Valentine Stakes
1 Mile Stake Purse $100.00 Fillies And Mares Three-Year-Old And Upward. At SA

1st      Cheryl Fury                     The Sidley Stud                *6-5 (HRP) 5-1 (SRF)

In my preview, I said Cheryl Fury needed to prove herself against stakes-level competition, and lo and behold, she did… convincingly. Now there is no telling how far up the ladder she is capable of reaching. She has boosted her record to six wins out of eleven starts, ten times in the money, and she did it with her usual impressive stalk that found her in fourth only a length back at the top of the stretch; then it was a smooth pass of the field to be drawing off a length at the wire. The Sidley Stud has been bringing her along conservatively so that all six turf races have been first or second with only this race being a stakes race. It should be noted that the time she spent on dirt looked as comfortable as on grass.

2nd      Aunt Kat                      Royalty Stables               9-2 (HRP) 4-1 (SRF)

Aunt Kat changed tactics from her last race and went to a more conservative stalk here. She parked alongside the eventual winner from the get go and had her nose in front of her when they entered the stretch, tried to pick up the challenge from Cheryl Fury but that one had her out-gunned going to the wire and was drawing away handily at the end.

3rd     Eva                              The Sidley Stud                   26-1 (HRP) *2-1 (SRF)

It seems HRP and I had a disagreement over the odds in this race. I had Eva as my favourite for the race, and HRP had her as a 26-1 longshot. I think that means I was closer, but, whatever… she looked great as the race’s deep closer out of the gate next to last and closing steadily but too late and finishing third beaten two lengths.                           

4th     Prairie Person               Mo Mentum Farm                70-1 (HRP) 8-1 (SRF) Pretty nice finish for a 70-1 longshot, Prairie Person ran second in a $7.50 claimer last out and couldn’t even make the lead. Today she carried the lead from the drop of the flag to the stretch and held on courageously for fourth.     

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded