This week in Arkansas our fifteenth race on the card and one of our two Grade I races this weekend will be the mile and one sixteenth Orange Blossom (G1) for fillies and mares of four years of age and up. The total prize purse for this race is $500,000. There was a fairly high chance of rain for this weekend here in Arkansas and it looked for a while that we might be running our race in the slop this weekend. However, it looks like we\u2019ve dodged the bullet this time and the track will likely be listed as fast at post time. Despite there being a threat of rain earlier in the week, the Orange Blossom has attracted a full field of fourteen fillies and mares for this weekend. Lets take a look at the fillies running in this year\u2019s Orange Blossom.
Drawing the rail will the the late entry K\u2019s Joan Bach<\/b> (Forestry x Mill Reef x Danzig), who is owned by verduqote<\/i>, owner of Pompeya Thoroughbred Racing Corporation. This six year old bay toned mare has a total of thirty-two lifetime starts. The mare has won an impressive fifteen of these starts. Fourteen of her fifteen wins have come over a dirt track but the mare has also won once over a turf track. The mare has also managed to earn a total of $2,167,049 in career earnings. Her most recent start came last month in the ten furlong listed Lucky Lately Handicap over the dirt where the bay mare broke out of the gate and was held back in eighth but went forward to challenge other horses early on in the race. The filly ultimately finished second, back by only a head in the photo, with a speed figure of one hundred three.
In the second post position is Otto History<\/b> (Deputy Minister x Fappiano x Buckpasser), who is owned and trained by capsized<\/i>, owner of Capsized Stables. The six year old brown mare has been lightly raced with a total of twenty-five lifetime starts in her career of racing. She has won her races eleven times, ten times on the dirt track and clinching a win once over the turf. This has earned the mare a total in career earnings of $4,083,760. Her most recent start was last month during an eight furlong allowance caliber start in Vermont where the filly broke out of the gate and went up immediately towards the lead and was held just off the pace in third. She only got moved further back in the field as the race progressed, ultimately finishing tenth with a speed figure of eighty-eight. The last time the mare won came on a sloppy dirt track during the Go For The Gold Stakes (G1) where the filly set a speed figure of one hundred thirteen, so it looks that the mare definitely likes the slop and may do some of her best running there.
At early morning odds at 10\/1 Katherineofaragon (FR)<\/b> (High Yield x Kingmambo x Ferdinand), who is out of the race-winning dam King Of Spain II, and is owned by gipper7<\/i>, owner of Gipper Stables. This four year old bay French-bred filly has been lightly raced with a total of nineteen lifetime starts so far in her racing career. The filly has won a total of six of these starts throughout her career and has earned a total of $1,877,381 in career earnings. Her most recent start came last month during the seven and a half furlong Miss Behaving Stakes (G3) where the filly broke out of the gate late and didn\u2019t make her move until the turn, ultimately crossing the wire in seventh with a speed figure of one hundred six. Recently the filly has had a tough time in the Miss Behaving Stakes and in the Breeds Bowl Distaff (G1) last year, but other than these two races the filly has finished no worse than third in her last eight starts. This may be her chance on Saturday to take an aim at the win.
Next is the first of our co-favorites, Pravada<\/b> (Kingmambo x Pleasant Colony x Danzig), who is trained and owned by super10<\/i>, owner of More Evil Than The Evil Empire. This four year old Kentucky-bred filly has been lightly raced with a total of eighteen lifetime career starts. The fillies most recent start came last month in the sloppy dirt track of the eight and a half furlong listed High Park Handicap. Here she broke out of the gate and was held back just off the pace in fourth. She began to make her move in the turn and just barely edged out her competitors in a photo finish which she won by a nose. Her previous start, The Ouchy Nips Special (G3) was also won in similar fashion. If the filly should win this Saturday, it would be the bay fillies third consecutive win, and her third straight win of the 2008 racing season alone. We\u2019ll see what she manages to do this weekend.
We have another late entry in Sweet Sister Mercy<\/b> (Kingmambo x Nijinsky II x Secretariat), who is trained by zwango1<\/i>, owner by Black Label Stables. The bay five year old has been fairly light raced with a total of twenty-six career starts. The bay mare has won a total of eight of her career starts, seven of which were victories over a dirt track. The bay mare has also won a single race over the turf. With her total of eight lifetime wins the mare has collected $1,939,500 in career lifetime earnings. Her most recent start came earlier this month in Dubai during the Original Margarita Invitational (G2) where the mare finished third after setting far off the pace in twelfth and setting a speed figure of one hundred ten. This filly is bouncing back from two disappointing finishes after her spectacular victory in last year\u2019s Breeders Bowl Distaff (G1).
Next is Balance<\/b> (Thunder Gulch x Kris S. x Forli), who is trained by chloedawg<\/i>, owner of Right At Home Stables. The four year old bay filly has had a total of twenty-three career starts, of which the impressive filly has won four of them. All of the fillies on the board finishes have come over a dirt track. Her most recent start came this past January in the Ochy Nips Special (G3) where the filly broke out of the start gate and shot out and went up towards the leaders. She was held just off the pace in second. The filly began to loose ground in the turn and ended up crossing the wire in the eight furlong race in sixth with a speed figure of ninety-eight. Despite many on the board finishes during her last few starts, the filly has not won a race since April of last year when she won the eight and a half furlong listed Virgin Bubble Challenge.
Following will be Arawaza<\/b> (A.P. Indy x Deputy Minister x Mr. Prospector), who is out of the stakes-placed dam Kamikaze, and is trained by lopickles<\/i>, owner of Given Stables. This bay five-year-old mare has had a total of twenty-three career starts so far. Seven of these starts have resulted in wins for the bay mare, all of which have come over the dirt. The mares most recent start came earlier this month in the eight furlong listed Trillium Craft Special where the filly broke out of the start gate and went straight toward the front of the pack and settled into fourth. She began to fade out of the race in the turn when she was caught wide and finished a disappointing eleventh in the race with a recorded speed figure of ninety-four. Despite some poor finishes recently in her career, the filly has stepped it up in the past and was the third place finisher in last years Breeders Bowl Distaff (G1). She hasn\u2019t finished on the board in a race since November of last year, this a third place finish during the Air Line Handicap (G3). We\u2019ll she what she has in store on Saturday.
Our longshot at 20\/1 is Frostfang<\/b> (Forestry x Gone West x Nijinsky II), and is trained by confessor<\/i>, owner of Given Stables. This five year old mare has had a total of twenty-eight lifetime starts so far in her racing career. She has won a total of eight of her lifetime starts. Seven of these wins have come over the dirt along with a single win on the turf for the bay mare. Her most recent start came on the sloppy dirt track of the eight and a half furlong High Park Handicap in Florida where the filly broke out of the gate and went straight for the lead in the race. She got caught in the turn by late closers however, and finished ten lengths off the pace in fourth. Her previous race resulted in victory, this in a eight and a half furlong allowance caliber start in Ontario. The filly has been in a slump since the middle of last year and has not finished on the board in a graded stakes race since July when she ran third in the Go For The Gold Stakes (G1), but we\u2019ll see what the bay mare has in store for us this weekend.
At odds of 11\/1 is Woette\u2019s Statue (IRE)<\/b> (Statue Of Liberty x Kris S. x Hawaii), who is out of the dam S. String, and is owned by plstable<\/i>, owner of The Royalstables of Ostend. This Irish-bred bay filly has had a total of nineteen career starts in her lifetime. She has won a total of eight races in her career, all of which have occurred over the dirt. Her most recent start came last month during the Miss Behaving Stakes (G3) over seven and a half furlongs. The bay filly broke out of the starting gate and was held back in fifth just off the pace of the front runners. The filly battled the rest of the race between the fourth and fifth position and ultimately finished a length back off the lead in fourth, though recording an impressive speed figure of one hundred ten. The filly has had a few disappointing finishes, including a ninth place finish in the Air Line Handicap (G3) last November. However, of the fillies last eight starts, she has won three of these including a graded start in the Gowander Stakes (G2). If the filly has a good run this weekend, she will certainly be one to look out for.
