The second owner-restricted race in this weekend\u2019s Smacktacular is an even mile on the lawn for older fillies and mares. It\u2019s looking like a competitive race, but I have to give a grudging edge to Kentucky (I\u2019m a Vermonster, myself). They have the favorite and a couple of other nice runners. Vermont is presenting some possibilities, too, but unfortunately I don\u2019t see a lot of hope for the GR Simsters in this one. If I\u2019m wrong, the Simster can (and I\u2019m sure will) feel free to mock me publicly and tirelessly.<\/p>\n
TEAM KENTUCKY<\/b><\/p>\n
BACK IN YOUR ARMS\t#1\tIant \t4\/1\tKentucky throws down with a truly magnificent mare, a Kingmambo who has won her last 3, including two Grade 3s. On top of that, the hillbillies managed to land the services of ace jock D Givins, who wins at a 24% clip. I suppose the biggest knock on this mare is that she could bounce off that huge 111 figure she ran LTO. But she\u2019s well-rested with a 6-week break and with such a stellar jock aboard, she\u2019s clearly the one to beat.<\/p>\n
MERRY MARA\t\t#2\tKk1039\t12\/1\tNext door to the favorite will be teammate Merry Mara. She\u2019s very nice in long sprints, but hasn\u2019t hit the board in three route attempts. Nor has she shown much flair for top-level competition. If she digs deep, she could conceivably bring home some honors, but this just doesn\u2019t look like her best situation.<\/p>\n
ARKANSAW DIAMOND\t#8\tSimond\t8\/1\tSeeking the Gold mare is another nice sprinter who will probably run out of gas as the girls head for home. A graded winner, she\u2019s a speedy girl who won\u2019t be in her element in this race.<\/p>\n
K\u2019S PANACHE\t\t#12\tKuovadis\t10\/1\tFinished third to teammate Back in Your Arms last time out. Before that she won the Grade 2 Adelaide Mile. She likes the distance and is a tough competitor. Unfortunately, this FuPeg daughter landed a jockey who\u2019s winning at only a 5% clip. Nonetheless, she is seldom off the board in recent starts and has to be taken very seriously as a place or show contender.<\/p>\n
CRYPTO MESA\t\t#13\tSjmeola6\t8\/1\tKentucky rounds out their team with another really nice sprinter. Did anyone tell them how long this race is? Actually, this mare has only routed twice, so she may have some ability that hasn\u2019t shown itself yet. She has a good jock aboard, so this closer should get a good trip and might get going in time to take home a piece of the prize.<\/p>\n
TEAM VERMONT<\/b><\/p>\n
GIANT SOUVENIR\t\t#6\tsouvenirs\t25\/1\tVermont has the dubious honor of presenting the race\u2019s two longest shots, and this is one of them. She\u2019s actually a promising little mare, with 4 wins and 2 seconds in only 8 starts. This is a big step up for her, though, and it is likely to be too much for her at this point in time. I expect her to finish respectably, but am not looking for her in the top 3.<\/p>\n
ASH HIGHWAY\t\t#7\tSocalman\t19\/1\tRock-solid allowance mare who is in deep here. She\u2019ll try her heart out, but will almost certainly be outclassed. <\/p>\n
LIBERTY TREE\t\t#9\tKelsobarn\t10\/1\tVeteran of many overnight stakes is taking a step up here, but she\u2019s a gritty, fast horse who is seldom off the board. She\u2019ll be receiving the skilled guidance of P. Cadigan, who should bring out her best. Not the flashiest horse in the race, but a very honest horse who could very well do some damage.<\/p>\n
MAMBO BIRDIE\t\t#10\tKnowlton\t6\/1\tVermont proudly presents the race\u2019s second choice, a Kingmambo daughter who has won her last 3. They were all allowances, but she has earned some very big speed figures. She is a grade 1 winner who has a history of benefiting from dirt-turf switches like the one she\u2019s making this week. She also has a superb jockey aboard and is well-rested. I like her chances a lot.<\/p>\n
MONTOYA\t\t\t#15\tEcosse\t\t74\/1\tEx-claimer takes one for the team.<\/p>\n
TEAM GR SIMSTERS<\/b><\/p>\n
LILY MANSFIELD\t\t#3\tBigmoose2\t14\/1\tSuccessful mare has mostly sprinted, though she has fared pretty well in routes, too. Ran well and won in a mile-long overnight stakes last time out, but seemed to benefit from the off track. Capable of running a big race, but is probably outgunned in this one.<\/p>\n
SMACKDOWN\t\t#4\tPeeps5\t\t14\/1\tAmbitiously-named Irish-bred mare has placed in graded company and is a solid, consistent horse. She\u2019d need her best race to be a factor here, but it\u2019s not entirely out of her reach. Should get a solid ride from D Sherman.<\/p>\n
BUCK WILD\t\t\t#5\tLenny11\t15\/1\tKingmambo mare won a graded race at 8.5f recently, so we know she has it in her, but she has also run some pretty dismal races. Won easily in a small field last time out, but it\u2019s a huge step up here. At her best, she\u2019s very, very good, but she\u2019d really need a top effort to be competitive.<\/p>\n
COMPENSATION\t\t#11\tLenny12\t9\/1\tGR Simsters\u2019 best hope comes in the form of this Seeking the Gold mare, a grade I winner who was a very competitive third in graded company LTO. She\u2019s run a couple of off races recently, but if she can find her way back to her best form she will be a major threat in this race. Keep an eye on her to come from a few lengths back.<\/p>\n
QUEEN DOMINIQUE\t#14\tDragon1\t23\/1\tMare has had good success in longer sprints, especially in overnight stakes. Last race shows she may have a real future as a mudder. This weekend, though, she\u2019s looking at a race that\u2019s a little too long and a little too tough for her.<\/p>\n
Good luck everyone! Especially Vermont!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Smacktacular Continues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"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-2743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743","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\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}