Fair Grounds Fillies vie in Silverbulletday Stakes
By Nicolle Neulist, Blinkers-Off
The series of Kentucky Oaks prep races
at Fair Grounds begins with the Silverbulletday Stakes. The race was instituted
in 1992 and originally named after Tiffany Lass, who is now the namesake of a
different stakes at Fair Grounds. It was renamed in 2010 to honour
Silverbulletday, who had been inducted into the Hall of Fame the previous
year.
Silverbulletday was the American
Champion Two Year Old Filly in 1998, and then the American Champion Three Year
Old Filly in 1999. Though Silverbulletday did not contest this race (then known
as the Tiffany Lass Stakes), she decisively won two Kentucky Oaks prep races at
the Fair Grounds in 1999: the Davona Dale Stakes (G3) and the Fair Grounds Oaks
(G3). She did win the Kentucky Oaks in
1999, as well as the Black-Eyed Susan, the Alabama, and the Gazelle.
One filly has won the Silverbulletday
on the way to a Kentucky Oaks victory: Believe You Can, who kicked off her
three-year-old campaign here, and also won the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) on her
path to Kentucky Oaks glory. I'm a
Chatterbox, who won the Silverbulletday two years ago, went on to sweep the
entire series of Oaks preps at the Fair Grounds, finish third in the Kentucky
Oaks, and win the Grade 1 Cotillion at age three. Another notable winner of this race is 2004
winner Lotta Kim. She never raced again
after winning this race, but she produced 2009 Kentucky Oaks hero Rachel
Alexandra.
Race
7: Silverbulletday Stakes, three-year-old fillies, one mile and seventy yards
on the dirt, post time 4:05pm CST
This year's Silverbulletday drew a
competitive field of twelve to vie for a $150,000 purse, as well as Kentucky
Oaks points (10-4-2-1) for the top four finishers. Wonder
Gadot, cross-entered in the Lecomte, is likely to stay with fillies here;
however, only eleven are expected to race, as Stellar Moon is expected to
run in a one-other-than on January 19 instead.
Though the race drew several marquee
shippers who we'll tackle later, we'll tab on top a runner who is trying stakes
company for the first time, but boasts Fair Grounds affinity and solid Fair
Grounds connections: America's Tale. The daughter of Gio Ponti tried two turns on
dirt for the first time on December 17, and romped in the Fair Grounds
slop. Regular rider Brian Hernandez, who
has taken the call for all but one race of her career, returns to ride the
Bernie Flint trainee. Though the risk is
that America's Tale might be a slop monster, she also has a resounding maiden
special weight victory over fast dirt at Churchill, as well as a pair of second-place
finishes on fast dirt before she got her diploma. Her running style should also suit the race:
she is a forward-style runner going long, but showed last out that she can sit
just off the pace if the likes of Wonder Gadot or Noblame grabs the front end
instead.
Blonde
Bomber has not raced
since the Breeders' Cup, but comes into the Silverbulletday off a regular set
of works since late November. A big
worry going to Del Mar was whether the daughter of Fort Larned was just a
Gulfstream Park Horse as her first six starts came down there, but she took the
move and the class rise well and finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile
Fillies (G1). That race was also her
first two-turn test, a test she passed.
Blonde Bomber has the tactical versatility to run well from just off the
pace or from well off it -- a positive, since there are a few horses who can be
forward, but no cluster of one-way speed likely to burn each other out and
cause a true pace collapse.
Trainer Mark Casse sends a classy
one-two punch of Wonder Gadot and Heavenly Love. It would be no surprise to see either of them
do well, but both will be short prices. Heavenly Love is a tougher read, and a
bit less trustworthy at a short price.
Her Alcibiades (G1) dazzled, but her Breeders' Cup was not good. She still hast to answer the question of
which one is the real Heavenly Love. 3/1
on the morning line seems short; should she drift up to 5/1, she becomes intriguing,
but it would be a surprise to see her at such a good price.
For a shorter-priced horse to use
defensively, Wonder Gadot has a bit
more allure. She not only held up a lot
better in the Breeders' Cup than her stablemate, but followed that up with a
comfortable cruise in the Demoiselle (G2) a month later. She should be part of the front vanguard
here, but with a stalking gear, Wonder Gadot is unlikely to be truly burned up
in that role. It's also a positive to
see that John Velazquez is shipping out to stick with her; Velazquez first took
the call with her in the Demoiselle, and the fact that he's leaving New York
suggests he thinks she is the real deal.
It's hard not to trust his judgment, and Wonder Gadot can't be left off
even at a short price.
Selections:
#6
America's Tale (8/1)
#1
Blonde Bomber (7/2)
#2
Wonder Gadot (2/1)
Longshot: #9 Missive (15/1) makes her first foray into stakes
company, and does have some tables to turn on top choice America's Tale. Yet, she is still lightly raced compared to
many of her foes -- with only four starts behind her, she has plenty of room to
improve. The mile and seventy yards at
Fair Grounds should suit her, as well - she broke her maiden over that course
and distance on a fast track, then finished second in a lst-out allowance in
the mud. Missive's tactical speed is a
major positive. So are her human
connections: trainer Mike Stidham has been winning almost a quarter of the time
this meet, and Missive keeps 30% Fair Grounds rider Joe Bravo from her last two
starts.
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