Ladies Day In Grade 3 Atari Stakes In Ireland
The Atari Stakes in Ireland stacks up as a pretty tough field for a Grade 3 event.
This bunch is going to have to really work hard for the $150,000 purse money on offer here on Saturday.
Here is a look at the field for the Grade 3 Atari Stakes, a 7 furlong event on the turf for fillies and mares three years old and up.
1 — MISSED APPROACH (ENG) Owner: Bigrick Stables
Odds: 7/1 (New Approach (IRE) x Machiavellian x Mill Reed)
Missed Approach is new to the stakes scene. The Atari Stakes will be only her second try at a stakes event. She had only one race as a two year old, so she got started fairly late in her career. But in her last ten races or so, this daughter of New Approach has consistently been throwing speed figures over 100. In her last outing in Dubai, she threw a 107 speed figure while finishing second in the Yasawa Flyer Turf Mare Sprint. This filly is really coming along quite nicely after 18 career starts and nearly $175,000 in earnings. If she can get some early fast fractions to run at, this late closer could have a really decent shot here in the Atari.
2 — SISSON’S TACTICS (KY) Owner: Binzaman Stables
Odds: 8/1 (Tactical Cat x Red Ransom x Lyphard)
Unlike Missed Approach, Sisson’s Tactics has quite a bit of stakes experience. With nearly $300,000 in earnings and 11 wins in 27 starts, she’s won three of her nine tries in stakes. In fact, she’s coming off a pretty impressive win in the Golden Saint Turf Mare Challenge in Indonesia, where she threw a 106 speed figure. Make no mistake about it, Sisson’s Tactics has the seasoning to do well in this spot, and she’s also pretty much a one-dimensional type runner who lays back early and comes on with a mad, late rush in the straight for home. She’ll need some fast early fractions to run at as well here in Ireland on Saturday.
3 — MEET YOUR NEW BOSS (KY) Owner: Tees (Whisper) Stables
Odds: 9/1 (Corinthian x Danzig x Kingmambo)
Meet Your New Boss didn’t start her racing career either until she was an early three year old. She really had the best season of her career last year, when she was throwing a ton of 100-plus speed figures in her races. This season, the five year old daughter of Corinthian started off well, finishing second and first in a couple of allowance events at Surrey Race Course while throwing 104 speed figures. In her last start, she dipped to a 94 speed figure in the Buttered Captain Turf Mare Sprint in Finland. But that race was a bit shorter than she’s used to, at five furlongs. She should find this 7 furlong affair in Ireland much more to her liking. She’s finished in the money in all of her last seven starts, and her return to a bit longer sprint bodes well for her chances here on Saturday.
4 — FOULSTON (AUS) Owner: Crandy Stables
Odds: 6/1 (Encosta De Lago (AUS) x Green Desert x Broad Brush)
This Encosta De Lago four year old has been run mostly in mile and longer events, but she’s on a bit of a tear recently, having thrown the best speed figures of her career in her last four starts (108’s and 107’s), two wins and two seconds, including a second place finish in the Grade 3 Carrot Classic down under in New Zealand. She’s only run in sprints in three of her 15 career starts, and she’s won two of them, which is probably why she is considered one of the ones to beat here. This turn back in distance to 7 furlongs might help Foulston a lot in this spot. Typically, she doesn’t have a whole lot of early speed, but if you give her some fast fractions to run at, she can come on strong late. Watch this one closely here in Ireland on Saturday. She might be the one in this spot.
5 — PRINCIPAL DANCER (ENG) Owner: Cthstables Stable
Odds: 6/1 (Pivotal (GB) x Fusaichi Pegasus x Storm Cat)
Principal Dancer, a four year old daughter of Pivotal, has been throwing some really nice speed figures of late. In her last four starts, shefs thrown speed figures of 110, 106, 113 and 104, and she’s won two of those four starts. The most impressive race was two starts back, when she threw a 113 while winning a seven furlong allowance in Arkansas. That 1:21 1/5 winning time is better than the winning time in the last two Atari Stakes, so Principal Dancer could be really dangerous in this spot. She finished second in the Equilibrium Turf Mare sprint in her last outing in New Jersey before shipping across the pond here for the Atari. This daughter of Pivotal is coming on strong at just the right time here and she should love this distance shefll be seeing here in Ireland on Saturday.
6 — HIGH SKUNKARRAL (IRE) Owner: Skunkbarn Stables
Odds: 5/1 (High Chaparral (IRE) x Dynaformer x Jacinto)
High Skunkarral is a six year old daughter of High Chapparal, and she’s undoubtedly one of the more experienced mares in this race. She has thrown speed figures in excess of 100 in nine of her last 11 starts, so this mare hasn’t lost her touch. In fact, she is probably the favorite here in the Atari not only because of that streak, but also because of her win in the One Attack Stakes in Ontario, at the same distance she’ll see here in Ireland on Saturday. She threw a 115 in that spot, which is one of the best times in this bunch. High Skunkarral is another late closer who comes with a big late rush. Draw a line through her last start, an eighth place finish in the Dubai Stakes where she faced off against Missed Approach. The turf was very soft that today, and it’s probably not a surface that High Skunkarral likes. She should bounce back and throw a monster effort in this spot.
7 — JETSETTING (ENG) Owner: Hunter Valley Stables
Odds: 28/1 (Shamardal x Flying Spur (AUS) x Lear Fan)
Fifteen of Jetsetting’s 19 starts have been stakes events, which is probably by far the most stakes appearances of any in this field. She’s definitely got the stakes experience you would like to see in a horse in this type of event. But the five year old mare has only thrown a speed figure above 100 once in her career, and that was three starts back in a fifth place finish in a stakes at Newmarket. She’s a bit below the rest of these in the speed figure department, which is probably why she’s 28/1 in this spot. She’ll need to step up her game quite a bit here in the Atari, if she’s to do well in this spot on Saturday.
8 — HARMFUL ENERGY (IRE) Owner: Desperado Stables
Odds: 6/1 (Danehill Dancer (IRE) x Giant’s Causeway (IRE) x Forty Niner)
The four year old daughter of Danehill Dancer is one of four here that are listed as 6/1 co-second favorites in the Atari Stakes on Saturday. She’s been running at mostly mile distances and longer in her career with only a few tries in the sprints. Her speed figures of late are pretty darned impressive compared to most of these here, and a return to the sprints might be just what the doctor ordered for this one. She had a very impressive finish in her last outing in the Grade 3 Park Place Express Stakes at a mile right here on the same Ireland race course she’ll be running on Saturday. She threw a 111 speed figure in that race. One of the few in here who shows a lot of early speed, Harmful Energy could very well find herself alone on the lead in this spot, and she could very easily steal this race in wire to wire fashion, especially with the turn back in distance to seven furlongs. She’ll pretty much have her way on the front end, and she’ll probably hold on at the end. Better watch this Desperado Stables entry closely on Saturday. She looks like the perfect candidate to score a win here at the 7 furlongs Atari.
9 — FOUR LOKO (KY) Owner: Cmd Stables
Odds: 55/1 (Distorted Humor x Mr. Greeley x Sunday Silence)
At 55/1, Four Loko is without a doubt the longest shot in this race. This four year old daughter of Distorted Humor is a really big question mark in this race, mainly because she’s only had six starts in her career, and five of those were on the dirt. When she did hit the grass for the first time in her last start, she was pretty impressive, winning the Frosty Sum Turf Mare Stakes in easy fashion. She threw a 90 speed figure in that race, a 5.5 furlong affair, which really was pretty nice considering it was her first try on the grass. There’s very little to go on about Four Loko’s chances here, since she didn’t even see a race course until this season back in January. She did fairly well on the dirt, but this switch to the turf might be just what this one needed. It’s hard to say what she’ll do in this spot at 7 furlongs on Saturday, because of her inexperience. She could very easily throw in the best effort of her career in this spot, although this is pretty much the best field she’s seen in her brief career.
10 — HAACK’S TURFER (KY) Owner: Otto Haack
Odds: 15/1 (Kingmambo x Nijinsky II x Secretariat)
The four year old daughter of Kingmambo is coming off a couple of very nice allowance wins in the western United States. She threw some pretty nice speed figures in those 7 and 7.5 furlong events, so she’s setting up nicely to run with this bunch on Saturday. Her 1:21 4/5 time in her last race is just 1/5 of a second off the two winning times in the last two runnings of the Atari Stakes. She can run with this gang she’ll see here in Ireland on Saturday. She’s been running a lot a longer distances, but in her seven sprint tries, she won three times and placed three times. She might be another to keep your eye on in this spot. She’s got tons of early speed, and you can look for her to break sharply from the gates in this spot and go right to the front. There isn’t a whole lot of early speed here in the Atari, but this mare definitely has some of that. Her 102 and 105 speed figures in her last two starts make her a legitimate threat in this spot.
11 — MYA’S BIRTHDAY (KY) Owner: Backmarker Stables
Odds: 9/1 (Gone West x Octagonal (NZ) x Halo)
Mya’s Birthday has been in the money in half of her 16 lifetime starts, while compiling nearly $300,000 in earnings. Three times in her career, this five year old daughter of Gone West has thrown career-high 107 speed figures, which puts her right up there with this bunch. Probably one of her most impressive outings came in November of last year in the Grade 3 Ackland Lover’s Stakes in New Zealand, where she won that 7 furlong event in a time of 1:21 3/5, which equals the winning time of the last two Atari Stakes here in Ireland. She’s won all her money in the sprints, only stepping outside that distance twice in her career. You can draw a line through her last start. Throw out that twelfth place finish in the $500,000 Grade 2 Coolmore Stakes. Not only did she face a monster field there, but she also had to run on a slightly off turf course, which she probably didn’t like a whole lot. She’s coming in here to the Atari pretty well rested, so look for her to bounce back with a much better effort in Ireland on Saturday.
12 — VAPORIZE (KY) Owner: Peppermill Stables
Odds: 6/1 (Ghostzapper x A.P. Indy x Storm Cat)
This extremely well-bred daughter of Ghostzapper started off her career on the dirt, before finally finding her true home on the turf. She’s finished in the money in 15 of her 16 career starts, including the last one, where she beat a couple of these she’ll face here on Saturday in the Yasawa Turf Mare Sprint in Dubai. She threw a 108 speed figure in that race. She’s only had nine starts on the turf, but she’s thrown triple digit speed figures in her last eight outings. This bodes extremely well for Vaporize in this field. She finished second to Foulston in the Carrot Classic back on Christmas Day in New Zealand. Vaporize should do extremely well in this spot on Saturday. She shapes up well against this field, and she’s definitely used to finishing in the top three. She’s one of about three in here who has legitimate early speed, and if she gets loose on the lead here Saturday, she could very well wire this field. Watch Vaporize closely. She’ll probably be bet down in this field, a field she stacks up nicely against.