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\u201cThe Wild Orchid\u201d Ready to Bloom in Florida<\/B><\/FONT><\/P> Jena Berlin (JPN) Leads a Full Field<\/B><\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Welcome to sunny Florida for the running of \u201cThe Wild Orchid\u201d<\/B>, 12 furlongs on the firm turf, for fillies and mares 4 years old and up. Both of the races Buster will cover this week are in Florida, quite frankly he needed a break from dem ole Kentucky blues. Not so much snow this year, but by God, the wind has been fierce. As one local DJ put it \u201cSomebody out there doesn’t like trees.\u201d. Anyway, Buster hadda break out, and now I’m in Florida for some Sun, Sand, Surf, and Turf (ha, ha), not necessarily in that order. As I mentioned up top, \u201cThe Wild Orchid\u201d<\/B> will feature a full field of 14 this week, so without further ado, let’s get to the race. Oh, of course, I have to point out that it is J Nason Bobble Head day, so there will be plenty of fun for the whole family.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Going off at 9\/2 in the morning line, and thus the favorite today, is Jena Berlin (JPN)<\/B>, out of King Kamehameha (JPN)<\/B> x Danehill<\/B> x Turn-To<\/B>, who is starting in the 13 spot, way outside. This 5 year old homebred mare races for stable Astinator5<\/B>, and has brought home over 1 million for her backers to date. This is just her third start this season, and she has yet to bring home a win, but she looks to be nicely placed here. She has won at the Grade I and the Grade II level so far, but has had some trouble moving down to the Grade III level, finishing 4th<\/SUP> and 3rd<\/SUP> in her last 2 starts, both in Grade IIIs. She certainly has the BSF to get it done today, although it has been a while since she stretched out to 12 furlongs, so we will have to see how she handles that. This little mare likes to run from the front, so look for her to be one of the early pacesetters here.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Right behind her, and going off at 7-1 in the early morning line, is Landaloosh (KY)<\/B>, out of Dynaformer<\/B> x Nureyev<\/B> x Round Table<\/B>, coming from the 5 hole. This 5 year old homebred trains at stable Cozyfarms<\/B>, and has earned over 300K lifetime. Despite that, this is just her third try at the Graded Stakes level, having never finished better than 3rd<\/SUP> in her last 2 tries. She certainly has the Beyers to compete here, though, and it seems like she should ultimately be successful at the Graded level. She is coming off a win in her last start, the \u201cDouble State Stakes\u201d<\/B> in Rhode Island. She also likes to run from the front, although she has appeared comfortable stalking the pace closely before, so I would look for her to duel Jena Berlin early for the lead here.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Behind her are 4 horses, all going off at 8-1. The first is Valyrian (IRE)<\/B>, out of Galileo (IRE)<\/B> x Nureyev<\/B> x Never Say Die<\/B>, coming out of the 8 position. This 5 year old mare races for stable Devil01<\/B>, and she absolutely makes her living at this distance, bringing home over \u00be of a million lifetime. Despite that, she has not won at the graded level yet, her best finish being a 2nd<\/SUP> place in the Grade II \u201cMiami Beach Turf Stakes\u201d<\/B>, where interestingly enough, she finished ahead of Landaloosh, but behind Wicked Wench, who are both racing again here today. She also has the Beyers to compete today, and she has been putting up her best numbers in her last few races, including her last start, a 2nd<\/SUP> place finish in the \u201cPetunia Handicap\u201d<\/B>. She is definitely a mid pack runner, so look for her to hang back and save her best for the stretch run.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Next of the 8-1 horses is Vaanda (KY)<\/B>, out of Hennessy<\/B> x Alleged<\/B> x Nashua<\/B>, coming out of the 9 hole. This 4 year old mare is raced out of stable Zoshka<\/B>, and has earned almost 400K for them. She is coming off wins in 4 of her last 5 starts, including 4 stakes wins. She has never, however, won at the Graded level. Also, she does not seem as comfortable at this distance, actually preferring longer races. All of her recent wins have come at 14 furlongs or longer. Despite this, she did put up her best Beyer ever in a 10 furlong start, so we must assume she can compete at this distance. She is also a rabbit, and we will look for her to at least stalk the early pace closely.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Starting right next to her, in the 10 position, also at 8-1, is High And Deep (JPN)<\/B>, out of Deep Impact<\/B> x High Chaparral (IRE)<\/B> x Dynaformer<\/B>. This 4 year old mare trains at stable Burnin<\/B>, and her game Dam is Dynahigh (IRE)<\/B>. High And Deep is only 1 of 2 foals for this 7 year old retired mare who herself earned almost 1.5 million in her career. High And Deep has visited the Winner’s Circle an incredible 6 times in her 10 lifetime starts, and she has actually never finished worse than 4th<\/SUP>, ever. She has won at every level except the Graded level, and will certainly look to change that today. Despite the fact that she finished second in each of her last Grade III tries, she posted some very nice Beyers, either of which could very well be good enough to win here. I think she is very well placed in this race at this time. She has also shown versatility in the way she runs races, sometimes coming off the pace, sometimes pushing it, so I look for her to decide if the pace is fast enough, and then act accordingly.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The last 8-1 horse, starting in the 12 position, is Financial Impact (JPN)<\/B>, out of Deep Impact<\/B> x Deputy Minister<\/B> x Buckpasser<\/B>. This 4 year old filly has won over 3\/4 of a million in her career for her stable Okiedokie<\/B>, and her game Dam is Finance Minister II<\/B>. The 9 year old retired mare has 2 offspring, both of whom are winners. Financial Impact is the older and more successful one of the 2, for now at least. After coming in 3rd<\/SUP> in her first start, Financial Impact reeled off 5 straight wins before moving up to the Graded Stakes level. She has won 3 of her last 6 starts, including the Grade I \u201cPebbles Cup\u201d<\/B>, so she is one of the few actual Graded Stakes winners in this race. She prefers to stalk just off the pace, although she has come from pretty deep to win before, and she has also gone wire to wire. In this company, however, I would look for her to stalk the pace, and make her move as she approaches the stretch.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Behind her are 2 horses, both at 9-1. The first of these, coming out of the 4 hole, is Go Kirby Go (KY)<\/B>, out of Dynaformer<\/B> x Kingmambo<\/B> x Storm Cat<\/B>. This 5 year old mare has earned almost a quarter of a million for her stable Kingkirby<\/B> in just 16 starts. She is one of the rare breed with wins on both turf and dirt, indeed, she is undefeated on dirt, having won her only try there. Today she makes her first foray into the world of Graded Stakes, having won at every other level. She certainly has the BSF to hang with this company, and this seems like a good race to get her feet wet, with no real dominating horse entered. Look for her to stalk the pace, saving her best for the stretch run.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The other 9-1 in the morning line, and coming out of the 14 hole, is Wicked Wench (IRE)<\/B>, out of Montjeu (IRE)<\/B> x Blushing Groom (FR)<\/B> x Nureyev<\/B>. This 6 year old homebred has earned almost 2.5 million for her stable Tesio<\/B> in her 33 starts. She is coming off 3 wins in her last 4 starts, including the Grade II \u201cMiami Beach Turf Stakes\u201d<\/B>, in which she beat 2 of the horses rated above her in the morning line, Landaloosh and Valyrian. She has won at all levels of the Graded Stakes except level III, and will certainly look to change that here. She is coming off a fairly disappointing start, however, and kind of has a tendency to throw a couple of bad ones in a row, so we will see if she can overcome that here. She likes to run from up front, and will look to stalk the pace or push it early.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Behind these 2, going off at 12-1, and coming out of the 6 hole, is True Dream<\/B>, out of Sadler’s Wells<\/B> x Nijinsky II<\/B> x Lyphard<\/B>. This 6 year old mare trains at stable Kevoman2<\/B> and has brought home almost 1.5 million for them. She is coming off 2 wins in her last 3 starts, although both of those were at the allowance level. She loves this distance though, and is also an experienced winner at the Graded Stakes level. At last year’s \u201cBreeders Bowl Turf Distaff\u201d<\/B> she came in second, finishing ahead of three horses that are rated above her in the morning line today, Jena Berlin, Financial Impact, and Wicked Wench, so this baby has proven she can compete in this company. Any way you look at it, this is one dangerous horse at 12-1! Look for her to stalk the pace early and make her move at the top of the stretch.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Right behind her in the morning line are 2 horses at 13-1. The first, coming out of the 3 hole, is Questing Star (IRE)<\/B>, out of Galileo (IRE)<\/B> x Rainbow Quest<\/B> x Sir Tristram (IRE)<\/B>. This 4 year old homebred mare is trained at stable Horizonkj<\/B>, and has won an astounding 8 of 13 starts, and indeed, has never finished worse than 5th<\/SUP> on the turf! She has won over 100K for her backers, and today makes the jump to Graded Stakes. This is not a bad place to make that jump, as she is coming off 3 wins in a row, including 2 of her best Beyers ever. You know I absolutely hate to bet against this kind of record. This filly knows how to win! Look for her to hang out somewhere mid to back of the pack and make her run late down the stretch.