The Equinincs’ Citizen Mile is for three-year-old fillies on the British Columbia turf.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Four of the top ten divisional runners are in the field, and while that seems an obvious place to start looking for a winner, the early morning odds make a co-favorite out of one ranked as low as 170th.\u00a0 <\/SPAN> It promises to be a race requiring a very wise ride.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The eighteen filly field contains a lot of early speed and no filly that has won from very far off the lead.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Somebody is going to get squeezed out of a chance at the first turn, and the prize may go to one that can show some patience as the battles up front play out. Here is a look at the field: PP 1 MINESH(KY)<\/STRONG><\/SPAN> <\/SPAN><\/STRONG>(CRYPTOCLEARANCE x MINESHAFT x GIANT’S CAUSEWAY (IRE)) bred and trained by wispa3<\/I><\/B> (Willow Stables, 11%) Style: E\/P, Odds: 8-1 Representing the EAAA Residency, the winner of the Breeders’ Bowl Filly Juvenile Turf is an obvious contender.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Besides being undefeated in three straight Graded Stakes races, her speed figures at the distance are compelling.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Every time she stretched out to a mile, her\u00a0 <\/SPAN>figures jumped by about ten points.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She loves the distance and has won the most impressive race there is in the division.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>What question could there be?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Well, there are two.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>First, she is at the rail and, while quick, does not have the greatest early speed.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She figures to get pinched back.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>(That is assuming you believe post position matters here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Some studies in the BTB<\/I> suggest they do, and that the rail is not a good place.)\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Second, she has been off since the Breeders’ Bowl. \u00a0<\/SPAN>That’s over three months.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Could she possibly be sharp?\u00a0 <\/SPAN> PP 2 ATLANTICA(IRE) <\/STRONG>(TEOFILO x BEST OF THE BESTS (IRE) x STORMY ATLANTIC) bred and trained by nijinskaa<\/I><\/B> (Spartan Racing Stables, 9%), Style: E\/P, Odds: 32-1 Out of the Great Plains Residency, this one has the dubious honor of having the longest odds in the field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She has a win at the distance and is stakes placed.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her dam’s wins all came at turf routes, so this seems to be her best distance and surface.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Another good sign is that the barn thought nothing of the expense of shipping her here from England.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Finally, doesn’t Kingab have a runner out of Teofilo (or am I simply wrong again)?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That should bring some good Karma. PP 3 ZORAIDA(KY) <\/STRONG>(CORINTHIAN x SADLER’S WELLS x NASHUA) bred and trained by har<\/I><\/B> (Rafa Stables, 13%), Style: P, Odds: 9-1 Representing NWRC, this is the winner of Japan’s Grade I Juvenile Filly.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In that race at today’s distance she beat both Boiscool<\/B> and Kepler Prochant.\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/B>She doesn’t need the lead to win, and that is a definite plus in this field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Sitting off the pace may be the lesson she was taught last time, when she was too prominent early and ended up a well-beaten favorite in an overnight stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>If a bettor can find a way to forgive that last race, she is an obvious contender. PP 4 TRICKY CROSS(IRE) <\/STRONG>(CAPE CROSS (IRE) x DANSILI (GB) x SIR TRISTRAM(IRE)) bred and trained by glenbuchat <\/I><\/B>\u00a0<\/SPAN>(Glenbuchat Stables, 27%) Style: E, Odds: 10-1 From the Benelux Residency, this lightly raced filly tried her stakes and three-year-old debut last time, and the results were encouraging.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She battled for the lead throughout the race and was coming back at the end.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Throw in the fact that the turf was only good that day and you can make a case that she has a chance here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It may not be such good news that the filly she couldn’t quite catch, Kepler Prochant<\/B>, is in the field today.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A pace handicapper might like that she may have the best early foot of the inside horses and she could get a rail trip around the first turn. PP 5 NORTH OF HELL(ENG) <\/STRONG>(DUBAWI (IRE) x ALLEGED x ROUND TABLE) bred and trained by icbomber11<\/I><\/B> (The Danby Road Connection, 22%) Style: E, Odds: 12-1 Out of the GR Simsters, this speedster will absolutely be gunning for the early lead.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She made an impressive Graded debut last time, rounding out the hellish exacta with Eternity in Hell<\/B> in a DelPenn Handicap.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That race really proved she can handle a large field and the class, and it’s feasible she could reverse things on the Supers’ filly.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That was a very tough field, and she is due to improve both because she is so lightly raced and because this is her first race of the year.\u00a0 <\/SPAN> PP 6 RAVENHILL(IRE) <\/STRONG>(RAVEN’S PASS x A.P. INDY x NUREYEV) bred and trained by \u00a0<\/SPAN>bluefox<\/I><\/B> (Supertaffy Stables, 11%) Style: E, Odds: 20-1 The Midas entry will be facing 14 more opponents than she has seen in her last couple starts, and will make the leap from allowance company to Graded stakes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But all is not hopeless.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She showed in a September stakes that she can compete with Zoraida<\/B>, and she’s very lightly raced and is improving rapidly from race to race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Taffy says she had some success with allowance runners in the last Equinics, and she ignored the counsel of one Midas member with a bad attitude who suggested that Midas not even participate in these Equinics.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It’s always a good idea to ignore that idiot.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Best of luck to Supertaffy. PP 7 WHIPPED(NZ) <\/STRONG>(ZABEEL(NZ) x WAR CHANT x FORTY NINER) bred by surlyn<\/I><\/B>, trained by snags <\/I><\/B>(Balata Golf Resort, 16%), Style: P, Odds: 24-1 The Hong Kong Racing Cub whips out this entry.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She is a longshot despite her record of four wins in six starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her final race as a two-year-old was pretty quick, although it was in a four horse allowance field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Continued improvement could get her a piece of the purse.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In her lone start in a Graded stakes, she was a close fifth and has the excuse of an off track. That’s encouraging as she tries this leap in class.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>An older half-brother out of her dam is a multiple stakes winner on the turf.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In a private interview Balata said to me, “I’ve looked at the other horses in this race, and they have no chance against mine.” Maybe it was, “Oh, 24-1, I don’t have a shot.”\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It was definitely one of those quotes.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>My notes are a mess. PP 8 BOISCOOL(KY) <\/STRONG>(WAR CHANT x FORTY NINER x SEATTLE SLEW) bred by herbie<\/I><\/B>,\u00a0 <\/SPAN>trained by boble14b<\/I><\/B> (Boble Stables, 29%), Style: E\/P, Odds: 7-1 The Blazing Saddles’ entry was second choice in the Breeders Bowl Filly Juvenile Turf and just missed behind Minesh<\/B>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That performance was enough to give her a top ten division ranking and favoritism in this race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She’ll be right up there with all the other early speed in this race, but she has repeatedly shown that she doesn’t mind a fight.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She’s been the picture of heart and class.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In four of her five wins she’s been the victor after race-long battles.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There is some reason to be cautious.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In the hyper-competitive life of eight-furlong racing, no horse can be good in every race, but her last race gives us pause.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She was a well-beaten favorite in the Grade I Juvenile Filly, losing to Zoraida<\/B> and others.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That brings her to this race in what might be declining form and a record of no wins in two tries at the distance.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her connections hope that, instead, she used the last race as a recovery from the demanding Breeders Bowl.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Dam has been an outstanding producer of stakes winners. PP 9 FINAL CHAPTER(KY) <\/STRONG>(PULPIT x STORM CAT x SAINT BALLADO) bred and trained by touched<\/I><\/B> (Old Dominion Farms, 33%), Style: E, Odds: 30-1 Anyone associated with Comedy Central must be a little touched.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I admit I did a double take on Grouchy’s win rate with this barn, but it is for real – he’s had over 400 starts with it.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This Chapter is hard to read.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She’s only started three times and only broke her maiden in her last start.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It was her first start on the lawn, and the improvement was huge – she loves the grass.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Now she tries a few new tricks.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It’s her first start against winners; her first stakes; her first Graded stakes; her first route; her first race as a three-year-old; her first race away from California; and I think it’s her first time with the braids in her mane.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Did I mention Grouchy has won a third of the time with this barn? Go, Comedy Central. PP 10 IMPOSING JESTER(AUS) <\/STRONG>(EXCEED AND EXCEL (AUS) x RORY’S JESTER(AUS) x IMPOSING(AUS)) bred and trained by samsunga<\/I><\/B> (Fitzgerald Racing, 6%), Style: P, \u00a0<\/SPAN>Odds: 30-1 The Queensland entry hasn’t shown a lot yet, but she’s young and certainly eligible to improve.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She’s only tried routing once, and that was one of her poorer races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her greatest asset is her running style in this race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She will be one of the few taken back at the beginning of the race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It will take a lot of backing up of the leaders for her to prevail, but with the furious pace, you know at least many of them will be going backwards at the end.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It’s up to her to pick some of them up and try to cash a check. PP 11 POLLIACHI(JPN) <\/STRONG>(OPERA HOUSE(GB) x SEEKING THE GOLD x STORM CAT) bred and trained by dundey<\/I><\/B> (Dundey Acres, 12%), Style: P, Odds: 16-1 Out of the Minnesota Residency, at first she looks like just another longshot – her best speed figure is more than 10 points slower than the favorites, and she hasn’t won a stakes, but don’t pass over her chances too quickly.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She did finish within a length of the winner in the Grade I High Flyer Stakes in October, and that race was at today’s distance.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her last race, while only an allowance, was a decisive win against a full field, again at eight furlongs.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Best of all, she did it coming from behind.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She will surely fall behind early today.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Let’s see how her rally looks against a tougher field. PP 12 MACHO NATIVE(ENG) <\/STRONG>(KINGSGATE NATIVE (IRE) x MACHIAVELLIAN x VICE REGENT) bred and trained by sorrento<\/I><\/B> (Universal Stables, 15%), Style: P, Odds: 22-1 The Universal Racing Club Residency has entered a filly with some mysterious breeding.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I can’t find a sim-sire named Kingsgate Native.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I suspect some Machiavellian machinations.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In October, Macho finished in the money in a Graded stakes at today’s distance.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That gives her four straight in-the-money finishes on the lawn.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She did run her fastest race ever last time, her first as a three-year-old.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She’ll be hoping to make a move from mid-pack. PP 13 LUCKY’S KIMBERLY M(KY) <\/STRONG>(GHOSTZAPPER x STORM CAT x A.P. INDY) bred and trained by naracing<\/I><\/B> (Mr Lucky’s, 21%), Style: E, Odds: 7-1 Ohio Thoroughbred Racing Residency brings us a filly whose breeding we can all salivate over.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She’s five for seven on the turf and comes off two straight overnight wins, both in times that make her co-favoritism understandable.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In those last two races, she has beaten five other stakes winners, but she has never faced a Graded winner before this race.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Also, this is only her second try at two turns, and her other try was the last time she lost.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She can use the excuse of an off track for that loss and slow (for her) time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>In a race with lots of early speed, she may be the speed of the speed. PP 14 KEPLER PROCHANT(KY) <\/STRONG>(WAR CHANT x MR. PROSPECTOR x SEATTLE SLEW) bred by marre<\/I><\/B>,\u00a0 <\/SPAN>trained by bobo<\/I><\/B> (Marre Stables, 19%), Style: E, Odds: 11-1 The Ireland Residency and a ridiculously productive dam bring us this entry.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her last race was great.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She put up a 97 speed figure going eight furlongs in her first start as a three-year-old.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That race alone makes her a contender here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She’s another early runner, but early in her career she showed she could handle pressure.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Those are the reasons for hope; here are the reasons to doubt.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She lost to both Zoraida <\/B>and Boiscool<\/B> in the race before her last. The last couple times she faced early pressure, she was unable to finish in the money.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Odds of 11-1 in an 18-horse field means she has a better than average chance to win.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Sounds about right.