The Fox (Grade 3)- $125.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Inner Turf
February 27, 2021

The Fox is a smaller Grade 3 for older fillies and mares as a part of the undercard for the Fountain Of Youth. The race runs for the 18th time, but sees a slight purse reduction from the $150.000 that it ran for last year. As recently as 2017, this was a $300.000 race. That has not stopped the gate from being nearly full to capacity, as there will be eleven going to post. Last year, John Henry took home the victory with his six year old mare, Fomalhaut. She remains active today, and won a Grade 3 in her last start. Could have been a fit to run here again, but the trainer has other ideas. Here are those that will be running!

#1- Quest For Fame (Rheingold Stables, ridden by E Jaramillo)- This five year old mare will be cutting back on her distance as she has become a regular at running a mile and a half. Lately, the trainer has not been seeing much fame at that distance so we will get this change. She has been able to win in the past, with seven wins over her career, with a couple stakes mixed in as a part of that.

#2- Apache Snow (Wood Duck Stables, ridden by D Davis)- Picked up in late 2019 for $91.000, and she has been able to win in overnights. However, she has had several opportunities now to get a stake win, and she is still looking for a breakthrough. Doesn’t run poorly, and was recently fourth in the Grade 3 Megahertz, the race won by 2020 Fox winner, Fomalhaut, last month.

#3- Kyanite (Smokey Stover, ridden by T Gaffalione)- She will make her graded stake debut after winning her last three races. There has been a steady climb through the ranks with her, and recently she won the $75.000 Lilly Stakes at HOU. This is a logical next step for a horse that is a sharp 5-for-8 in her career thus far.

#4- Certain Vessel (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by P Lopez)- After a two month layoff, this vessel never set sail in her last race, with a very dismal showing in the Marshuas River. The trainer is clearly not deterred from that performance, and perhaps she was just an example of a horse needing a race. Prior to that, she was on good form, so we’ll see if she gets back to that.

#5- T S Dancer (Triple K, ridden by J Alvarado)- This veteran six year old mare will be looking to extend her winning streak to four as she returns to the graded ranks for the first time since December 2018. She did have a close call second place finish in one of them back in the day, and the timing is right for her to try it again.

#6- The Belle Tolls (Fractious, ridden by J R Velazquez)- I have always liked this horse, so it is exciting to see her in this field. We have seen dirt horses move to the grass at this stage of their career with a high level of success, so that is what Fractious is hoping for. Does have one turn start already, and that came last July when she was a wire to wire win in the San Clemente (Grade 2). She continued to run well on the main track afterwards, but this is a great spot for her, and I think she gets the job done here, and maybe by over a length. Hey, it’s HRP, that’s significant!

#7- Puerto Princesa (Paradise Stable, ridden by E S Prado)- The Ye Charley mare has been seen a lot recently running with the FL-bred condition. Her last two starts on the grass have been in FL-bred stakes, and the results are pretty poor. In between them, she ran very well on the main track, so this race would not have been my choice for Puerto Princesa, but I’m wrong more often than I am right.

#8- Joan Of Arc (Our Athletes, ridden by A Beschizza)- We saw her just two weeks ago out at FG, where she won the $100.000 Stall Memorial Stakes. That was in her first race with Our Athletes, who picked her up in private sales in late January from Maxmillion Farm for $125.250, and that trainer only ran her once. Still seems like one that could have a bit of an upside on the track.

#9- Twizt And Shout (Whitewater Stables, ridden by S R Bahen)- Still has not won anything other than her maiden, which was a good looking result when it happened. Since then, there has not been much to shout about other than several in the money finishes. She has done that eight times, so she is able to be competitive, but the trainer would like to make a trip to the winners circle with her again.

#10- Graceful American (Nakamura Stables, ridden by V R Carrasco)- This veteran filly will be making the 27th start of her career and hopes that it will result in her first graded win. She has won four of her last seven races, and included in that is the $150.000 Yaddo Handicap for NY-breds at beautiful Saratoga Race Course in September. Graded stakes have been a rough go for her, however.

#11- Call Sarah (First Street Stables, ridden by J J Castellano)- She comes out of the Megahertz at SA last month, and finished third in the race, and beat Apache Snow by a length in it. For Call Sarah, that race came off a three month layoff from what was her best win of her career, the Grade 3 Autumn Miss at SAR. She has been excellent going long on the grass, now we’ll just to see how she manages starting from out here.

Prediction: 6-3-5-11

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES