San Clemente Handicap – Grade II
1 Mile Turf Graded Stake Purse $200.00 Fillies Three-Year-Olds. At DMR
San Clemente Handicap was a first-year stakes race back in the wild west years of HRP where things happened that we would find impossible now. The first winner of this race was My Fair Lady trained by future HOF Trainer Fuji Stable. That race didn’t even have a name back then; it was just called “Stakes”. The actual race was a match race, which are no longer allowed, and My Fair Lady won by 32 lengths. There were races like that all the time back in the day. Today we get six starters, a real race name, the wild days are history, and I guarantee the winning margin will be less than that first one. Here’s the field:
Horse Owner Odds SRF
Shes A Cougar Iwin Enterprise *3-1 92
Ice Water Maxmillion Farm 3-1 98
Allow Mb Stables 4-1 91
Higgs P Greyfriars Stable 5-1 94
Lightning Ridge TwinTowersRacing 8-1 85
Blackbyte Rock Creek 10-1 88
Third in her debut at TAM followed by a five-length win at PRX for Allow is an impressive start to life. 1:35 flat is scary fast for one so young, and of course, she has Mb Stables.
2 Ice Water Maxmillion Farm 98
Ice Water has been special since her first start which was a win on the dirt. But after a miserable showing in the $250.00 SUN Oaks, it was decided she be tried on turf and, yeah, she likes it. Since switching, she has placed second in The $100.00 Melody Of Colors at GP and third in The Grade III Soaring Softly at SAR, and if you’re worried about distance, I’d say look at that allowance race at PRX.
3 Blackbyte Rock Creek 88
After a dismal first start by Blackbyte, Rock Creek must have seen something because he bought the horse from Team 7 Illusions for $17.00. Took her home, saddled her up at lowly FE and nearly won back his purchase price as she ran a magnificent deep close to come from seven off on the backstretch to a one-length win.
4 Higgs P Greyfriars Stable 97
Higgs P comes here for new owner Greyfriars Stable who shelled out $231.01 at auction to purchase the stakes winning horse from Robeth. Robeth, in turn, bought the horse from breeder Zoeller for $100.00 after seeing her win her debut by five-lengths at BTP. It sure looked like a brilliant purchase after she won her second start, the $100.00 Wait A While at GP. I reckon the enthusiasm cooled down a bit when she did as she lost three straight which set up the circumstances by which Greyfriars Stable came to own her. I don’t think there’s that much to worry about as I think that last sprint run was pretty sharp.
5 Lightning Ridge TwinTowersRacing 85
Lightning Ridge, having never raced on turf before and not exactly having much stakes experience, is going to have to be a bit of a mystery, but I am a TwinTowersRacing fan. I know him, ani know he’s up to something. I see a couple of sharp turf works on his sheet. Maybe Tommy has some real surprising works on the farm. Just don’t turn your back on him and make sure you’ve got a couple of bucks on her to place.
6 Shes A Cougar Iwin Enterprise 92
After winning a couple of races, owner/breeder Choppy Inc. decided to enter Shes A Cougar.in stakes races. Two races later she placed second in the $100.00 Sweet Life Stakes at SA and Choppy Inc. decided to sell her to Iwin Enterprise for $100.00. Now, under Iwin Enterprise’s tutelage, she won the $150.00 Sanibel Island at GP, a race very much like this but a half-furlong longer that I think with her style in the GP race, will only improve her chances.
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
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