Next is Big Ugly<\/b> (Summer Squall x Graustark x Spectacular Bid), who is owned by jrogue<\/i>, owner of Jrogue Stables. This six year old striking roan mare has been lightly raced for her age with a total of thirty-five lifetime starts in her racing career. The mare has won seven times out of these thirty-five starts, all of her wins coming on the dirt. Her most recent start came in January during the eight furlong Ouchy Nips Special (G3) where the filly broke out of the gate in ninth and held the position until late in the stretch when she made her move. She was urged forward a little to late however, and only managed to cross the wire in eighth and record a speed figure of ninety-seven. The mare has not won a race since May of last year during the My Gril Handicap (G1) where she won by a narrow three-fourths of a length with a speed figure of one hundred thirteen. Unfortunately for the mare its been all downhill from that race and the mare has not laded a single race on the board since that May start. However, she could pull an upset this weekend.
Following will be Ms. Maker<\/b> (Empire Maker x Mr. Prospector x Damascus), who is trained and owned by twistystix<\/i>, owner of Chugalug Stables. This mare is one of the older runners in this race at six years of age. The bay mare has had a total of thirty-three lifetime starts in her career, of which eight of them have resulted in wins for the spectacular bay filly. Her most recent start came last month during the seven and a half furlong listed Richmond Tigers (AUS) Challenge where the filly broke out of the gate and settled back in sixth and made her bid late in the turn, eventually crossing the wire in fourth with a recorded speed figure of one hundred six. The mare has been developing nicely the past few months and she may be an interesting one to watch on Saturday if she hits her stride.
Next up will be Ghostly Breeze<\/b> (Ghostzapper x Pine Bluff x Meadowlake), who is out of the Graded race winning dam Meadow Breeze, and is owned and trained by lenny2<\/i>, owner of The Evil Empire. The chestnut Kentucky-bred filly has been lightly raced with a total of eighteen career starts. The filly has won nine times in her career, with all of these wins coming over the dirt for the four year old. Her most recent start came earlier this month in the listed Trillium Craft Special where the filly broke out of the start gate and was held back in mid pack and was sent forward to challenge the other fillies in the turn. The filly ultimately crossed the wire on the lead by two lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred nine. In the fillies last eight starts she has only finished out of the money once, this in the Air Line Handicap (G3) last November.
Next up is our other favorite at 7\/1 with A Fire Inside<\/b> (A.P. Indy x Mr. Prospector x Foolish Pleasure) and is out of the Grade 1 winning dam Jerry\u2019s Turks, and is owned by kjracing<\/i>, owner of Topicount Stables. This five year old bay mare has been lightly raced with a total of twenty-seven career starts. The mare has won nine times in her racing career and all of these wins have come over a dirt track. The mares most recent start came last month in the eight and a half furlong listed Country Spring Special where the filly broke out of the start gate and strode towards the lead but was held just off the pace in fourth. She began to make her closing move in the turn and went on to win the race by two and three fourth lengths while setting a speed figure of one hundred twelve. Her most recent graded start came in January during the Be Forewarned Stakes (G3) where she finished fourth. Her last few races have been very impressive and this may be a filly to keep an eye on this weekend.
Drawing the far outside post is Sisson\u2019s Chant<\/b> (War Chant x Mr. Prospector x Nijinsky II), who is trained by levers<\/i>, owner of Binzaman Stables. The four year old chestnut filly has had a total of twenty career races, eight of which have ended in victory. In addition to the fillies eight wins the filly has also finished second three times as well as finishing third three times. The accomplished filly has also earned career earnings of $2,382,420. Her most recent start came last month in Puerto Rico in the nine furlong listed Known Seattle Memorial where the filly broke out of the starting gate and went towards the lead, but was held slightly off the pace, one length behind in second. The filly briefly took the lead in the turn but finished second at the wire while setting a speed figure of one hundred eight. The filly has done nicely lately and has only finished out of the money in two starts during her last eight outs. This including a sixth place finish in the listed Gordie\u2019s Prints Memorial and the Winterthur Oaks (G1). Despite these disappointing finishes, the filly has been very impressive in her other starts and has finished on the board in her last two starts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pravada, A Fire Inside Showcased Co-Favorites<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"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-5629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629","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\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}