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The other horse at 13-1, coming out of the 11 position, is Sisson’s Light (KY)<\/B>, out of North Light (IRE)<\/B> x Lear Fan<\/B> x Nijinsky II<\/B>. This 4 year old mare has finished at least 3rd<\/SUP> in an amazing 19 of 24 races for her stable Deathstar<\/B>. She has never won at the Graded Stakes level, and will be looking to change that today. Despite that, she has earned over 300K lifetime for her backers, and has put up BSF in the range to compete here. Her problem seems to be competing at this level consistently. She is, however, coming off one of her strongest performances ever, and her backers obviously decided the time was right to try cracking the Graded level again. She is a rabbit, and most comfortable running from up front, so she will need to get an excellent break today to compete with this field. As a side note, she does have the Bobble Boy J Nason aboard, so who knows?<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Behind her, at 19-1, and coming out of the lucky 7 hole, is Gone For Gold (ENG)<\/B>, out of Rainbow Quest<\/B> x Gone West<\/B> x The Axe II<\/B>. This 4 year old filly has earned over 250K for her stable Jazzrun<\/B> in just 18 starts, although she has never won at any stakes level before. This filly has shown steady improvement over her career, although I have to say that her best Beyers are just a bit slow to compete here. However, if she can make an improvement, she could certainly be in the running. I would say she will have to have the race of her life to figure in this finish. She is coming off a win in her last start, and will look to repeat that success here. Look for her to stalk the pace closely, and save her best for a late stretch run.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Behind her, at 35-1, and coming out of the 1 position, is Irish Nightmare (IRE)<\/B>, out of Tamure (IRE)<\/B> x All My Dreams (IRE)<\/B> x Dance Bid<\/B>. This 6 year old mare trains at stable Turfwinner<\/B>, and has brought home almost 500K for them. Despite that, this is her first try at the Graded Stakes level, and frankly, she looks to be a bit outclassed. She is, however, one of the rare horses to win at both turf and dirt, and she has occasionally put up Beyers close to this company. She will really have to get an almost perfect trip to bring this one home though. Look for her to hang mid pack and hope she has enough left for a run at the wire.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The final horse, coming out of the 2 hole, and going off at 58-1, is Silver Sleigh (KY)<\/B>, out of Silver Deputy<\/B> x Rahy<\/B> x Tom Rolfe<\/B>. This 4 year old mare races out of stable Nikolai<\/B> and has won over 70K to date. This is her second try at the Graded Stakes level, and she did not fair too well in her first try, failing to fire at all, and finishing a dismal 10th<\/SUP>. That being said, she has continued to improve with every race, I just think she would need the race of a lifetime to compete here. She does have wins at every other level, but she has never faced a field this full, so we will have to see how she handles that. She is definitely a deep closer, so look for her to hang way back, and attempt to fire at the finish.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, thats our field, and you know what that means…yup, the time we’ve all been waiting for, Buster’s Upset Special! Well, Buster is going to take his amazing 1-5 2009 record (it’s gotta get better, right?), and put it all on the line with a 12-1 shot. That’s right, I like True Dream<\/B>, and stable Kevoman2<\/B>, to bring home the trophy today in \u201cThe Wild Orchid\u201d<\/B>, 12 furlongs on the firm turf, for fillies and mares 4 years old and up. As always, remember the Upset Special is just for fun, and is not intended to be a condemnation of any horse in the race. I wish the very best of luck to all the owners and horses in the race. If you get a chance, why not come out and join us? A bit different from the traditional Surf and Turf, but I think it will satisfy any true horse lover. We’ll see y’all at the track!<\/FONT><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jena Berlin (JPN) Leads a Full Field<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"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-7464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7464","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\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7464\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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