Spotlight Race of the Week-Ireland
The last Spotlight race I covered was two weeks ago as I was away on vacation last week. That race was an allowance race in Sweden and Alpine Special rolled off to a two length win as my top choice at 5-2 and he was the second choice with betters.
8-1 ZZM took second, who I stepped away from, as his form was just not there…..well, now he may be getting back to the same shape he was in last year. My second choice was the favorite Blush Again who finished forth.
Coming in third was Fly Dubai who I also tagged for third. The 4-1 shot I felt could “improve immensely” off the 87 speed in his last race. He did, scoring a 97 rating. Now onto this week’s race. We’re in Ireland this week for a Starter Allowance race, which is the fourth one on the program. It is open to fillies and mares that are four and older who have recently raced in a claimer with a tag of $5,000. The gals will be running 6 furlongs on the turf.
1. Formal Approach 9-1 -Seems to be stuck in second gear, with three consecutive seconds. Lifetime she has one win with six seconds in 20 starts. Speeds have been in low 80’s and has an outside shot in this race as favorites in race are showing better numbers.
2. Lantana 58-1-Last hit the board in early 2010 when she was running speeds in mid-70’s. In money 4 of 39 races and looks doubtful here. Has already appeared in 12 races in 2011 racing every 2 to 3 weeks on average. Speeds are mainly in mid-60 range and aggressive racing schedule may be having impact on this one.
3. Steady Escort 5-1-Disappointing outing in last, finishing well back, but that was in slop and a throw-away race. Otherwise speeds have been low to mid 80’s but she did hit 91 in April. Could be a surprise factor in this race.
4. Devil in Rome 17-1-Comes off claim and this one has been inconsistent. She will pick up a purse check here and there for finishing third or fourth and other times just not factor into the race. Speeds have ranged from 67 to 81 over last six outings. Hard to get behind.
5. Fatboy Viking 86-1-New stable Chriso inherited this runner when the stable was established. Last week was the first time in almost four years that she raced and scored a speed of 59 on the turf. 65 is the top speed this one ever recorded. Has one week of rest and looks to be one to dump after getting the token 20-races in.
6. Royal Ladyii 97-1-Agressively raced this gal has 14 starts this season. Her top speed this year is 70 which she obtained when breaking her maiden back in February. Highest speed over last five is a 65. She races every other week and the wear shows. Hard to tell if a rest break would help, but may be worth a shot.
7. Big Boob 5-2 –Claimed in February, new connections ran once in March and this horse was sidelined until July. Largely a dirt runner, she was moved back to turf and hit SP of 87 while finishing third. This is her second race back after a lay off and many times there is noticeable improvement. Worth a shot.
8. On a Thin Line 2-1-A slow learner, this one has gradually improved her speeds from the low 70’s to the current low 90’s over the past year and a half. She has won three of her last five and will be looking to wire the field. She is very capable of accomplishing this.
9. Red Galileo 2-1-In the money 14 of 22 races on grass with 5 career wins. Nice cheap claim off last race where she had been dropped from $25k claimers to $10k claimers down to $4k claimers despite finishing no worse than forth in those races. Very good spot for her to be in with two of last three race speeds in the 90’s.
Looks like the outside posts are the best here, just a matter of who will get top honors. I’m going with On a Thin line to win it with Red Galileo in the second spot. I think both of these will be just off the pace which I think Big Boob will set and she gets my third pick.