Fillies in the spotlight in Bessarabian
By: Nick Costa, Trackside with Trackman
This Saturday, ThoroFan travels north to Canada for the Bessarabian Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. The $175,000 Grade 2 race drew a field of nine fillies and mares set to go seven furlongs on the main track.
Opened in 1985 as the Etobicoke Handicap, it was renamed in 1996 in honor of the granddaughter of the legendary Canadian champion, Northern Dancer, who won the 1964 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
Bessarabian won eighteen of her thirty-seven starts and was voted the 1986 Sovereign Award for Champion Older Female Horse.
Post time for the Bessarabian is slated for 4:26 E.T. and goes as race eight on the eleven-card program.
Let’s take a look at the girls from the rail out.
1 - GIDGETTA – Patrick Husbands/Josie Carroll – 3-1 - Exclusively raced in California where she fared well on turf and dirt, and now lands in the barn of one of Woodbine’s top trainers. Even if she can transfer her good turf form to synthetic, this is a steep step up the class ladder.
2 - LA LIBERTEE – Rafael Hernandez/Mark Casse – 12-1 - Three-year old takes on older opponents. Stakes placed in two Woodbine starts, including her last run which came over the synthetic surface. Makes her third start off the layoff for HOF trainer and the meets leading conditioner.
3 - SPUN GLASS – Luis Contreras/Michael Trombetta – 15-1 - Makes her second sojourn into Canada. She won an entry level allowance race on the turf at Woodbine last October. Since then, she’s had indifferent results, but did manage to nab a second allowance win two back at Colonial Downs.
4 – LADY SPEIGHTSPEARE – Emma Jayne Wilson/Roger Attfield – 4-1 -Lightly-raced three-year old filly is unbeaten in three lifetime starts, all on the turf, including winning the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes last season, but has started just once this year. Inactive for over two months and taking a step up in class does raise concerns.
5 - AUG LUTES – Antonio Gallardo/Michael Trombetta – 8-1 - She is 4 of 5 lifetime and has had success over the Woodbine Tapeta surface in her two tries. Steps up in class here, but her form is solid and she’s on the improve.
6 - JUXTAPOSE – Gary Boulanger/Steve Owens – 20-1 - Has won 6 of 13 lifetime races, half of those wins have come on the lawn. His last win on the synthetic surface came in June 2020, but has no experience at this distance over the Tapeta.
7 - OUR SECRET AGENT – 2-1 - Kazushi Kimura/Mark Casse - She was a big winner of the G3 Hendrie Stakes in her last outing. Has only missed a top three placing once in her 14 lifetime starts. Does not lack stakes experience, and has performed quite well at the graded level, including a third-place finish in this event last year. Attracts the meets leading rider.
8 - EMMELINE – Justin Stein/John Matinee – 20-1 - As a maiden back in August, she had a pair of second-place finishes in two of the top local races for fillies, the Woodbine Oaks and the Bison City Stakes. Last time out, she finally broke through the win column going this distance.
9 - TUNED – Daisuke Fukumoto/Graham Motion – 6-1 - She won at first asking at Deauville in France as a juvenile. Since shipping to the U.S. two years ago, she has taken extremely well to the 10 different grass surfaces and track configurations she has raced over, including a third-place finish here one year ago.
ANALYSIS
#7 Our Special Agent appears to hold a class edge over her rivals. Her speed figures earned in graded stakes on synthetic are tops in the field and solid enough to win here. She gets the call.
#5 Aug Lutes is in phenomenal form and has improved with every start. There is not much speed signed on here, so, she’ll need pace help to assist her closing style. If she gets it, and take another step forward, she could prove very tough to deny.
#4 Lady Speightspeare is 3 for 3, winning convincingly each time. Is untested on synthetic and hasn’t seen action since early September, but she really could be any kind, so she must be afforded a fair chance.
WAGER
$50 to win on Our Special Agent
$10 exacta box 5-7
$1 Trifecta Box 4,5,7
.20 cent superfecta wheel 5,7/1,4,5,6,7,9
Good luck, and as always, enjoy the race!
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