Beverly D – Grade I [BC]

1 3/16 Mile Turf Stake Purse $600.000 Filly & Mare 3 Year Olds And Up.

I could easily just write ditto for all the races i am covering at AP today as the on speed bias once again dominated the race. So which three year old won….yes the wide gate one with an on pace racing style.

1st Eastern Sky, trained by Maxmillion Farm
Drawn wide with an on pace track bias is always a pretty good place to start. Add in the three year old weight allowance and an hour before this race this horse suddenly looked a very good bet. There or thereabouts in all the top three year old races she had three lengths to find on Good Line but the track bias took care of that and the result looked beyond doubt from half way. This was a very strong win but as with the centre track bias at BEL the track bias here will make the form hard to read in the run up to the BC. For now she is probably the leading turf router of her sex but that will probably change a few times before November.

2nd In Z Balance, trained by Diablo Diablo
Two things made this run very very good. Firstly she came from off the pace and secondly she actually beat a three year old and got pretty close to the other one. Normally she would race on the pace but for some reason today when drawn ideally to try and get a fast start and punch through she was taken back. Whether that was trainer error or a race engine anomaly we will probably never know but this effort was full of merit and she will be on my watch list come November.

3rd Devils Wears Prada, trained by Axeman
Like the runner up the run of this grand old mare was extraordinary in the fact that she came from a mile back and still managed a great third. Again whether it was a trainer decision to negate the outside speed push or just the good old race engines choice we will never know but in hindsight it may have been the wrong decision. Take nothing away from this veteran though she will be right in it come November.

4th Good Line, trained by Mb Stables
Starting favourite after her BEL Oaks win she was just about close enough in running but never looked like winning on a track that was playing to on pace runners. She lost five lengths in the end on the winner between the BEL Oaks and today and there will be plenty of theories as to why. The on speed track bias, the inconsistency of form lines, the BEL mid track track bias or just that horses are so similar that they will flip flop like this? pick your reason and then reassess come the BC.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES