{"id":10621,"date":"2013-04-05T17:35:24","date_gmt":"2013-04-05T17:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=10621"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=10621","title":{"rendered":"Preview \u2013 Orange Blossom Stakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preview \u2013 Orange Blossom Stakes<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

Saturday 3:00:00 OGT<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

Older females battle it out in Arkansas\u2019 Grade One OrangeBlossom Stakes this week for a purse of $500,000.\u00a0 <\/span>The purse may seem light though, comparedwith the rich history this race has.\u00a0 <\/span>Apopular spot for Eastern and Western runners to meet early in the season, theOrange Blossom brings plenty of good fillies together this year.\u00a0 <\/span>The race is run over a mile and one sixteenthon a fast dirt course.\u00a0 <\/span>Last year\u2019swinner Seein Stars is in the field looking to make it two in a row, butinterestingly she is joined by two stablemates from the powerful desperadobarns.\u00a0 <\/span>That well reputed trainerbelieves this is a key race early in the year and is taking no chances tryingto bring the trophy home for a second year in a row.\u00a0 <\/span>But the field is a full one of fourteen andeach filly and mare entered has a legitimate shot so let\u2019s take a look at thefield.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#1 Saratoga Fling is a lightly raced four year oldBernardini filly but she sure is improving at the right time.\u00a0 <\/span>She enters off the biggest victory of hercareer the Grade One Santa Marina Handicap at a mile and one sixteenth.\u00a0 <\/span>Her average speed over her last four startsis 110.75 which is hugely impressive for such an inexperienced mare.\u00a0 <\/span>She\u2019s also shown herself to be a push buttonkind of filly.\u00a0 <\/span>She can lay close earlyor fall back if need be and still get to the wire first.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#2 Russian Machine is the first of the desperado trio.\u00a0 <\/span>The five year old Giant\u2019s Causeway mare hasonly one start in 2013, a second place finish in the Grade One Santa MarinaHandicap, behind Saratoga Fling.\u00a0 <\/span>She rana 108 speed but her career best is a 113 she ran last October.\u00a0 <\/span>Russian Machine is searching her first gradedwin in this spot but she\u2019s come close before, losing the Grade Three NorthernOaks by only one half length in 2011.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#3 Too Many Songs is a late developing mare by Unbridled\u2019sSong.\u00a0 <\/span>The five year old won her firststakes on December 29th<\/font><\/sup> in her first attempt and she did it withstyle, taking a listed with a 114 speed.\u00a0<\/span>Too Many Songs jumped immediately into graded company after that,running third in the Grade One Santa Marina behind Saratoga Fling and RussianMachine with a solid 108 speed.\u00a0 <\/span>Hercareer best speed came in December also, when she won an allowance with a115.\u00a0 <\/span>Even though this mare is new tostakes company she\u2019s super consistent.\u00a0<\/span>She\u2019s been in the money in\u00a0<\/span>eighteen of twenty starts.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#4 Lucky\u2019s FTW is the lightest raced horse in the field withonly ten starts.\u00a0 <\/span>The four year oldStreet Cry filly has fewer runs than some of her opponents have wins.\u00a0 <\/span>She\u2019s only got three wins but overall is nineof ten in the money.\u00a0 <\/span>Lucky\u2019s FTW\u2019s lasttwo races have been smashing.\u00a0 <\/span>She wassecond by a length and one half in a grade two with a 112 speed and ran back atseven furlongs to be beaten a head in a grade one sprint with a 114 speed.\u00a0 <\/span>She flies from the back of the pack and allLucky\u2019s FTW needs is a little luck to get to the wire first.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#5 Autobahns is a four year old Quality Road filly.\u00a0 <\/span>She ended 2012 with her first graded victory,taking the Grade Two Hunted By Lions with a 111 speed.\u00a0 <\/span>Autobahns has been a bit unlucky in her twostarts this year.\u00a0 <\/span>She finished third ina listed when stretching out to a mile and three sixteenths and then ran thirdagain in a grade two at a mile and one eighth where she ran a 114 speed.\u00a0 <\/span>Autobahns will likely be setting or pressingthe pace early on.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#6 Seein Stars is desperado\u2019s second entrant and the returningchampion in this race.\u00a0 <\/span>The five year oldSea the Stars mare won last year\u2019s edition with a 113 speed but she may need torun faster this year to take home the win.\u00a0<\/span>Judging by her most recent race she just may be up to it \u2013 she preppedover this track in a grade three, winning with a 115 speed and two starts priorshe ran a 113 winning a residency restricted stakes.\u00a0 <\/span>Age has certainly not caught up with SeeinStars and she\u2019s got a strong chance of making it two in a row in this race.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#7 Cause For Alarm is the last of the desperado stablematesand the oldest.\u00a0 <\/span>The six year old Giant\u2019sCauseway mare is in career form.\u00a0 <\/span>In herlast four starts she won her first graded stakes and her average speed is a110.\u00a0 <\/span>She only has one start this yearbut it was a very facile listed win with a 112 speed.\u00a0 <\/span>If this mare has a chink in her armor it\u2019sthat she does not like to rate.\u00a0 <\/span>Her bestraces have come when she leads wire to wire.\u00a0<\/span>She can win sitting off the pace but she\u2019s much happier when she\u2019s onthe front end.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#8 Shades of Alex won a grade on as a three year old but thenow five year old daughter of Afleet Alex is looking for her first victory ofany kind in over six months.\u00a0 <\/span>She did wina grade two last May and a listed in July but has fallen on hard timessince.\u00a0 <\/span>She was off the board in five consecutivestarts before running second by a head in a listed in her most recentstart.\u00a0 <\/span>That run saw her run a 110 speedbut the race came at seven and one half furlongs.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#9 All Magic is a five year old daughter of A.P. Indy whohas matured into a very nice mare later in her career.\u00a0 <\/span>She ran in her first stakes race inSeptember, won her first listed in October and now has two listed wins and twothirds in grades in her last four starts.\u00a0<\/span>Those races have all come between a mile and a mile and one eighth sothe distance is right for her.\u00a0 <\/span>Shecloses from well off the pace and needs a little luck negotiating trafficthrough the stretch but this filly is very hot right now and there is no reasonto think she won\u2019t get a graded win soon.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#10 Ligeia is he only millionaire in the field.\u00a0 <\/span>The four year old daughter of Big Brown was agrade one winner as a three year old and finished third in the Breeder\u2019s BowlDistaff towards the end of the season.\u00a0<\/span>She\u2019s made two starts this year, finishing fourth in a grade two andsecond, beaten only one half length by Three Forty Three in the Grade OneOriginal Margarita Invitational.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#11 Diplomatic Ties is a five year old daughter ofKingmambo.\u00a0 <\/span>She\u2019s graded placed on bothturf and dirt but has never won a big one.\u00a0<\/span>Diplomatic Ties has two starts on the year, both at a mile and onesixteenths.\u00a0 <\/span>She won a listed easily witha 109 speed and then was second by a length in another listed with a 111speed.\u00a0 <\/span>That 111 was a career best forthe mare who has hit the board in four graded races, three within the pastyear.\u00a0 <\/span>She may be getting good at theright time for this spot.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#12 Three Forty Three is a four year old Awesome Again fillywho enters this race off the biggest victory of her career.\u00a0 <\/span>She became a grade on winner when she tookthe Original Margarita Invitational at a mile and one eighth with a 110speed.\u00a0 <\/span>She had only become a gradedwinner two starts prior to that, winning the Grade Two Barbacoa Handicap inDecember.\u00a0 <\/span>If this filly has a weaknessit is that she seems to get hot and cold, running a big race and then followingit up with a poor one.\u00a0 <\/span>She hasn\u2019t puttwo good races together\u00a0 <\/span>without a layoffbetween them since August.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#13 Medulla Oblongata is a four year old Medaglia D\u2019orofilly.\u00a0 <\/span>She was a grade three winner as atwo year old and entered her sophomore season as a classic candidate.\u00a0 <\/span>She made it to the Bluegrass Oaks but waswell beaten and fell off form for a while.\u00a0<\/span>She reversed her fortunes last October, winning three straight allowanceraces between one mile and a mile and one eighth.\u00a0 <\/span>She exploded back into stakes company in heronly start this year, running champion Final Exit to within a quarter length inthe Grade Two Canada Stakes while running a career best 115 speed.\u00a0 <\/span><\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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#14 Lawabiding Song is a six year old daughter of Unbridled\u2019sSong who scored her only graded win in May of 2012.\u00a0 <\/span>Since that race she has one second placefinish from eight starts, all in graded races.\u00a0<\/span>That second did come in a grade one but it was at a mile and one quarterand her graded victory came at a mile and three sixteenths.\u00a0 <\/span>The thought here is that this race may be tooshort for this filly to show her true stuff.<\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n

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Good luck to all! <\/o:p><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday 3:00:00 OGT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10621\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}