tends to build her lead throughout the race, rather than going for too much of an early cushion. She has managed a piece of the early lead in both of her turf starts, and I don’t see this one being any different. She faces a burner on the inside rail, so it is gut check time to see whether she can hold the early pace.

PP 4) Black Fern(IRE) Sired by Black Sam Bellamy(IRE), Trained by amandas. Black Fern(IRE) makes her first stakes start here, after breaking her maiden last out. In her first six starts, she has posted a 1-1-1-1-0 record. She earned her career best 76.8 speed in her last outing after steadly improving over her first five. In her last outing, a maiden special weight, she pasted a full field over eight furlongs in Arkansas, driving to a three and a half length victory down the stretch. Turf is definitely her surface of choice, and her one dirt outing was her career worst. She definitely prefers the grass. Distance wise, the more distance she has gotten, the more she has liked it, with each jump in distance accomapanied by a jump in speed. Black Sam Bellamy(IRE) is another sophomore sire, and as typical of the Sadler’s Wells line, his crop from last year is eating up the longer distances, and loving it. They split fairly equally between dirt and turf, though earnings have been quite a bit more on dirt. Cozzene, on the dam side, adds a very strong turf preference, as well as some stamina. Oddly enough however, his turf progeny seem to prefer a bit shorter race, though still tend toward routes. Black Fern(IRE) is a deep closer, and she has been consistent with her close. She is definitely looking for some distance and this may be a bit short for her. The way the break looks though, she could very well threaten down the stretch if the early speed fades from the torrid early pace.