{"id":8332,"date":"2010-08-20T08:25:47","date_gmt":"2010-08-20T08:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=8332"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=8332","title":{"rendered":"Birmington Stakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 11th<\/SUP> running of the Spa\u2019s Grade I Birmingham has again attracted a fine field of three-year-old fillies, despite having only one runner ranked in the top ten.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

This race has a rich history.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Four of its champions have been winners of Triple Tiara races, including hall of famer Krishna.<\/I><\/B>\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Last year\u2019s winner The Word<\/I><\/B> is currently ranked number six in the world.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Here is a look at the field:<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP1 MOST NOTED(NY) <\/STRONG>(WELL NOTED x AMERICAN BRASS x SEATTLE SLEW) bred and trained by kindone2<\/I><\/B> (Kindone Stables, 5%) Style: P, Odds: 11-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Modestly bred filly comes in on a four-race win streak.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The races were all allowances, and her speed figures were well below most of the others\u2019 here, but she won them all handily.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There is a common belief that when a horse wins by two or more lengths she was capable of faster.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>No previous winner of the Birmingham prepped in an allowance race, and Noted\u2019s lone stakes try, a March sprint, was terrible, so she is up against several factors, yet she carries the hope of the everyman trainers in the game.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 2 IDAAN(IRE) <\/B>(GALILEO(IRE) x A.P. INDY x SHARPEN UP(GB)) bred and trained by given2<\/I><\/B> (Given Stables: Fire and Bood, 29%) Style: S, Odds: 8-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Lightly raced filly has been improving rapidly for a top barn.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Two of the last three winners of the Birmingham came out of the Players Club National Oaks, the race where this one picked up her third straight second.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She\u2019ll have to try to turn the tables on Apache Missile<\/B>, who had a better finishing kick, but with continued improvement, she would be no surprise.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 3 SEPTEMBER DAWN(KY) <\/STRONG>(JOHANNESBURG x UNBRIDLED x ROBERTO) bred and trained by <\/SPAN>john7897<\/I><\/STRONG> (John5539 Stables, 11%), Style: S, Odds: 5-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/STRONG><\/SPAN><\/P>

After an impressive pair of wins in May and June, this filly was looking unstoppable, and she entered the Players Club National Oaks as the favorite.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But her closing kick was missing that day, and she was well beaten by a couple in here and others.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She still has won half of her races and a return to her June form probably makes her the one to beat today, but excusing a last race is a risky strategy at these short odds.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 4 ON THE RAMPAGE(ENG) <\/STRONG>(NEW APPROACH (IRE) x FORESTRY x GONE WEST) bred and trained by desimster<\/I><\/B> (Shamrock Stables, 15%), Style: P, Odds: 17-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Sophomore Sire already has a couple GW runners; this one hopes to become the third.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She won for fun against an allowance field last time and will have to make a big improvement to be a factor here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She has won a stakes, though that was turf sprint as a two-year-old.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her connections seem confident.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>They certainly know what they\u2019re up against, as she wasn\u2019t entered until 40 minutes before entries closed.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Jockey\u2019s having a decent year.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 5 APACHE MISSILE(KY) <\/STRONG>(INDIAN CHARLIE x SUNDAY SILENCE x BOLD RULER) bred and trained by blazsadcpo <\/I><\/B>\u00a0<\/SPAN>(<\/SPAN>MTK and GALLOPLAZ SIM Joint Venture, 16%), Style: S, Odds: 11-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P>

In last year\u2019s Birmingham there was a filly that showed a marked improvement in her speed figures in winning the Grade I Players Club National Oaks.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The BTB<\/I> writer who covered the race has probably never correctly predicted a winner.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He hemmed and hawed finally picked against that filly, who of course went on to win.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>So what do we have here?\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Missile showed a big improvement in speed figures last time in winning the Grade I Players Club National Oaks.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>There are some limitations to the parallel.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Missile\u2019s improved speed figure does not rank as one of the highest in this year\u2019s field, and she is still a longshot.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>But still.\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 6 LEMON PHARGO(KY) <\/STRONG>(LEMON DROP KID x PHARLY(FR) x SADLER’S WELLS) bred and trained by rollsally<\/I><\/B> (Rollsally Stables, 15%), Style: P, Odds: 8-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

The next three fillies all faced each other last time in the Grade I Players Club International Oaks.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It was an unusual Grade I in that not a single filly in the field possessed a graded win.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Even if it wasn\u2019t an impressive field, it was an impressive performance by this daughter of a multiple stakes winning mare, as she rolled to a comfortable win.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That now gives her seven wins and three seconds in 10 dirt starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She\u2019s been very well handled and gets the jockey who won this race last year.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 7 FINANCIAL EXPRESS(GER) <\/STRONG>(MONSUN(GER) x KRIS S. x DEPUTY MINISTER) bred and trained by icbomber5<\/I><\/B> (The Evil Empire, 26%), Style: P\/E, Odds: 13-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

This one battled early in the Players Club International but faded late.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That seems the most likely scenario again today, but it would be dangerous to totally dismiss her chances.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She still has four wins in only six dirt starts and most importantly a remarkable trainer who won this race twice in the past three years, including a stakes record tying win by a 14-1 longshot.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 8 CODE OF HAMMURABI(KY) <\/STRONG>(HEATSEEKER (IRE) x EMPIRE MAKER x SEATTLE SLEW) bred and trained by wtas02<\/I><\/B> (Dixiedotco Racing, 26%), Style: P, Odds: 7-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

She should be just off the early leaders and, with only an anomalous April race on her record, she doesn\u2019t lose ground to many.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She did get passed by Lemon Phargo<\/B> last time, but she\u2019s certainly capable of turning those tables.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her form cycle appears prime for peaking, and there is no trainer in the world better than hers.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Oh, and kudos on the name for this daughter of South of Babylon<\/B>.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 9 DYNASWAIN(KY) <\/STRONG>DYNAFORMER x SWAIN (IRE) x SEATTLE SLEW) bred and trained by unreal<\/I><\/B> (Jef\u2019s Thoroughbred Club, 20%), Style: S, Odds: 21-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

After winning three graded stakes as a two-year-old, she failed to progress in her sophomore year.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Recently she\u2019s been running slower than she did last November, and that\u2019s not a good sign.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her last two races came against very weak four-horse allowance fields.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She did crush those fields but in very slow time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Again, maybe she could have run much faster if she had to.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She still has a top twenty ranking and the confidence of a very competent trainer.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 10 ZENACIOUS(KY) <\/STRONG>(STREET CRY (IRE) x KRIS S. x SEATTLE SLEW) bred and trained by blazsadcpo<\/I><\/B> (MTK and GALLOPLAZ SIM Joint Venture, 16%) Style: E, Odds: 10-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

This one probably has the best early speed in the field and should be able to dictate the pace.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The rest of the prognosis is not so good.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It would be a bit of a surprise if she were to turn that early speed into a win here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She\u2019s finished out of the money in her past three races and has been fading late.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>\u00a0<\/SPAN>Now she takes a huge jump in class, adds a quarter mile when she\u2019s been fading in shorter, and faces a field full of fillies that can easily churn out triple digit speed figures \u2013 something that she\u2019s never done.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 11 ACID RAIN COT(KY) <\/STRONG>(STORMY ATLANTIC x DISTORTED HUMOR x DIXIELAND BAND) bred and trained by cothill<\/I><\/B> (Cothill Stables, 14%), Style: S, Odds: 5-1<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

She was a contender in all three Triple Tiara races, finishing second in the Middle Flower and in the front half of the fields in both bookend races.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>It seems to me that the wear from qualifying for and running those three races takes its toll, and it is common to see some regression in form for a couple months.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That explains her subpar performance last time, finishing second in an allowance as a 7-5 favorite.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>You can make a case that she is the best filly in this race, even though she doesn\u2019t have nearly the winning percentage as some others, but I would wait another month or so before I picked her on top.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I am prepared to be wrong again.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

PP 12 UNION JACK FLYER(KY) <\/STRONG>(A.P. INDY x AWESOME AGAIN x STORM CAT) bred and trained by poowillck <\/I><\/B>(ScotsAnglo, 19%), Style: S, Odds 4-1*<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

After a nice third in the Bluegrass Oaks, she skipped the Middle Flower only to run a disappointing race in the Chestnut.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Though it was only here sixth lifetime start, perhaps the efforts in qualifying for and running well in the Oaks had taken their toll.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>If so a seven week freshening seems to be just what she needed.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Her big late run against the boys in the Grade II Swamps came up just short but helped her earn a speed figure that tops this field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The race also raised her to a top ten ranking and that helped her procure the dominant jockey at the track.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>She\u2019s a deserving favorite.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

Summary<\/SPAN><\/B>.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>As usual I have convinced myself that about eight of these fillies deserve a top pick. I\u2019ll go with Lemon Phargo \/ Apache Missile \/ Code of Hammurabi<\/B>. Oh, and one last thing.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Scan the breedings here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Celebrate the diversity.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Evil Empire Goes for Third Win in Four Years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":432,"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-8332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8332","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\/432"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}