With barely enough time to catch our breath after watching \u2018The Arkansas Juvenile Grade II\u2019 you can hear that the horses are making their way to the paddock for \u2018The Fantasia Handicap Grade II.\u2019 We watched the boys in the Juvenile and not to be outdone, the girls are just as tough in the Fantasia. The three year old racing season is really starting to heat up for the boys and the girls. In this one you have the # 6 and # 12 ranked Dirt Classic fillies facing off for the first time. For three entries, you also have a rematch of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th place finishers of The Sweet Nanette (G1) facing off yet again. With another tough race to handicap, you might want to go down by the fence where all the kids are playing and ask them to pick a number between 1 and 14. I can guarantee it would be a lot easier than picking a winner in this race. Tough, tough call today. The girls\u2019 Grade II will cover a mile and one sixteenth on the fast dirt for a purse of $250,000. Well, light\u2019em if you gottem and let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n
(PP1 \u2013 20\/1) Powered By Azroc, of the Whoami stable, is one of a handful of long shots in the race. This 3 year old filly has hit the board in 3 of 4 routes, but clearly belongs in the long shot category. This Pulpit X Deputy Minister X Forward filly has not only the lowest career average SP # with an 80.2, but she also has never fired higher than an 86 SP #. She would really have to fire a career race today to have her picture taken, even though she did finish 3rd two races back in a Grade I sprint. Not a factor. Needs more time to mature at the distance if she ever will.<\/p>\n
(PP2 \u2013 11\/1) Hose Blower, of the Hansg stable, is a 3 year old filly that has hit the board in 5 of 7 routes with 2 wins. This War Chant X A.P. Indy X Storm Cat filly is currently ranked # 66 in the Dirt Classic category with 16 Stakes points. Hose Blower finished up her 2 year old season in nice form with a win in the St. Opal Special firing a 90 SP # coming from 8 \u00be back to win by 2 lengths. In her first race as a 3 year old, she fell off with her SP # but still finished up with a 5th place finish in her first race against Graded Stakes company. I doubt she will make the jump to the winner\u2019s circle, but she could collect a check.<\/p>\n
(PP3 \u2013 6\/1) Fame Or Fortune, of the Kyclocker2 stable, is one of the three co-favorites according to the morning line odds. I love the name of this filly! This Smarty Jones X Seattle Slew X Northern Dancer filly has won 3 of her four distance races, and the only race she didn\u2019t win was a 2nd place finish LTO in the Sweet Nanette Stakes (G1) to Unbridled Mistress, one of the other co-favorites. Fame Or Fortune has fired consecutive 96 SP # races. She won her only attempt at the mile and a sixteenth distance so this is definitely her type of race. If she doesn\u2019t hit the board today, the fix is in.<\/p>\n
(PP4 \u2013 10\/1) King Of Miracles(IRE), of the Alybobbob stable, has hit the board in 8 of 8 routes, with 3 wins!! Ok, ok, ok. Settle down. Let me get to the rest of the story. This King Of Kings(IRE) X Unbridled X Irish River(FR) filly has never run against Graded Stakes company or even lower level Stakes company for that matter. King Of Miracles(IRE) has only fired a 90 SP # once in her career. She has been on the slow and steady rise, but it would take a \u2018miracle\u2019 for this filly to find the winner\u2019s circle today. She will finish out of the money today for the first time in her career.<\/p>\n
(PP5 \u2013 13\/1) Wondergirl Elf, of the Zeco1 stable, is a difficult filly to figure out, and I think the Zeco1 stable is trying to find something out about this filly today. This Danzig Connection X Storm Cat X Lost Code filly fired a huge 95 SP # in her first 3 year old race in The Baby Carson Special with a 2nd place finish. It was at the mile and a sixteenth distance as is today\u2019s race, but it was against a small field, against lower level Stakes company, and was in the slop. The fact that she has two 2nd place finishes on an off track is what worries me today because without that factoring into her huge SP # I don\u2019t think she is a distance horse at this stage of her career. Wondergirl Elf has hit the board in 5 of her 6 sprints but only once in her routes and that being the race in the slop. Does she like the distance that much? Was it a career race with that huge 95 SP # or does she like the slop that much? I am not expecting her to hit the board. I think this filly just likes to get dirty and play in the mud.<\/p>\n
(PP6 \u2013 19\/1) Qarthan Muse(IRE), of the Redback stable, is another of the long shots in the race. This Street Cry(IRE) X Cat Thief X Coastal filly has 2 wins and a 2nd place finish in 4 distance races. If you throw out her turf attempt a few races back, this filly has steadily improved her SP # in each of her last few races. Qarthan Muse(IRE) ran very well in her LTO in The Kitty Katz Special, a low level Stakes race, where she finished 2nd with a 90 SP #. It was her first attempt in Stakes company, but it was also a small field. She has never run in a full field and that worries me. She is also making a big jump today into Graded Stakes company. She is steadily improving, but she has to show more to justify this level.<\/p>\n
(PP7 \u2013 21\/1) Indy Away, of the Lulu stable, is the morning line long shot of the race. This is the only filly in the race to have ever had a claim tag around her neck. She was claimed by the Lulu stable for $20,000. Since then, Indy Away has run nothing but distance races where she has fared pretty well for a recent claimer. The downfall to this fanfare is that of those three in the money finishes, two were 2nd place finishes in starter allowance races and the other was a win in an allowance NW1x race. She is consistently firing off 85 SP # or at least she has in every race this year. Indy Away was a nice claim for the Lulu stable, but she definitely needs to prove she can climb the ladder of the allowance class before she makes this jump.<\/p>\n
(PP8 \u2013 6\/1) Unbridled Mistress, of the Fatattack stable, is the sort of mistress every good trainer should have, and if you play the trainer, Fatattack, shows you how to get a horse to get ready for a race. This Awesome Again X Unbridled X Alydar filly has only won 4 of 6 routes with a 2nd place finish thrown in for good measure. That explains how she is currently ranked # 12 in the Dirt Classic category with 78 Stakes points. After her first two races, which resulted in wins, Unbridled Mistress got a little full of herself. Her next time out, she was humbled in her first attempt at Graded Stakes company finishing up in 10th place with the worst SP # of her career. Fatattack knew how to get his filly ready for her next venture into Grade company. He dropped her down into a smaller field against lower level Stakes company where she finished with a 2nd place finish to end her 2 year old racing season. He then gave her a few weeks off before dropping her in class yet again, this time into allowance company against an even smaller field. Unbridled Mistress responded with an easy win. Fatattack kept his fingers crossed but with those two races he hoped he had given his little filly some confidence to make the jump back into Graded company. In her LTO, Unbridled Mistress ran in the Sweet Nanette Stakes (G1) against a full field. She fired a career high 99 SP # and won the race pulling away at the end. I think this filly is clearly the horse to beat today as long as she can keep herself under control. She is clearly the most talented filly in the race if she can put it all together.<\/p>\n
(PP9 \u2013 6\/1) Katherine, of the Phonetrick stable, is final co-favorite of the race according to the morning line odds. This Pine Bluff X Blushing Groom(FR) X Nijinsky II filly is very lightly raced having only broken from the gate three times in her career. She has won both of her career sprints and finished up in 3rd place in her only route so far. Wow, don\u2019t those SP #s just jump off the program at you?? I think I need another smoke. Katherine may play the upset to Unbridled Mistress in this one. The only hesitation I have is that her longest race, which is a mile, she only fired an 87 SP #. If this were a 7 or 7 \u00bd furlong race, with SP #s of 95 and 97, I would have to say she is the one to beat, but we are going a mile and a sixteenth. Until she proves she can fire big at a route, I would have to give her the nod as the 3rd choice in this one. But I can\u2019t blame you if you just can\u2019t pass up those SP #s this early in her career.<\/p>\n
(PP10 \u2013 9\/1) Black Glitter, of the Wiz10 stable, is a more heavily raced 3 year old filly than most in the race. This Glitterman X Damascus X Storm Bird filly has hit the board in 9 of 11 career races and all 5 of her routes. She also has won 3 of her 5 distance races. Currently ranked # 47 in the Dirt Classic category, Black Glitter should not escape your consideration. She has only run twice this year, winning both races against small fields. In her last race as a 2 year old, Black Glitter ran 3rd in the Reflection Futurity (G3) so she does have some experience against this class of runners. She may not be as classy as the three co-favorites, but she could be a surprise factor if overlooked. You never know if she will regain that 2 year old form today.<\/p>\n
(PP11 \u2013 18\/1) Dixieland Slam, of the Profitthis stable, is another long shot of the race. This Grand Slam X Dixieland Band X Pine Bluff filly has hit the board in 2 of her 3 career routes. She won her Stakes debut two races back in The Rear Admiral Bonanza, but it was a small field where she was able to close from way back to win easily. She fired an 81 SP # to win that race. If Dixieland Slam improve on her LTO where she faced a full field in The Sweet Nanette Stakes (G1) she could be in the mix here, but it would take a heck of a race. She was beaten by both Katherine and Unbridled Mistress in The Sweet Nanette (G1). I think Dixieland Slam falls back to Earth in this one and finishes up out of the top five.<\/p>\n
(PP12 \u2013 9\/1) The Westies, of the Super28 stable, has won 4 of 9 career races and 2 of 5 routes. This Seeking The Gold X Deputy Minister X Troy(GB) filly does have the capability to fire mid 90 SP #s as she did in her final 2 year old race, the Reflection Futurity (G3) where she finished just behind Black Glitter. She doesn\u2019t have the track record of Black Glitter, but if she fires a big race as she can sometimes do she could pop into the top five finishers.<\/p>\n
(PP13 \u2013 11\/1) Groomed To Romp T, of the Pick6 stable, is a deceiving filly. This Gone West X Blushing Groom(FR) X Cr\u00e8me Dela Cr\u00e8me filly has won 4 of her 7 sprints, hitting the board in all 7 races. She also has a 1st and a 3rd in her two off track races. So you are thinking, ok, she doesn\u2019t belong here then, especially since she has not won a route and has only hit the board in 2 of 6 races. Well, not so fast. Groomed To Romp T, before she flopped and finished dead last her LTO, finished up with back to back 3rd place finishes in (G2) company, the most impressive and significant race being The Los Vinegrette Stakes, which was a mile on the dirt. She also fired a 90 and 91 SP # in those races. She may not like the distance, though, since her last three attempts at a mile and a sixteenth have all been in the 70 SP # range. It looks like to me the distance is too far for her. I would be surprised if Groomed To Romp T hits the top five in today\u2019s race. <\/p>\n
(PP14 \u2013 7\/1) Winning Season, of the Cdragon stable, has won 4 of 9 races and 3 of 6 routes. This Lemon Drop Kid X Private Account X The Minstrel filly is currently ranked # 6 in the Dirt Classic category with 106 Stakes points. Although she has yet to face off against Unbridled Mistress, Winning Season ran in The Breeder\u2019s Bowl Juvenile Filly (G1) last year coming in 5th place. She is coming off a win in the Davola Dane South (G2), where she fired a 94 SP #. I am not sure how Winning Season could not be included in the group of three co-favorites, but she is every bit as worthy. Definitely somewhere in the mix. Too tough to call.<\/p>\n
Bigbaba<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lots of Storylines in Fantasia!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"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-1882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882","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\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}