Royalty Whatevers The inaugural running of the Grade III Royalty Stakes presents a classic problem.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The lone graded winner in the field, Reed Road<\/B>, happens to be the number one rated filly in the division.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She has amassed 136 stakes points, while a majority of the field has less than 5.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So what’s the problem?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The problem is that it’s a new year, and horses can run very differently as three-year-olds than they did at two.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Is one of the lightly raced fillies about to show a huge and unpredictable jump in ability?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It could be. Here is a look at the field: PP 1 <\/FONT><\/SPAN>COLD EMPIRE(KY)<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/A> <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(EMPIRE MAKER x WILD AGAIN x COZZENE)<\/SPAN> <\/FONT><\/SPAN>bred and trained by larksfarms<\/I><\/B> (Bigrick Stables, 14%) Style: S\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Odds: 3-1<\/SPAN> This fifth offspring from a stakes-winning mare has been by far the most productive.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She’s already earned more money in her eight starts than any of her older siblings have in as many as 74 starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She closed furiously on a runaway winner in the Grade II Silver Spoon Juvenile last time, and she gets two more furlongs to work with today.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She also gets a field loaded with early speed.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Every time she’s increased her distance on the turf she’s shown marked improvement.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Jockey will be out to prove his outstanding rookie season was no fluke.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She’s an obvious contender. PP 2 <\/FONT><\/SPAN>UNDECLARED MAJOR(JPN)<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/A> <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(DAIWA MAJOR (JPN) x DIESIS(GB) x THEATRICAL(IRE))<\/SPAN> <\/FONT><\/SPAN>bred and trained by rommeyblvd<\/I><\/B> (Shamrock Stables, 12%) Style: P\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Odds: 13-1 \u00a0<\/SPAN>Daiwa Major was one of the more heralded first-year sires last year, but so far he has yet to produce a stakes winner in the Sim. This filly is one of two that have been stakes-placed, and her connections hope to break through today.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There are a couple of reasons to be cautious.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her stakes-placing came against a field that has not accomplished anything outside of that race, her speed figure decreased when she tried her lone route, and she’s never broken an 80 speed figure.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Tough to be optimistic about the distance or the class.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>On the other hand, I bred a few Daiwa Majors last year, and I am counting on them all to be a lot faster now that they’ve turned three. PP 3 <\/FONT><\/SPAN>HOLLOW FACE(ENG)<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/A> <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(BEAT HOLLOW (GB) x SCARR FACE x NUREYEV) bred by Okieslew<\/I><\/B>, trained by targetplay<\/I><\/B> (Targetplay Stables, 10%) Style: E\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Odds: 14-1<\/SPAN> The long odds on this filly have more to do with her modest breeding and debut in maiden claiming company than with her performance.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Barn made a shrewd claim in that maiden claiming debut and has placed her boldly since then.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She ran way better than her odds predicted in both of her allowance races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She again faces long odds as she makes a huge class jump.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Dam was a dirt sprinter, so there is reason to question her chances in a graded turf route. PP 4 <\/FONT><\/SPAN>FALDO(JPN)<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/A> <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(FALBRAV (IRE) x EL PRADO(IRE) x THEATRICAL(IRE)) bred and trained by cmd3<\/I><\/B> (Cmd Stables, 13%) Style: S\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Odds: 9-1<\/SPAN> Trainer clearly was so distracted fixing Comedy Central contests that he didn’t notice how poorly this filly fared when facing a very ordinary stakes field last time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>All he saw was a small field where his filly could finish in the top ten.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Before that last race she showed some promise, finishing in the money in five straight races, but really, what is up with that last race? \u00a0<\/SPAN>It’s not the kind of performance you normally step up in class from.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>And stuff. PP 5 <\/FONT><\/SPAN>MISS JENNYNGTON(KY)<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/A> <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(HARLINGTON x DANZIG x HOIST THE SILVER) bred and trained by alroman<\/I><\/B> <\/I>(Alroman Stables, 13%) Style: E\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Odds: 5-2* She tried turf for the first time last outing and wired the field in a time that earns her favoritism here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She faces a certain battle for the early lead today, however, and there are other questions.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Harlington, in his brief tenure at stud,\u00a0 <\/SPAN>has not produced many turf runners in the Sim.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her dam was winless on the lawn.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her speed figures have been consistently good, but they have plateaued at the time in a filly’s career when you would hope to see big improvements.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Finally, her impressive record of five wins in seven starts is tempered by the fact that her only two losses have come in her only two stakes tries.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She is fast, consistent, and undefeated on the turf – she obviously can win.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It’s just that she is not a good betting value as a favorite. PP 6 <\/FONT><\/SPAN>VAL D’ISERE(ENG)<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/A> <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(OASIS DREAM (GB) x THEATRICAL(IRE) x MR. PROSPECTOR) bred by racer,<\/I><\/B> trained by trembling<\/I><\/B> (Tees Stables, 12%) Style: P\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Odds: 5-1 All three of this filly’s out-of-the-money finishes have come in her three graded stakes attempts, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s outclassed here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>All three of those fields were stronger than this one, and she was competitive in two of them.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her stalking style should be ideal for the shape of this race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Oasis Dream has overwhelmingly produced sprinters in the Sim, so the added distance she faces today may be a problem.