The G3 Miesque Stakes for 2yo fillies drew a field of eight for the one mile turf race, including one horse coming over from Great Britain. ISLAND PARADISE is 3-1 on the morning line and owns an allowance win on the sythetic surface at Kempton Park. Her running style has her tracking the leaders and making one run at the 1/4 pole. She should be able to handle the turf for Charles Hills and Joel Rosario. The field also includes 2-for-2 YOUR SPECIAL DAY who has won both races coming from the clouds, but she is also making her turf debut.
STARSHIP FLARE switches barns and invades from Calder Race Course for this. She finished 6th in a starter allowance race on the lawn in her last start. REGAL BETTY was well beaten in the G1 Oakleaf and has three starts on synthetic surfaces. She attracts Joe Talamo for this, her turf debut. KATIE'S TEN is a longshot for Alonso Quinonez and John Sadler who is coming off a 4th place finish in the Golden Gate Debutante. She is making her turf debut for ROCK HARD TEN, who has done well with turf runners in the past.
The ML favorite is ASSATEAGUE who last out broke her maiden in her third career race, all coming on the turf. The Michael Matz runner was bred for this stuff, out of STORMY ATLANTIC. Julien Leparoux is aboard. MORE THAN LOVE will also attract some action on the tote board based off her maiden score on the Belmont lawn. East Coast turf runners are generally more highly regarded than their West Coast counterparts. The field is completed by RAESUNBRIDLEDFAITH who is another making her turf debut in a graded event. She won a starter allowance two back at Santa Anita and finished 3rd in the California Cup Juvenile Filly race.
I'll take a stand against the favorite here, who may want to go wire-to-wire and may not get an ideal setup. I'll take a shot with the Sadler/Quinonez runner, KATIE'S TEN, who should like the grass, the distance, and the race setup with five horses looking to be up front early. I'll put a little more into this race, with a $20 WP wager along with a $5 exacta wheel, ASSATEAGUE and MORE THAN LOVE over KATIE's TEN for a total investment of $50.
The G1 Clark Handicap features a handful of BC Classic and many other big names from this year's older horse division and could still have a hand in deciding the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. The top attractions are RULER ON ICE, third in the BC Classic; FLAT OUT, fifth in the BC Classic; and WISE DAN, winner of the G2 Fayette last out. RULER ON ICE has yet to win at the 1 1/8 distance but has two seconds and a third in three attempts. A win here would secure the 3yo Horse of the Year Eclipse Award.
Some of the other contestants include ALMA D'ORO, 2nd in the G3 Ack Ack Handicap on the BC undercard; DEMARCATION, a disappointing fifth in that same race; STATELY VICTOR, 5th in the BC Turf and looking for his first win of 2011; MISSION IMPAZIBLE, always takes money and never rewards his backers; PLEASANT PRINCE, 4th in the BC Marathon last out; HEADACHE, last in the BC Classic but winner of the G2 Hawthorne Gold Cup two back and owner of a 8-3-1-1 record at Churchill Downs; MISTER MARTI GRAS, winner of the G3 Ack Ack Handicap at just under 3-1; WILL'S WILDCAT, winner of the Jimmy V Stakes on the BC undercard; PRAYER FOR RELIEF, winner of the Super Derby, West Virginia Derby, and Iowa Derby and has four wins in five starts this year; and GENERAL QUARTERS, who hasn't won since the G1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Derby Day in 2010.
A closer look at a couple of the logical winners, WISE DAN is coming off a win in the G2 Fayette and also won a stakes race at Presque Isle Downs and the G2 Firecracker Handicap at this race track. He answered the distance question last out and has every right to come back with a winning effort here. FLAT OUT had to alter course in the BC Classic at the 1/8th pole, but probably didn't factor in the result. Nevertheless, this one won the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles and the G2 Suburban Handicap at 1 1/8 miles. He is 0-for-2 this year at Churchill Downs, and could be a vulnerable favorite.
I don't have a strong enough opinion about any horse in this field, so I'll go fishing for a trifecta. My first pass at the field only presented four complete tosses: DEMARCATION, STATELY VICTOR, MISSION IMPAZIBLE, and WILL'S WILDCAT. For the top spot, I'll look at WISE DAN, PRAYER FOR RELIEF, HEADACHE, and RULER ON ICE. I'll use those four in the top two spots and then go deep in the third hole with those four plus ALMA D'ORO, MISTER MARTI GRAS, and GENERAL QUARTERS. I'll knock that down to $.50 for a manageable investment of $30.
EDIT: ASSATEAGUE scratched from the Miesque Stakes at Hollywood, so I'll use ISLAND PARADISE on top in my exacta play listed above.
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