7/25/2020
9 SAR The Ballston (GII)
$300.000 4yo&Up F&M 1 1/16m InTurf 123lbs
A very nice field of twelve ladies is set to go a mile and a sixteenth on the inner turf course here at The Spa and we look at the field for The Ballston (GII). There is some very nice horse-flesh in this one but I’m taking Maggie Greene since she’s the one with the hot hand right now. Three consecutive graded wins, firm, yielding… she can win from the parking lot. She just looks sharp as a knife to me and I can’t go past her. I’ll take Franke in the second spot and I think she may be happy to get that extra sixteenth of a mile today. She certainly is no stranger to the winner’s circle and AW brings them ready to run.
It’s a loaded field, so grab a cold snack and let’s take a gander at this one.
Here’s The Field –
Had a four race win streak snapped when she tired badly in the Santa Ana (GII) at SA, then was off the board in the CD Distaff Turf (GII) on KYD Day down in Louisville. Got back on track a bit last out when third in the Just A Game (GI) at 22/1 and a similar run could put her in the middle of this one as well.
Back-to-back wins at the Alw level, but graded stakes have been tougher on this mare as she was fourth in her last two starts. Most of her damage has come on the main track although she did win the Yellow Ribbon (GII) at DMR last year. I think she will need her best here today.
Win you see she has three wins from fifteen starts you kind of shake your head, then you see the seven other on-the-board races, five of those in the runner-up category, and the $700.000+ in earnings and you realize she’s a handful and must be feared every single time she goes into the gate. Give her a shot here, even if it’s for another placing.
What a nice filly… won the Gamely (GI) two back, and the Hillsboro (GII) back in Mar. Third last out in the Poker (GIII) taking on the boys, so she can flat out run. She has every chance to take down another victory here today.
Back-to-back graded wins in the Royal Heroine (GII) and the CD Distaff Turf (GII) and was coming late in that last out fifth place finish in the Just A Game (GI) where traffic may have done her in a bit. She’s trained by The King, so you know she’s not here for second place.
Sold two races back and it’s been close-but-no-cigar in her two graded stakes tries. Fourth i the Beaugay (GIII) at BEL and sixth in the EMJ Hcp (GIII) at CD, so it’s right back into the deep end of the pool with this group. She will need her best to be part of this one.
Three wins in a row, all graded, and she on-top of her game right now. She’s beaten a few of these and anything close to those races and she should be lights-out here today. She’s been working sharp as well so I just don’t see a reason to get down on her.
She’s a nice filly, but will throw the occasional clunker as she did in The NY (GII) last out where she ended up seventh. She was also seventh in the American Oaks (GI) at SA to close out her ’19 season. She’s also won seven of twenty-one starts and has $1,440.400 in the bank, so she can certainly run with the best of the best.
Back-to-back wins and four wins in her last five starts proves she has the ability. That was a three-length blow-out in the Wilshire (GIII), which may be her best race to date. She looks to be getting better with each start… and you could have claimed her for $10.000.
Got back on-track a bit last out when second in the fore-mentioned Wilshire (GIII) and that was welcomed after her tenth place dud in the CD Distaff Turf (GII) prior to that race. She won the American Oaks (GI) and the FG Oaks (GII) last year, so she could be sitting on a big race.
Two wins to kick off the 2020 season, then a sixth in the Royal Heroine (GII) but bounced back with a solid third in The NY (GII) with a few of these. She is proving to be a very capable filly and should make a good showing here as well.
Got the year kicked off well with a win in the Marshuas River (GIII) but it’s been a down-hill journey to a ninth in The NY (GII) where she faced a few of these. Maybe that wet surface just didn’t sit will with her, so can she turn it around from this post?
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES