\u00a0A full field of 14 3 year old fillies will line up to try the still wet dirt course in the Grade I Sweet Nanette Stakes<\/I><\/B>, the feature race on New Jersey’s card this Saturday. The rain from last week’s Nor’ Easter stopped yesterday, but the drying track is still expected to be rated as ‘Good’ for the race. The competitors by Post Position:
PP 1 – Powered By Azroc (Pulpit x Deputy Minister x Forward) <\/I><\/B>This whoami1<\/I> trainee only has 3 lifetime races, and her only win came in an MSW (at first asking), but there’s still a lot to like about this improving filly, like the fact that her last two races were improvements over the previous race (in speed fig numbers), as well as the fact that her last time out produced a fast-closing 3rd in the 6 furlong Grade I Sky Beauty Handicap, where she finished only a quarter-length back of the winner. She’s back at a mile, where she seems most comfortable. Still, lots of questions, but if we see still another improvement from this stalker, don’t be at all surprised to see her run down the leader at the wire.<\/P>
PP 2 – Elusive Infinity (Elusive Quality x Danehill x Seeking The Gold) <\/I><\/B>Another one who so far seems most comfortable at or near a mile, this 2die4 <\/I>charge has had some very mixed form of late. Her last time out was a sparkling effort in the Grade III Myocardial Infarction Stakes, with an eye-catching 94 speed figure, only to finish a half length back after a closing duel down the stretch. Her two before that however, were (relatively speaking) a bit lackluster, finishing 10th and 7th in a sprint and an 8 1\/2 furlong route, respectively. The times, however, weren’t too bad. And the race before those, she won an ungraded stakes at a mile. If she handles the off track (like all but two of the fillies in this race, she’s never raced on an off-track before), she should be right off the shoulder of the leader(s), and if the pace is honest, has an excellent shot here.<\/P>
PP 3 – Capoeira(IRE) (Theatrical(IRE) x Sadler’s Wells x Buckpasser) <\/I><\/B>This girl, from the noia<\/I> barn, has a few more questions than answers for this race: Like the distance. While her breeding screams for a mile and well beyond, so far she’s only had one foray at a route, and that was a well-beaten last in her third race back (in an ungraded stakes race). She’s certainly young enough to improve (and probably will), but I’d probably need a solid showing at a mile or more before I’d bet her too heavily in a Grade I mile.<\/P>
PP 4 – Indian Whiskey (Indian Charlie x Cure The Blues x Hail To Reason) <\/I><\/B>With five wins and a show from 8 starts, including a string of three stakes wins in a row, the folks at the quietgrind<\/I> stables might have been scratching their heads at a 14\/1 morning line number. On the other hand, while she’s handled ungraded stakes like a champion (4 wins in 5 overnight stakes races), her two attempts at Graded events have produced mixed results (a 7thrd and a 3rd in Grade II and III races, respectively, with speeds of 77 and 78). She’s also never tried a mile before. Still another here that likes to stalk a few lengths off the leaders, she’ll need to show she can run with this class of filly.<\/P>
PP 5 – Fame Or Fortune (Smarty Jones x Seattle Slew x Northern Dancer) <\/I><\/B>Speaking of gaudy records, this little girl only has 4 lifetime starts, but she’s won 3 of them and placed in the other, including three wins in a row (all at a mile or better, incidentally). And a speed figure last time out of 96. Looks as if kyclocker2 <\/I>has this dynamo primed and ready. She’s gone from MSW to allowance to ungraded stakes wins and seems ready to step up to the top here. Many of the same questions appear here as they do for her peers, such as handling the soft dirt, and a higher caliber of competition in Graded stakes, but this gal looks like both fame AND fortune are in the cards for her.<\/P>
PP 6 – Dixieland Slam (Grand Slam x Dixieland Band x Pine Bluff)<\/I><\/B> Profitthis <\/I>brings this filly to the table straight off of an ungraded stakes win at this exact distance, which she won in impressive fashion, coming from last to first in the last call alone. But her lifetime speeds, while certainly nothing to sneeze at, haven’t to this point shown that she can hang close enough to this crowd to cash a check. She’ll need a big improvement, but it can be done.<\/P>
PP 7 – Without Wings (Dynaformer x Palace Music x Conquistador Cielo)<\/I><\/B> Still another in this field who likes to stalk or close, this filly from the ajfarms <\/I>stable comes in off of a nice 2nd in an overnight stakes, posting an 87 speed fig. Based on her past speed numbers though, I’m not sure this one has enough jets to get the leaders in this race. Once again though, that track condition variable could always re-write the expectations here.<\/P>
PP 8 – Drop The Lemon Kid (Lemon Drop Kid x Danehill x Mr. Prospector) <\/I><\/B>I love this filly’s name, and I love her numbers too. Trainer jpcrazy<\/I> brings her in with 4 wins and 7 ITM finishes in 9 lifetime starts, and her form is heading in the right direction too, with wins in her last 2 and speed figs moving from 84 to 91 LTO. Her issues might center on class though. She’s only had one stakes start, and that was an ungraded one. However, it was her last time out and it produced her lifetime best speed fig as well as a win. And she has nice tactical speed to stay up among the leaders or stalk too. Looks to me as if this girl is also poised to run a top race.<\/P>
PP 9 – Athens (Awesome Again x Miswaki x Music Boy(GB)) <\/I><\/B>Mardigras <\/I>sends out this filly off of a 3rd in the Grade II Hello Goodbye Stakes, where the extra furlong saw her slide from the lead to almost 6 lengths back of the leader down the stretch. The trim back to a mile should help that. But I’m not sure based on those speed numbers if this one will be able to prevent her being caught in the stretch again. Has a shot for a check but will need her best race ever for a win here.<\/P>
PP 10 – Reindancer T (Hawkster x Sovereign Dancer x Sharpen Up(GB)) <\/I><\/B>A hardworking filly who’s got a bit of a case of ‘seconditis’ going on, having placed 4 times in 6 lifetime starts. She stalks, she closes, but has a hard time putting the final nail in to that last kick. This young apacolypse<\/I> trainee will also have to worry about the class in this race, and I’m not sure she’s going to have enough to finish second (or better) with these girls.<\/P>
PP 11 – Coffee (Housebuster x Seattle Slew x Pass The Glass)<\/I><\/B> Took us eleven post positions, but it looks like we found a girl who wants to set the pace. The entry from the catomine <\/I>stable likes it out front, and has 7 wins or places from 10 lifetime starts, but unless she finds another gear, the speed figure numbers she’s put up in the past probably won’t hold up with this crowd. And then she has to worry about whether the dirt will be tiring or not. On the other hand, she shouldn’t be getting many mud clots thrown up at her either.<\/P>
PP 12 – You Can’t Catch Me (Cryptoclearance x Strike Gold x Graustark) <\/I><\/B>The good news is this filly from the hawgfan1 <\/I>barn has the speed to run with these if she runs her best race, but the bad news might be the track, as her one attempt at an off track was disappointing, as she finished 7th in an ungraded stakes race on a dirt track also rated as good. Might be hard-pressed to cash a check here unless her connections have worked with her on her off-track running.<\/P>
PP 13 – Alarming Soldier (Sadler’s Wells x Mr. Prospector x Lyphard) <\/I><\/B>Ipicked4 <\/I>brings the favorite into this race, andthere is a lot to like here: She has top-notch breeding, a gaudy if lightly raced record (2-1-0 in 3 lifetime starts), two of her three starts produced speed figs of 90, and she has the speed to wire this field. Personally, I think that if she doesn’t wire this field then she may be caught by one of the many stalkers in this field. The only real rap I can see on her might be that this will be her first stakes race, and a Grade I plunge is a tough way to go for your first stakes. Still, she looks like the real deal and has a very live shot here.<\/P>
PP 14 – Unbridled Mistress (Awesome Again x Unbridled x Alydar) <\/I><\/B>Fatattack <\/I>sends out yet another budding star (another of his stables just won the Eclipse Trainer of the Year) in this daughter of Awesome Again, but with the upgrade in class here (she’s only had one lifetime Graded start, and it was a well-beaten 10th), and her previous speed figures, it’s going to take the race of her life to win here, but she’s tough, and she’s talented and she has a shot.<\/P>
My Picks<\/I><\/B><\/P>
1) Fame Or Fortune – <\/I>Stalks and just barely runs past the runner up in deep stretch<\/B><\/P>
2) Alarming Soldier <\/I>– Leads most of the race, loses at the wire.<\/B><\/P>
3) Drop The Lemon Kid – <\/I>Fine race, but just not enough to close to the wire.<\/B><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alarming Soldier, Fame Or Fortune Lead 3 Year Old Fillies on Drying Dirt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":392,"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-1742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742","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\/392"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}