The Grade 2 Turf Queen Stakes <\/b>is pretty much a new kid on the block when it comes to graded sprint races.<\/p>\n
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But what The Turf Queen has lacked in tradition, it’s more than made up for in quality–and quantity–when it comes to stakes-winning ladies lined up to take home the trophy in this $300,000 seven and one-half furlong Grade 2 event for 3 year old and up fillies and mare.<\/p>\n
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If you’re a handicapper who likes past histories–and longshots–then sit up and take notice. The only two prior runnings of this Grade 2 event here at Victoria Race Course in 2009 and 2010 have turned into graveyards for the favorites, as the two longest shots in both races have brought home the trophies.<\/p>\n
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And the way this year’s Turf Queen Stakes sets up is no different. Cruel Summer is this year’s Turf Queen morning line favorite at 4\/1, which might not be such a good thing at all, given the history of this race.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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There’s very little front end speed here in the 2011 Turf Queen. Atsuko shows tremendous early speed in her races and she likes the front, that’s for sure, but other than that, most of the rest of these are closers. And when you get that lone speed factor on the front end of any race, almost anything can happen here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Since its inception in 2009, this $300,000 event has drawn some quality-laden fields, including 2009 winner Evil Mutant, a Louisiana-bred multiple stakes winner who went on to win a couple more stakes events after her Turf Queen win here in Victoria. Evil Mutant, a 10-1 shot, upset post-time favorite Rhaenyra, a Grade 3 stakes winner who won over $750,000 in her career.<\/p>\n
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And last year’s Turf Queen here in Victoria featured $1.2 million earner Night Witch, another post-time favorite who was upset by the longest shot in the race, Madcap Bandita.<\/p>\n
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Madcap Bandita was a multiple stakes winner herself who later in 2010 went on to finish second in the $400,000 Grade 2 The Mother Stakes and has racked up nearly $750,000 in career earnings.<\/p>\n
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Will this year’s version of the Turf Queen Stakes be grabbed by another long shot in 2011? Or will this be the year a favorite finally brings home the trophy? Here’s a look at the field for the third running of the Grade 2 $300,000 Turf Queen Stakes.<\/p>\n
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PP 1 (5\/1) KEY TO THE TOWN<\/b> (KY) — 20-7-7-3, $323,559 Owner: clk2000<\/p>\n
4 yo gr mare (Medaglia D’Oro X Proud Citizen X Honor Grades)<\/p>\n
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If there’s one who’s poised to spring a mild upset here, look no farther than Key To The Town. This daughter of Medaglia D’Oro has finished no worse than second in her last seven starts, with stakes wins in the $100,000 Train Station in Queensland and the $150,000 Grade 3 Park Place Express. Key To The Town had been throwing speedballs ranging in the upper 90’s to 111 in her 7 starts since last July. But that 111 speed figure came in her last score in The Park Place Express, at a distance of one mile. The half furlong less that she’ll see here in Victoria on Saturday shouldn’t make much difference to her at all. Key To The Town likes to lay about mid-pack and then close fast, and she’s shown no different running style in her sprints than she has in her mile outings. The daughter of Medaglia D’Oro fits quite nicely with this bunch, and she too could benefit from some fast early fractions, since she’s shown quite a strong late kick in her races. One to watch very closely here Saturday.<\/p>\n
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PP 2 (7\/1) SCREAMO<\/b> — (KY) — 19-6-2-2 $1,324,810 Owner: young group<\/p>\n
4 yo br mare (Giant’s Causeway (IRE) X Danzig X Lyphard)<\/p>\n
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Screamo is one of two million-dollar-plus earners in this race. She was a Grade 2 winner by the time she hit her third race, and she won early and often for her owner younggroup. She’s a multiple stakes winning daughter of Giant’s Causeway who brings some outstanding back class form to the Turf Queen here on Saturday. Lately, she’s been coming up a bit short in the stakes win department. You have to go all the way back to February of last season to find her last stakes win, but that was a huge one. She took down the $1 million Grade 1 Think Globally Breed Locally Stakes in British Columbia. It was her last win before she took down a confidence-building allowance race on March 1 of this year, in her last outing. That allowance win might be enough to propel Screamo back into the graded stakes winner’s circle. Screamo will be laying back most of this race, probably trailing the pack, before she makes her move. She’s a deep closer, and she likes running that way. This longer sprint distance might be just what Screamo needs. She pulled a 105 speed figure out of the hat in that race on March 1, and the last time she ran 7 furlongs or more (The $105,00 Shillelagh Special Stakes in August of last year) she ran a 108 speed figure in a second place finish. Screamo will definitely appreciate the added distance the Turf Queen has to offer, probably more than any other horse in this field here Saturday in Victoria.<\/p>\n
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PP 3 (34\/1) WHEREDID UCOMEFROM<\/b> (IRE) — 10-2-1-2, $169,493 Owner: corza<\/p>\n
5 yo br mare (Manduro X Redoute’s Choice (AUS) X Canny Lad (AUS))<\/p>\n
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Only 10 starts for WHEREDID UCOMEFROM, a 5 year old daughter of Manduro, which makes you wonder. She ran most of her early races here in Australia, at Queensland Race Course. She really didn’t do well as a two year old in the Grade 1 $400,000 Fauster’s Juvenile Cup, so her owner sat her out for nearly a year before she raced again. WHEREDID UCOMEFROM then ran in a couple of middle distance allowances, spaced a year apart, before coming back to the sprints. WHEREDID UCOMEFROM has shown steady improvement, certainly not the speed figures you would like to see with this bunch. But she did pop a 100 speed figure in a $69,000 allowance race in Belgium which she won quite handily. The daughter of Manduro finished third on Christmas Day last year in another Belgian allowance before she tackled stakes company in Germany for the first time in nearly two years. She popped a 98 speed figure there, and finished a decent fifth behind a $500,000 earner, the classy Boogie Night. Whether WHEREDID UCOMEFROM is ready to take on the likes of these remains to be seen. But as we said in the beginning, The Turf Queen Stakes has been the home of upset winners before, and this would definitely be an upset for WHEREDID UCOMEFROM in this spot. Don’t discount the 5 year old daughter of Manduro totally. She’s really just returning to the races and getting back on a regular schedule, so she might need some time. The talent is certainly there with this one, as she’s shown when she races with any kind of regularity at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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PP 4 (10\/1) SHE MIGHT BE GIANT<\/b> (KY) — 34-15-2-2, $1,258,688 Owner: gradeone<\/p>\n
5 yo ch mare (Giant’s Causeway X Seeking The Gold X Danehill)<\/p>\n
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Like Cruel Summer, She Might Be Giant is another Kentucky-bred who has done her fair share of globe-trotting recently, fom Newmarket, to Dubai, to the Americas, and back to Europe. During that streak, since last July, She Might Be Giant has raced solely in stakes company her last 8 outings, with her best finishes coming in Dubai and New Zealand, where she scored wins in the $110,000 Primetime Ransom Stakes and the $71,250 Everclear Stakes. Her form has take a bit of a dip since that win in the Everclear back in October of 2010, but she might be on the rebound after a third place finish in the $25,000 Grass And She Special Stakes at the end of February. Only three of her last eight starts have seen her top the 100 speed figure mark, but it’s always hard to discount a million dollar earner’s chances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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PP 5 (4\/1) CRUEL SUMMER<\/b> (KY) — 28-9-3-5 $746,859 Owner: mtkplz2\u00a0<\/p>\n
5 YO br mare (Storm Cat X Mr. Prospector X Nijinsky II)<\/p>\n
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This Storm Cat daughter has done very little wrong in her last 7 starts going back to July of 2010. Cruel Summer started her present tear right here at Victoria Race Course, pulling down a win in the Grade 2 The Old Snowy River Stakes last July. Cruel Summer beat a field of 13 that included–you guessed it–Madcap Bandita, last year’s Turf Queen Stakes winner. The 111 speed figure in The Old Snowy River was her best in her last 7 starts. Two starts later in October, Cruel Summer globe-trotted to Paris to snag the Grade 1 Prix Marcel Boss. She comes in here off an allowance win in New Jersey and a second place finish in the 7 furlong Renee Project Turf Mare Sprint Stakes in North Carolina. These last 7 races have seen Cruel Summer consistently post speed figures in the mid to upper 110’s. This is a tough and extremely fast mare who’s probably got the best recent form in this field, with 94 stakes points to date.<\/p>\n
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PP 6 (6\/1) PASSTHEPEASPLEASE<\/b> (KY) — 17-7-2-3, $298,402 Owner: veggiesix<\/p>\n
4 yo gr mare (First Defence X Red Ransom X Pleasant Colony)<\/p>\n
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Last July, PASSTHEPEASPLEASE threw an 82 speed figure in an open company allowance win in Jamaica. Then, suddenly, the lights came on for this 4 year old daughter of First Defence. She jumped up into the 100 bracket in her next race, also an open allowance win, and it’s been no looking back since for PASSTHEPEASPLEASE. She has been improving nearly every outing since last July, and in her last start–a win in the $90,000 Greenland Turf Dash–she blew out a 112 speed figure, which most certainly is competitive with anything she’ll see in Victoria on Saturday. This is a pretty scary mare who seems to be blossoming at just the right time, and there is no better time to blossom than this Saturday in Victoria. A 112 speed figure would definitely do the trick here in the Turf Queen Stakes, if she can repeat her effort from the Greenland Turf Dash. This mare is scary in that she has shown a lot of versatility in her running styles. Sometimes she’ll break dead last and charge hard late, sometimes she’ll lay mid-pack before making her move, and she’s even shown she can lay right off the leaders and win. She is an extremely professional racehorse who seems to have the pieces coming together all at once as she heads into The Turf Queen Stakes on Saturday. If she runs to her current form, there’s no doubt this one can be very scary here in Victoria in this spot. Watch PASSTHEPEASPLEASE please!<\/p>\n
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PP 7 (5\/1) ATSUKO<\/b> (JAP) — 18-8-4-2, 306,300 Owner: 1st 2nd 3rd<\/p>\n
4 yo br mare (Dawai Major (JAP) X Palace Music X Storm Cat)<\/p>\n
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They’ll all probably be chasing Atsuko most of this race, if current form holds true. Atsuko likes the lead\u00a1\u00a6period. The last time this daughter of Dawai Major didn’t lead the first three calls of a race was way back in January of 2010. She’s a multiple stakes winner, but she has yet to score her first graded stakes win. This might be the time, since Atsuko turns back to the sprint distances for the first time since July of last season. She’s been running mostly mile events in her career, and the turn back to 7 \u00a8\u00f6 furlongs could very well put her in the winner’s circle here. By the way, the last two times Atsuko has tried the sprints, she came out first and second. In fact, in her five times sprinting she’s won 3 of the five, including that win in the $100,000 Scooby Jupiter Memorial Stakes at New South Wales. Atsuko is always dangerous in events like this, and her speed figures show it. As the lone speed in this race, she should pretty much have her way with the rest of the field as far as the calls go. If she can save enough for the end, include this one in your exotics. Atsuko could very well take down her first graded stakes win here.<\/p>\n
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PP 8 (8\/1) HAACK’S RAY<\/b> (KY) — 14-7-1-0, $169,493 Owner: ottohaack<\/p>\n
4 yo br mare (Ghostzapper X Rainbow Quest X Nureyev)<\/p>\n
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BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! That’s what Haack’s Ray has done to her competition in her last five starts. Haack’s Ray comes in here riding a five-race win streak, the last in the Southern Atlantic Turf Mare Sprint Stakes in Queensland. And all five came with speed figures ranging from 101 to 112. The 4 year old Ghostzapper daughter is definitely going to be competitive in this field, her first graded stakes start of her 4 year old campaign. She is a late closer, but she doesn’t seem to be very dependent on fast early fractions. She comes on like a freight train late no matter what the early pace is. Pretty dangerous mare here in Haack’s Ray. She’s been flying under the radar, really, being lightly raced and mostly in allowance company, but her owner thinks she is ready for the big time, and that’s exactly what she’ll see here in Victoria on Saturday–big time horses on a world class stage. Can she pull the upset? Would it even be an upset if she won, considering her speed figures of late? Yes, this mare can do it, and if she does, she could use the Turf Queen Stakes win to jump to an even bigger world stage. No doubt about this one. She’s got the range to hang with this group, and her recent form is outstanding.<\/p>\n
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PP 9 (8\/1) ALIEN QUEEN<\/b> (AUS) — 15-5-7-0, $170,336 Owner: queenab<\/p>\n
4 yo br mare (Encosta De Lago (AUS) X Storm Cat X Seattle Slew)<\/p>\n
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Here is another one that looks primed to take her place among the distaff sprinter elite. Alien Queen is starting to pop those monster speed figures that gets you in stakes races. She ran a couple of European allowance races, both wins, in January and February of last year and then inexplicably she disappeared until October. Alien Queen showed up in Tasmania at that time, where she showed the effects of the 7 month layoff by tossing in an eighth place finish in an allowance race. She needed that race, because since then she’s done nothing wrong. The 4 year old daughter of Encosta De Lago has started posting some pretty impressive speed figures, especially in her last two outings. A couple of 111 speed figures in her last two starts got her a couple of second place finishes behind PASSTHEPEASPLEASE, who she’ll see here on Saturday, and the 5 year old mare Cadasi, an Irish-bred mare who’s got nearly a million dollars in earnings already. No shame in finishing behind those two. Alien Queen, along with Atsuko, might be one of the few early speedsters in this race. She has shown early speed in the past, and if she runs to her recent form, who knows? She might wire this bunch if she’s of a mind to. She’s roaring and ready, this one. One to watch closely here in Victoria on Saturday.<\/p>\n
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PP 10 (6\/1) GOLDBUG<\/b> (KY) — 17-7-2-3, $446,579 Owner: seveii<\/p>\n
5 yo br mare (Kingmambo X Empire Maker X El Prado (IRE))<\/p>\n
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Goldbug only has two allowance wins in her last seven starts, dating back to September of 2010. But don’t let that fool you. This daughter of Kingmambo has raced in some tough company and acquitted herself well, with third place finishes in the Grade 2 The Mother Stakes and the $750,000 Grade 1 Queen Ascot Stakes. She also had a second place finish back in October of 2010 in the $500,000 in the Grade 1 The Motherly Love Stakes right behind last year’s Turf Queen Stakes winner Madcap Bandita. Most of Goldbug’s last 7 races have come at a mile, but in her last two starts she dropped down to sprint distances, where she scored a win in a New Hampshire allowance. Watch for Goldbug to come from way back in this spot on Saturday. She’s been coming out of the clouds in her sprint efforts and closing like gangbusters, and if she can get the early fast fractions on the front end from Atsuko here on Saturday, Goldbug could very well figure prominently in the Turf Queen on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Will longshots dominate again in Victoria?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"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-9065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9065","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\/162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9065\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}