The Inside Information (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
January 23, 2021

Just before we get to run the Pegasus races on Saturday, older females will get their chance in the spotlight in the 18th running of the Grade 2 Inside Information, which is run at seven furlongs. This is a race that Blonde Dynamite won twice back in the day, coming in 2007 and 2009. More recently, we had another impressive streak as Mb Stables ran off four in a row from 2014 and 2017. Estero Farms is halfway there on his current streak, having won the race in both 2019 and 2020, last year doing it with Grayte Crack. That filly would be retired after running in the BC Fillies and Mares Sprint a couple months ago. However the winner of that race is still very much active, and very much part of the field as La Marseillaise will go from post nine. Let’s take a look at her and everyone else that will take part!

#1- On The Flop (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by J J Castellano)- The Gsin mare would win three of her nine starts last year, as well as two second place finishes, and she was at her bet when running under a mile. She has not always done that, but the last two times have been wins, including the Grade 2 PID Masters Stakes in September. She has only made one start since that race, coming last month, so she should be fresh here.

#2- Gravel And Wine (Iolaus Racing, ridden by L Saez)- Last April, she picked up her biggest win to date, topping three others at the $200.000 Evening Jewel, for CA-breds. That was for prior trainer Team 7 Illusions, and it would take a few starts before Iolaus ran her at the stake level. When he did, he went big, in the Grade 2 Zenyatta, and she finished close to the front. That’s something that she is usually able to do whenever she is out there.

#3- Dancinginflorida (Night Rider Stables, ridden by E Zayas)- The trainer and jockey hook up again, just as they did in the Hooper, so Night Rider will really be hoping he breaks out of his 0-for-30 funk on Saturday. This was a $16.000 claim for the trainer, and he made his debut in the green silks of Night Rider at the $100.000 Ocala Stakes, and danced to a win against those FL-breds.

#4- Spy On Hollywood (Estero Farms, ridden by P Lopez)- Here is the trainer’s chance to extend his winning streak to three in the Inside Information. Spy On Hollywood won three of eight during 2020, highlighted by winning the $175.000 Empire Distaff, for NY-breds, in late October. Was a couple lengths behind On The Flop in the Go For Wand Handicap last month, a slightly longer race then this one.

#5- Malagan Gal (Spankys Barn, ridden by P Lopez)- This one was generally a good bet to place in the exacta during 2020, with three wins and five places in ten starts. In May, she won the Grade 3 Desert Stormer at SA, but after her two off the board finishes of the year, she was dropped into overnights, and has been there up until this point. The confidence is back in her, now it is up to her to reward the trainer for it.

#6- Tenrikyo (Smokey Stover, ridden by J R Velazquez)- The winner of the KYO in 2019 would win two of her seven starts last year, and one of them came in a Grade 1: the Spinster at KEE in October. That went a long way to get her into the BC Distaff, where she was second as a three year old, and ended up being fourth last November. All that is fine, so her last start, a third in an open allowance is a bit of an eye opener and not for the right reason. This will be the first time she runs under a mile since February 2019.

#7- Tommy Frazier (John Henry, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- No, we didn’t sneak a gelding into this race. I’m sure I have used that before, though, during her 21-race career that has seen six wins and two berths into the BC Fillies and Mares Sprint. She was 8th, then 6th, in those two races. Overall, she has three graded wins, all in Grade 3’s, and one of them was her last start, the Sugar Swirl right here at GP. She went wire to wire there, which was different tactically than what we had been getting used to from her.

#8- First Impression (Mb Stables, ridden by A Cedillo)- The trainer will be looking for his fifth win in the race, and this is his only entry. As good as she ran last year, perhaps under the radar a little bit, you really don’t need to have any more runners in the field. With the exception of one blip, First Impression hit the board in all of her races in 2020, and has picked up some sort of check in all but that one race March 2019. She is also very used to running exactly this distance and does not waver from it all that much. No reason to think another top three isn’t in the cards.

#9- La Marseillaise (Witeout Stables, ridden by I Oritz)- This filly made her papa, Atomic Twister, proud when she became a BC champion, winning the Fillies and Mares Sprint at KEE last November. If we throw out a likely ill-advised try on the grass in October, then La Marseillaise has won her last four main track starts. Ran in an open allowance last month right here, likely just to get a race, and she picked up the win. If she runs like she can, that win streak may very well be extended.

#10- The Belle Tolls (Fractious, ridden by T Gaffalione)- After finishing fourth in the KYO, this filly was only seen three more times for the rest of the year. Her last start for Allinthegate was the BC Distaff, which would not go well for her. That did not stop Fractious from putting down $1,000.000 to pick her up, and in light of that, you have to think we are going to be seeing her a lot more often now. I hope so, because I have always liked this horse.

#11- Wbf No Regrets (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J Bravo)- The now six year old mare will be making her 30th career start, and will be looking to add to her ten wins. She took two of seven last year, highlighted by the Grade 1 Humana Distaff at CD in May. She’s been consistent with her race times since then, and that helped her run fourth in the BC Fillies and Mares Sprint, which was the last time she was out there. We’ll see if this year leads to more of the same.

#12- Charity Jane (RNP Stables, ridden by K Carmouche)- On the outside, we get to this filly who spent much of last year running on the grass. However, her last start saw her run on dirt, and that was a win in the $100.000 Garland of Roses Handicap. Now, she will hope for her first graded win, and she probably will like the seventh furlong in this race.

Prediction: 8-9-6-1

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES