\nThe Pyramids are an ancient achievement like none other. The race\nThe Pyramids may be unlike other because there is a horse who has the\nopportunity to enter the Hall of Fame with a win here. That horse is\nlast year\u2019s Champion Two Year Old Filly Turf Melanie. She is a\nsuper fast turf sprinter and the conditions here are six furlongs on\nthe lawn for three year old fillies. Even though Melanie is a\nstandout in terms of accomplishments she does not own the highest\nlast out speed of those in this race and a number of the entrants are\nup and comers who could pop an upset. There is a ton of early speed\nhere which may open things up for a late runner to come from the\nclouds and take it all. Let\u2019s take a look at the field. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sophie Hohenberg \u2013\nRepresenting Universal Racing Club<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sophie Hohenberg is\ncertainly a turf sprint specialist. She\u2019s got five wins and two\nseconds from eight starts in that vein with her only off the board\nfinish coming on an off track. She started the year off with three\nstraight wins, the last two of which were listed stakes races. The\nfirst came at five and a half furlongs, the second at seven furlongs.\n She jumped up to a grade one in April and that is where she hit the\noff track. She got back on track in her most recent start, finishing\na strong second in a six and a half furlong listed stakes with a 93\nspeed. Her career best is a 95 which she ran in that seven furlong\nlisted but the feeling here is that it wasn\u2019t the distance that\nhelped her most and the cutback to six furlongs is within her range. \nPart of that feeling is that she is pretty versatile. She can win on\nthe lead or let the front runners go and pounce late. She\u2019s a\ndaughter of Almanzor out of a grade three winning Sadler\u2019s Wells x\nMr. Prospector mare. She did her best running in turf sprints and\nhasn\u2019t been too shabby a producer either. She\u2019s got five older\nfoals, one a grade two winner and two listed winners. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voter \u2013\nRepresenting Blazing Saddles<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scratchbred Fastnet\nRock x Sadler\u2019s Wells x Blushing Groom filly Voter is another with\na fine record. She\u2019s got four wins and a third from five sprint\nstarts with one of those races coming on the dirt in her first race\nof the year. That race came in a local bred allowance. Her\nconnections decided to stretch her out to a mile and she won an open\nallowance with an 89 speed but only by a head. It probably dashed\nany Bluegrass Derby dreams they may have had. She\u2019s made three\nother starts this year, all on turf. Her first two came at six\nfurlongs and included a listed win with a 97 speed. Most recently\nshe dropped back to five and a half in a listed and was third with a\n93 speed. She\u2019s a confirmed front runner but she can battle on the\nearly lead and put away her opponents so she\u2019s got grit. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melanie \u2013\nRepresenting Empire State Racing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The big filly in\nthis race is Melanie. Last season she took the Champion Two Year Old\nFilly Turf honors by winning three grade ones and a grade three, all\nsprinting. She got a ten week break between her two and three year\nold seasons and returned in a grade one at six furlongs. In that\nstart she battled for the early lead before falling short late,\nlosing by a length while second. Her next start was simply\nspectacular. She again battled for the early lead but easily put\naway her rivals and won by a length and a quarter with a massive 107\nspeed. That was the Grade One Remy Special and it came over seven\nfurlongs on a good dirt course. Her most recent start was at the end\nof May and was another grade one at seven furlongs. She followed her\ntypical racing style but her margin of victory was less than a length\nand she only ran a 103 speed. If Melanie wins here she will earn a\nplace in the Hall of Fame. But there\u2019s a few questions looming. \nIs she better at seven furlongs and does she prefer some moisture on\nthe track? She will have some company early on although she\u2019s been\nable to shrug off other fillies in the past (some of whom she will\nface here). There\u2019s also the question of when a great two year old\nhits \u2018the wall\u2019 as a three year old and begins to fade in form. \nAll of that said Melanie could meet all three of those qualifications\nand still demolish this field. She really is that good. She\u2019s a\ndaughter of Declaration of War out of a grade one winner by Rip Van\nWinkle x Distorted Humor. Her two year old younger brother is also\nrepresenting Empire State Racing in the Equinics, he\u2019s a four for\nfour listed winner by War Front. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traviata \u2013\nRepresenting Elite Racing Club<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With sixteen starts\nunder her belt Traviata has the most experience of any horse in this\nfield. She\u2019s also the only filly who was available for a claiming\ntag. Her second and third starts saw her run in maiden claimers for\n$150,000 and $100,000. She won that second maiden claimer but by\nJuly her connections had given up on her and she was put in auction. \nThat turned out to be a lucky break for her new connections who\nbelieved in her. Since changing hands she has won two listeds and\nfinished second in three others. Three of those five listeds were in\nturf sprints. Problematically her most recent start \u2013 and easily\nher best race \u2013 came at a mile and an eighth. She went into that\nrace off a second place finish in a five and a half furlong listed\nwhere she sat about three lengths off the early lead before closing\nto lose by a length. She ran a 91 speed in that race, which isn\u2019t\nbad for the distance. She followed a similar style in the next race\nbut moved much earlier, taking the lead around the turn and opening\nup on the field while running a 106 speed. In her two route runs she\nhas a win and a second in listeds, while she is only in the money in\nten of fourteen sprint runs (with just four wins). She\u2019s a\ndaughter of Ribchester who was a crack miler out of a New Approach x\nTheatrical mare and is her dam\u2019s only stakes winner. That backend\ngives the impression of a router as well. So can she replicate her\nlast race while dropping back three furlongs? Maybe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heart of Dubai \u2013\nRepresenting East-West Connection<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heart of Dubai has\nmade five starts this year with two wins and two seconds. She was\nsecond in her first two races, both listeds including one at a mile\nbefore winning two listeds in April and June. The first listed win\nsaw her sit in second but two lengths off the front runner before\ntaking the lead around the turn and drawing off. That race came at\nseven furlongs and she ran a 99 speed. She was second again in the\nnext race but closer to the frontrunner, sitting less than a length\noff the leader before again taking the lead around the turn and then\nholding off the closers. She ran a strong 102 speed in that seven\nand a half furlong race. Those two wins gave her connections the\nconfidence to enter a grade one at seven and a half furlongs and that\nrace did not turn out as planned. Heart of Dubai was in sixth early\non, dropping back to eighth at the finish line. So what to make of\nthat race? Certainly many horses struggle in their graded debuts\nonly to find them a great learning experience and bounce back to run\nwell in their next. A more urgent concern is that she hasn\u2019t run\nshorter than seven furlongs all year. She is a scratchbred daughter\nof Caravaggio x Dubai Millenium x Awesome Again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Machado the Padre \u2013\nRepresenting GR Simsters<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sixth stakes\nwinner from the Storm Cat x Danzig mare Raging Fire Storm is the\nCurlin filly Machado the Padre. Two of those were graded winners. \nMacho the Padre started her career on dirt and was moderately\nsuccessful but since switching to turf she has been quite good. \nShe\u2019s had five starts on the surface beginning in December and has\nthree wins and a second in those races. Two of those wins came in\nlisted stakes races and those came in her three most recent starts. \nShe took a six and a half furlong listed in March with a 92 speed. \nThat was enough for her connections to try a grade one at seven\nfurlongs but that race came up over a good track \u2013 her first and\nonly try on the off going \u2013 and she finished fourth. Even though\nshe was off the board it was not a bad race. She pressed the early\npace from third with the champion Melanie just in front of her in\nsecond. Melanie went on to win the race but the horse who set the\npace faded badly. Machado the Padre was only three lengths off the\nwinner and was just nosed out of third. She ran a 102 speed that\nday, a number she improved upon in her most recent start. That came\nin another six and a half furlong listed which saw her sit in fourth,\nwell off the front runners early on before making her move and\nwinning going away by over a length. In that race she ran a 106\nspeed which fits well with the favorites here. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blachernae \u2013\nRepresenting All-Stars Racing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grade one\nwinning and multiple graded winning horse Pirogue was one of those\nunique sim horses who was a good two year old that went on to be a\nvery good older horse. As a two year old he was second in a grade\none at seven furlongs on the turf, a distance that proved to be his\nsweet spot as he was a multiple graded winner there. He was a son of\nPivotal x Pulpit and upon his retirement he was sent to Frankel and\nproduced Blachernae. Blachernae follows in his footsteps as a good\nturf sprinter but she seems to prefer shorter distances. In her last\nthree starts she has two listed wins at six and six and a half\nfurlongs. Her career best speed, a 99, came in that six and a half\nfurlong race. The confirmed frontrunner stretched out to seven and a\nhalf furlongs in her most recent start and even though she had an\nuncontested lead and opened up by over five lengths she tired in the\nstretch, finishing fourth. She did run a 97 speed there but the\nfeeling here is that she would much prefer the six furlongs she\u2019ll\nrun in this spot. That said she\u2019s going to have to fight for that\nearly lead and with no triple digit speeds in her record she may not\nbe fast enough to get it. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I Am Charming \u2013\nRepresenting Midas<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another filly with a\ngreat record in turf sprints is I Am Charming. The scratchbred\ndaughter of I Am Invincible x Danehill x Lope de Vega has five wins\nand two seconds from eight turf sprints. Starting in January she won\nfive straight races including three listed stakes races before trying\na graded stakes for the first time in her most recent start and\nfinishing off the board. Her three stakes wins came at seven or\nseven and a half furlongs. At that latter distance she ran her\ncareer best speed of 108 after closing from last to win by three\nquarters of a length. That most recent start was at that same\ndistance and she faced a full field where she was last again. At the\ntop of the stretch she was nine lengths back but she closed to be\nless than three lengths behind the winner in sixth. Her speed was\ngood also, only dropping down to a 100. It may be that she had\ntraffic trouble in that field or that the jump to a grade one was too\nbig a jump from a listed. She may also have bounced off that big 108\nspeed. The bigger question in this race is can she close from last\nwhile shortening up to six furlongs? She will have a good pace to\nrun at but the shorter stretch run may work against her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Orb of Fusing \u2013\nRepresenting Hispano Parlente<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Never off the board\nin nine career starts (all in turf sprints) is Orb of Fusing. She\u2019s\ngot five wins there and three seconds, which includes two listed\nstakes wins in her two most recent starts. Those were her only\nstarts this year, making her a very well rested filly for this race. \nIndeed often that third start off a layoff sees a horse improve well\nand it may be enough to get Orb of Fusing across the finish line\nfirst in this race. She began 2020 in April with a seven furlong\nrun. She took the early lead there and opened up on the field,\nleading by just over four lengths around the far turn. She tired\nlate but was only beaten by three quarters of a length and ran a 96\nspeed. In her two year old starts she was always on or near the lead\nearly on and again she was very successful doing that. Her most\nrecent start saw her show a much different dimension. It was only a\nfour horse field but she was fourth early on, over seven lengths\nbehind the early leader. She unleashed a strong late run to lose by\nonly three quarters of a length and ran a career best 103 speed. The\nscratchbred daughter of Exceed and Excel x Woodman x Northern Dancer\nfilly has not run shorter than seven furlongs in over a year. She\u2019s\nnot the only filly in this race who has been running in longer\nsprints but it will be interesting to see whom that helps or hurts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barren County \u2013\nRepresenting Hoosier Racing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One filly who has\nbeen racing at shorter distances is Barren County. Six of her eight\nstarts have come at six furlongs or less. She was stakes placed in\nfour of those races but her big break through came in her most recent\nstart going six and a half furlongs. That was a listed run over a\ngood turf course, her first time on an off track. She sat in fourth\nof a five horse field before taking the lead down the stretch and\nwinning by almost two lengths. She ran a 94 speed, a career best. \nBarren County is a daughter of Gio Ponti based on a graded placed\nstakes winning hemare named Pierre. He was by Toorak Toff x\nRedoute\u2019s Choice. He was best at six furlongs on the grass where\nhe was grade one placed. He also ran in the male version of this\nrace way back in 2014, although he didn\u2019t lift his feet and\nfinished ninth. Barren County\u2019s connections are hoping she can\noutshine her \u201cdam\u201d. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Never Ever Wrong \u2013\nRepresenting Minnesota Testbarn Residency<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Never Ever Wrong\nstarted her career on the turf and was stakes placed as an early two\nyear old. Switched to dirt in October she was quite consistent,\nfinishing first or second in five straight starts. All of those\nraces were allowances with the shortest coming at six and a half\nfurlongs. The daughter of Not A Single Doubt out of a No Nay Never x\nDansili mare certainly has a pedigree that screams turf and so her\nconnections decided to make another surface switch for her most\nrecent start. The risk paid off with her first listed win going five\nfurlongs on the lawn. She sat midpack early before making a bold\nmove around the turn and winning by a quarter length. She ran a 96\nspeed in that start which is obviously her best on the turf but she\ndid run a 98 in the race prior on the dirt. It\u2019s concerning that\nshe hasn\u2019t hit that triple digit number but obviously she has found\nher preferred surface and I would not be surprised if she becomes a\nforce in this division at some point this year. Whether that is\nSunday is a big question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moonlight Winner \u2013\nRepresenting Only Stayers<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moonlight Vision has\nonly two wins from nine starts but both came in turf sprints. She\u2019s\nthe only filly in this race that has not yet won a stakes raced,\nalthough she is stakes placed. She earned that stakes placing back\nin January when she was second in a seven and a half furlong listed. \nIn that race she lead from the start and opened up an over six length\nlead before tiring late. Her last two starts have come in\nallowances, the first on dirt where she was a distance third in a\nrace where she battled for the early lead but never was in front. \nShe did get the lead in her most recent start, a seven furlong\nallowance and did open up early on but again was run down late. She\nwas second by a length and three quarters with a 94 speed, a career\nbest. I don\u2019t think this filly has enough early speed to run away\nfrom this field which is full of fillies who want to be first the\nwhole way around. She\u2019ll have to show a different dimension to be\ncompetitive here. She\u2019s a daughter of Dortmund out of a Union Rags\nx Forest Wildcat mare. Her second dam is Hollywood Catfight, a grade\none winning dirt sprinter. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dawn Wind \u2013\nRepresenting North West Racing Circuit<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 15\/1 Dawn Wind is\na tempting prospect. She has the second most starts in the field\nwith thirteen but she\u2019s won nine of them and has never been off the\nboard. Eight of those wins have come in listeds, all turf sprints. \nSeven of them have been at five or five and a half furlongs but she\ndoes have one win at six and a half furlongs. That race was in her\nsecond start, back in March of 2019. She was third in a grade three\nlast year going six and a half furlongs as well. The scratchbred\ndaughter of Dawn Approach x Explodent x Caerleon is another filly who\nwants the lead from the get go. She has won when running second\nearly on but even then she was battling for the early lead. She has\nnever run a triple digit speed with her best being a 94 which she ran\nin her most recent start. So what to make of her? Will she improve\ngoing six furlongs? Where will she be early on? Can she overcome a\ntrip where she isn\u2019t in front early? Again at her odds and with\nher record a punter may be interested in taking a flyer on this\nclassy filly. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
La Estancia \u2013\nRepresenting Hispanos Del Mundo<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What to make of a\nfilly who has won three straight races at the same distance? Has she\nfound her sweet spot or does she have the capability to change things\nup. That\u2019s the story of La Estancia. She has three wins at six\nand a half furlongs, her last two wins coming in listed stakes races.\n In fact she has never raced at six furlongs. Her first two wins as\na two year old came under that distance and after a third at five and\na half furlongs all of her other races have been at six and a half. \nShe\u2019s a daughter of Gleneagles out of a Seeking the Gold x Northern\nDancer mare named Dayana Mendoza. Dayana Mendoza won twelve starts\nin turf sprints and was a stakes winner but this is her first stakes\nwinning foal after seven older ones. La Estancia is yet another\nfilly who wants to lead wire to wire. Her highest career speed came\nthree starts back in a February allowance when she ran a 100 but she\ndid run a 99 in her most recent start. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good luck to all!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Pyramids are an ancient achievement like none other. The race The Pyramids may be unlike other because there is<\/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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52890","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=52890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52891,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52890\/revisions\/52891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}