Named after one of the greatest, if not the greatest, filly to set foot to the turf, the inaugural edition of this race has attracted a high caliber field, with three of the top five ranked turf routing fillies set to answer the starter\u2019s call. This race could very well have Eclipse implications. However, this race has some interesting pace implications, as this field is devoid of a genuine frontrunner – of the fourteen, Jaca, Bit of a Ruse and Mountain Goose have shown the most early foot. On to the post parade:
PP1: Nob Hill<\/B>, (Miesque\u2019s Son x With Approval x Theatrical)
Novanora\u2019s<\/I> talented miss made quite a name for herself during the summer and early fall, winning the G3 Fast Lane Stakes and G1 GSR Diamond, the latter by an easy 2 1\/4 lengths with an 87 SF, leaving many of the other top turfers in her wake, and going unbeaten in three starts on the green. Since then, she\u2019s had a bit of a struggle, finishing a dull eighth in the Juvenile Turf, and then tailing off badly in the Silver Spoon, with her speed figures taking a mild hit; not exactly the sort of progress one would hope for. The latter race came a mere three weeks\u2019 ago, not exactly the best recipe for a peak performance out of a 2yo, although Northern Red proved that theory wrong last week. Nice, nice filly, gets the leading rider in Benisz, but needs to turn things around here.
PP2: Bit of a Ruse<\/B> (Seeking the Gold x Danehill x Mill Reef)
Danehill Reef has had quite a start to her broodmare career. Her first foal, Orca, was a G1 winner on the dirt; while Bit of a Ruse, his full sister, earned her G1 win on the turf last time out. The gradeone<\/I> miss needs to prove that she can do it against some of the best in the division (although Bella, who finished fifth, took a 10 point jump in her next start), and she\u2019ll need to take another step forward, speed-figure wise, but she\u2019s made all the right moves in her first three starts on the turf, winning all three and offers some nice value at 11\/1.
PP3: Sunshaft<\/B> (Mineshaft x Kris S. x Storm Cat)
This late blooming filly has improved since stretching out to a route, going unbeaten in two starts at a mile or more. Her latest effort for mrbigbe<\/I> garnered some serious attention, as she earned a 90 SF when strolling home nearly 3 lengths in front in the Summer Mill Bonanza. Gets a class test here, but based on her latest effort, could be any kind, and decently priced at 8\/1.
PP4: Jaca<\/B> (Mt. Livermore x Gone West x Roberto)
This beautiful filly is riding high after her victory in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile Turf Filly (91 SF). Prior to that she had won the G2 More Glare, and seeks the graded hattrick tomorrow. With seven weeks\u2019 rest, the palmisland<\/I> filly is primed for another big outing, although it is somewhat surprising that her connections opted for Case over Benisz, although Case is the solid #2 rider at the track. Her midpack style should once again get her the jump on the closers, although she proved earlier in her career that she can win on the lead if need be. A win goes a long way Her lone turf loss was to Super Gold in the Escapade, and if one of these two fillies can pull out a win this weekend, that may be enough to seal an Eclipse. If both win, who knows? Of course, both have to actually do that first.
PP5: Native Species<\/B> (Medaglia d\u2019Oro x Raise a Native x Riverman)
The bodgit<\/I> homebred made some noise in her turf debut, beating the boys by 2 lengths in the Get N High Stakes. Unfortunately, her next two races on this surface haven\u2019t been nearly as satisfying, getting passed late to be fifth in the G1 Filly Grand Prix, and tiring to seventh in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl. She may ultimately be better in long sprints, but gets another chance to deliver on that early promise here. Wouldn\u2019t take much improvement to turn things around
PP6: Pressure Drop (IRE)<\/B> (Galileo x Irish River x Icecapade)
The other super entry (from super14<\/I>)- she hasn\u2019t the graded credentials that Bit of A Ruse has, but she turned some heads last time out, when she returned from injury to win the Malt Storm Bonanza by 2 lengths with an 88 SF. Has had six weeks\u2019 rest since that performance, so a bounce seems unlikely. Gets a class test here, but with her pedigree, she looks to relish the extra 1\/16th. At 17\/1, may be the value play of the race.
PP7: Takethecar<\/B>, (Stroll x Rainbow Quest x Caerleon)
Freshman sire Stroll has had a pretty promising start to his stud career. Ontarget2’s<\/I> miss made a huge closing move to finish second in the GSR Diamond, and the extra 1\/16th looked like it was exactly what she needed. However, she never really fired in the big dance itself. She looks to make amends on Saturday, but she\u2019ll need a lively pace, and will probably need to take another step forward to challenge some of those with flashier numbers. Still, lots to like about this young filly.
PP8: Mountain Goose<\/B>, (Mountain Cat x Forty Niner x Tri Jet)
This rosesinmay<\/I> trainee won the River Walk Stakes at a flat mile three starts back (77 SF), but found G1 competition a bit much when eighth in the G1 Filly Grand Prix. She dropped to the allowance ranks on BB week to get a confidence boost, and while she made a mild rally, ultimately, she had to settle for second behind Light the Rock. She didn\u2019t win, but she did earn a career best 85 SF, and Light the Rock looks to be a pretty nice filly. Still has a lot to prove against a tough field, but may be heading in the right direction.
PP9: Tenacious V<\/B>, (Vindication x Lear Fan x Buckpasser)
An okay filly on the main track, Tenacious V has turned into something special on the turf. She won an allowance race in easy fashion in her first race on the surface, earning a solid 88 SF for the mile. Peeps4<\/I> recognized he had something, and sent her against the boys in graded competition for her next race. In the G3 Flying Saucer Stakes, she emerged victorious, rolling late to blow by the frontrunners and pull away by 2 \u00bd. Hopes were high in the BB, but while she made up a ton of ground in the stretch; it wasn\u2019t enough, and she had to settle for fourth. The main concern here is whether she\u2019ll once again have too much to do in the stretch, but has the talent and the late kick to get the job done.
PP10: Pay No Attention<\/B>, (Johannesburg x Kingmambo x Rahy)
Despite the name, this filly is trying to make a name for herself. Racing solely on the lawn, she has improved with distance, winning the Lionel Twain Stakes at a mile (77SF), then finishing second behind Bit of A Ruse in the Graduation Stakes (82 SF). Like the winner of the Graduation, this simsters1<\/I> miss will need to show continued progress against the BB runners, but has done little wrong so far in her short career, and this is the time of year that the late blooming two year olds start improving in leaps and bounds.
PP11: Leader of the Pack(IRE)<\/B> (Theatrical x Mr. Prospector x Secretariat)
By Theatrical, you would have thought that this cgk<\/I> trainee would have debuted on this surface, but she actually began her career on the main track, winning a stakes over that surface. Only in her latest start did she switch to the turf, where she promptly won the Cavalcade Cup for the NWRC residency. Now, she steps into the big time. Her speed figure wasn\u2019t as strong as some of the favorites, but she\u2019s eligible to make the leap.
PP12: Maeve\u2019s Causeway(IRE)<\/B> (Giant\u2019s Causeway x Red Ransom x Hospitality)
Lightly raced miss could be any kind. After easily winning her debut, the dark bay miss was second in the Four Bee Memorial, while making up ground on the winner. In her next start, she brought home the bragging rights for galileo<\/I> in the GR Simsters Juvy Fillies Turf (84 SF). Gets a class test here, but is eligible to do exactly that.
PP13: Bella(IRE)<\/B> (Moon Ballad x Carson City x Gone West)
Wheels back three weeks after a bang-up effort in the G2 Silver Spoon, when Bella closed from 10th to 3rd in the stretch, earning a 91 SF in the process; the best in the field. Quick turn around time, and ultimately, will want 9 furlongs or longer with that running style. Still, the graz628<\/I> filly has been steadily improving with distance, and barring a bounce, should be making up ground late once again.
PP14: Fusaichi Inferno<\/B> (Fusaichi Pegasus x Nureyev x Green Desert)
Nicely bred filly is another in this field who found an extra gear when shifted to the lawn. In two starts, the chesnut won a one mile allowance, then closed for second in stakes competition, posting an 85 SF both times. She has the pedigree to be a top horse, as her two half-brothers, Gold Inferno and Cry Inferno, are both graded stakes winners. Like several of the others in this race, will get a real class test this weekend.
Good luck to all – this should be quite a race!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BB Heroine Jaca Takes on 13 other top routers; pace may make race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":438,"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":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319","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\/438"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}