G2 Saint Ana Stakes Draws Strong Field
A small but highly-talented field of seven older fillies and mares will face the starter at California in the Grade II $150k Saint Ana Stakes. In the field for this 9-furlong turf test are two Top-10 divisional runners, one of which won a Breeders Bowl title in 2009 and also owns two Sim Eclipse Awards. Can VENGEANCE OF PAIN pull off a third straight Eclipse in 2011? Saturday could very well give us all a hint about that…
Needless to say, this race will be “appointment viewing” for all Sim fans! Let’s have a look at this star-studded field:
BICHITA GRAMERA is ranked #6 in the Older Fillies division and goes off at 5/1 here. This impressive-looking 4yo Deep Impact filly has only finished worse than 2nd twice in her 16 career starts and has four graded-stakes wins in her coffers. However, she was unable to pull off the win in her last three turf starts; this prompted trainer bichitos to try his star filly out on the dirt in her most recent start. Bad news for the connections of the better dirt filles and mares out there… She might be even better on the dirt! Now, she returns to familiar grassy running for this tough test and looks dangerous indeed.
BRUSHBACK PITCH is also 5/1, and is almost certainly the pacesetter in this field. The mklove trainee moved to the turf five starts ago with great success but she faded late in her last, her only graded-stakes turf try. Today’s added furlong won’t help this Smart Strike filly.
VENGEANCE OF PAIN (ranked #3) is the biggest star in this galaxy of top distaffers, yet is just one of the three co-favorites at 7/2. All this 5yo Generous mare has done in her fabulous career is win a pair of Eclipse Awards, a Breeders Bowl race, and a pile of other graded-stakes trophies. “Yeah, she’s an underachiever!”, said trainer texasace00, tongue firmly planted in cheek. She took a couple months off after a rare bad run in November, then had an easy allowance win in her return to the races last month; looks ready to fire here at her home track.
STORMWALL is still looking for her first graded-stakes win, though she has generally been nearby in her past graded-stakes efforts. She will need to improve quite a bit to contend in this spot. 5yo daughter of Stormy Atlantic is trained by stungunn and goes off at 4/1.
FEELS LIKE MAGIC is another 7/2 co-fave, and the late-developing A. P. Indy mare looks to be in a sharp pattern at the moment. Showed a liking to this track in a strong 2nd in a field of 20 last time out for desperado2. Looking for her first graded-stakes win, but her running style indicates that today’s extra distance could play in her favor.
The third 7/2 co-favorite is PRIMORDIAL SOUP, a 6yo daughter of Unbridled’s Song trained by dixon. It’s been over a year since this mare has been in a winner’s circle, but she has a pair of strong 2nd’s in her recent record and she does have a pair of graded wins to her credit. Tough call, but I think the odds are a bit low.
DAYDREAMER BARB is a classic rags-to-riches story. In April, paton2 claimed this daughter of Fantasticat for a paltry $2k. At the time, the mare had only a maiden win to her credit and the $2k claimer was her first start in eight months. Somehow, a transformation took place under the new trainer’s care and the wins mounted up… She has won 10 of 15 for her new connections, and makes her stakes debut here. As beautifully as this mare’s story has turned out, though, this spot is very, very tough. This is reflected in the 12/1 odds. Love this story, but this field is probably too much.
Time for the dusty ol’ crystal ball…
VENGEANCE OF PAIN looks ready to take another shot at Eclipse glory; hard to beat here.
BICHITA GRAMERA loves this track as the top choice does, has best upset shot.
FEELS LIKE MAGIC is an up-and-comer with a decent shot.
Good luck at the races!