Sydney Oaks Lures A Dozen Runners
Three year old fillies are co-featured on a rich Victoria card of racing in the Grade One Sydney Oaks for $500,000. Twelve fillies line up to try to take down the prize (one of three Grade Ones on the card) including last year’s Two Year Old Filly Turf Champion SJ’s Carsonado. She has not found the competition too easy in 2011 as she seeks her first win of the year in this spot. But this field is very strong and any of these fillies could step up, with many of them never having tried the mile and one half distance yet. Let’s take a look at the field.
#1 Stormy High 8/1 acarigua stables Z Skunk rides
8-2-3-2 $50,949
Stormy High is a scratch bred daughter of Mountain High x Storm Bird x Fairy King. Entering his fourth year as a sim sire, Mountain High has sired two stakes winners, one graded from 94 starters. Only off the board in her debut, Stormy High has made her last seven starts routing on the turf. After breaking her maiden in her second outing she was third twice in first level allowances. After taking some time off over the winter she returned to win at a mile and one quarter in her sophomore debut. She has finished second in each of her subsequent three starts; the first at a mile and three sixteenths and the last two at a mile and three eighths, each by less than a length. Her sps for those three starts were 94-96-94. Her last race was on March 19th.
#2 Foolish January 8/1 rmathrick stables S Nightingale rides
8-3-0-3 $204,624
Foolish January is a scratch-bred daughter of Teofilo x Pulpit x Nijisnky II. Foolish January has made all of her starts on the lawn. Las year she was third in both the Grade Three Capital Stakes and the Grade Two Vintage Stakes before winning the Provellian Chellenge Stakes and the Desert Warrior Special Stakes (the latter two routing). She concluded her season on December 11th in the Grade One Juvenile Filly and was fourth behind SJ’s Carsonado. Her last start was her only one in 2011, on January 22nd, a fourth place finish in the Grade Three Triangular Star Stakes at a mile and one sixteenth. She earned a 96sp for that start, one point below her career best.
#3 SJ’s Carsonado 7/2 thebigm stables B Deary rides
12-8-1-0 $1,644,820
SJ’s Carsonado is a scratch-bred daughter of Bertrando x Carson City x Affirmed. Last year’s Champion Two Year Old Turf Filly, SJ’s Carsonado was undefeated in eight starts on the grass, including Grade One wins in the Breeders’ Bowl Filly Juvy Turf and the Juvenile Filly Stakes, both at one mile. This year has not been as kind to the champion. She finished second in the Grade Three Triangular Star Stakes in January with a career best 98sp. She repeated that number next time out but could only finish fourth in the Flat World Memorial Stakes. Her last start on April 2nd saw her finish sixth with a 96sp in the Grade One Japanese 1000 Guineas Stakes.
#4 A Little Shocked 14/1 steller stables J Garcia rides
7-5-1-1 $181,811
A Little Shocked is a scratch-bred daughter of Dubawi x Last Tycoon x Kris S. A Little Shocked has made all of her starts on turf. Her first two races were at six and one half furlongs where she finished third and first. She won a one mile allowance next out and ended her season with a second in another. She is undefeated in three starts in 2011, starting with a one mile allowance won with a 92sp. Stretched to a mile and three sixteenths she won with a 78sp by almost ten lengths. At the same distance on March 19th she won the Bikini Atoll Turf Filly Route Stakes with a 97sp.
#5 Pata 21/1 usoz stables P Spratt rides
12-5-3-1 $189,955
Pata is a daughter of Birdstone out of the a-grade Sadler’s Wells x Jules mare La Pata Daisy. La Pata Daisy’s first foal was a graded winner by Unbridled’s Song, her only other stakes winner from four foals. Pata is stakes-placed in four starts on the dirt, but has done the majority of her running on the grass. She won two allowance races at one mile and the one mile Near For Basque Memorial Stakes in 2010 on the grass. She began 2011 with a third place run in an allowance on dirt at a mile and one sixteenth. Adding an extra furlong and switching to turf she ran second in another allowance. On March 26th she was a winner by over eight lengths at a mile and three sixteenths with a 73sp.
#6 Northern Town 7/1 paddy stables B Couzens rides
6-3-1-1 $201,720
Northern Town is a daughter of Northern Meteor out of the d-grade Dynaformer x Carson City mare New Bolton. This is her only foal. Northern Town broke her maiden in her first start and took the Holda Special Stakes in her second. She was fourth in her graded debut and ended her season with a third in the Huge Slide Stakes. Given a little time off she returned to win the mile and one quarter Grade Three Tristan Fillies Stakes with a 100sp. Last out she was second with a 95sp in the mile and one half Grade Two New Zealand Oaks on March 12th.
#7 Diebstahl 7/1 domedriver stables D Evans rides
9-5-1-2 $358,064
Diebstahl is a daughter of Galileo out of the c-grade Kingmambo x A.P. Indy mare Lufthansa Heist. She also has an unraced two year old by Montjeu. Diebstahl took three starts to break her maiden but jumped straight to stakes races after, finishing third in the Valdes Wing Memorial Stakes and winning the Spooky Ballet Memorial Stakes. She began 2011 with a win in the Grade Three Royalty Stakes at a mile and one quarter. Seventh in the Grade Three Tristan Fillies Stakes she rebounded to win the Sunshine Hollandia Turf Filly Memorial at a mile and one eighth. Last out on March 26th she took the Grade Two Blue Pill Special Stakes and a mile and three eighths with a 97sp.
#8 Junmai Ginjyo 6/1 2tohold stables J Cox rides
7-3-1-1 $269,330
Junmai Ginjyo is a daughter of Distorted Humor out of a-grade Dynaformer x Danzig mare Sake. Her only other foal is a maiden winning two year old by Dubawi. Junmai Ginjyo broke her maiden in her first turf try and was third in an allowance in her second. She won the Dancing Blade Stakes in her third and ended her freshman season with a ninth place finish in the Grade Two Dancing Blade Handicap. Given some time off she finished second in the Grade Three Tristan Fillies Stakes at a mile and one quarter with a 97sp. She repeated that number in her last start, the March 12th Grade Two New Zealand Oaks at a mile and one half, which she won.
#9 Tejas Slew 9/1 texasace stables R Bailey rides
9-5-2-1 $137,435
Tjas Slew is a scratch-bred daughter of Distorted Humor x Broad Brush x Seattle Slew. Two of her starts and one of her wins were on the dirt. She has hit the board in all seven subsequent starts, all on the lawn. She won two allowance races as a two year old and began her three year old season with an allowance win. She followed that up with a third in the Grade Three Tristan Fillies Stakes at a mile and one quarter with a 96sp. Last out she won a non-winners of four other than allowance at a mile and one sixteenth with a 94sp on March 19th.
#10 Beastly Kitten 10/1 tripwire stables B Rdigle rides
9-4-2-1 $152,340
Beastly Kitten is a daughter of Kitten’s Joy out of the d-grade Gone West x Storm Cat mare Beast Lord. This is her only foal. Beastly Kitten began her career with three straight wins. In three stakes tries as a two year old, her best finish was a second in the Grade Three JPMC Jessamine Stakes at a mile and one sixteenth. She began 2011 with a head second in a one mile allowance with an 88sp. She came back to win a mile and three sixteenth allowance with a 91sp. On March 19th she was third in the mile and one eighth Grade Three Longest Walk Stakes with a 97sp.
#11 Autobiographical 10/1 mtkbargain stables J Kohlmorgen rides
5-3-1-0 $101,310
Autobiographical is a scratch-bred daughter of Monsun x Miswaki x Danzig. She won her first two starts at one mile and was fifth in an owner-restricted stakes to conclude 2010. She returned in 2011 to win a mile and one eighth allowance race. In her last start on March 12th she finished second in the Tough Seattle Turf Filly Route Stakes at a mile and one eighth with a 93sp.
#12 Seaing Stars 14/1 lgbost6 stables D Dowell rides
11-3-3-2 $137,406
Seaing Stars is a daughter of Sea The Stars out of the f-grade Montjeu x Rainbow Quest mare Tete Morningrise. She has produced other stakes winner, a graded winner by Dylan Thomas from four foals to race, including a two year old of 2011. Seaing Stars broke her maiden in her second start and ran in five straight stakes races, placing in four of those. She began 2011 with an allowance win at a mile and one sixteenth but was fourth in an allowance and fourth in the Grade Two New Zealand Oaks in her next two starts. On April 9th she broke through and won the Camaraderie Turf Filly Route Stakes at a mile and one quarter with an 85sp.
Good luck to all!