Falls City Handicap (Grade 2)- $500.000 Purse
CD- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
November 25, 2021

Rain would fall for the Falls City Handicap, downgrading the track’s condition to muddy and leading to three scratches. This would include our pick to win the race, Z Command, as well as Tamalpais and Mag Ol. Therefore, our field of eight was reduced to five. Not minding the conditions would be Blondewithhandcuffs, a mare that has historically stepped up and run well on off tracks. That would be the case once again here as she was at or near the front throughout the race to pick up the win. She is trained by Mb Stables, who gets his second win in the stake. Winning the race for the first time was jockey S Ryan. Congratulations to them! The winning time in the mud was 1:51.36. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :48.30)- Last Lady, who would end up being the post time favorite, would be the quickest out of the gate for Lindeman Prairie, and she would pull out initially to a lead of about a length and a half. However, as they moved around the opening turn, our eventual winner, Mb Stables- trained Blondewithhandcuffs would eventually get closer and after half mile she would be right alongside her. Bay Of Indy, from Broken Spoke Stables, had a good stalking position right behind them. It was two more lengths to TwinTowersRacing’s Out Of The Park, and several lengths back to Lordess (Our Athletes).

(¾ Mile- 1:12.71)- In the backstretch, Blondewithhandcuffs takes over the top spot, easily going by Last Lady. The supporters of Last Lady had to be very concerned with just how little fight she had at that point, being over a length back in a blink of an eye. It may have surprised Bay Of Indy a little too, to see her come back to her so quickly. Out Of The Park ran in the middle of the field, still being in striking range while Lordess still spotted the field a large margin.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Is it really going to be this easy for Blondewithhandcuffs? She did a great job while in the turn and would enter the top of the stretch with a 2-3 length advantage. Bay Of Indy was now second, but not making any kind of move, and Last Lady had packed it in. Running three wide with them would be Out Of The Park, and if there was anyone who looked like they could take a run at Blondewithhandcuffs, she was the one. But there was still a lot of ground to make up. That also held true for Lordess, but simply in terms of catching up to the next closest horse.

(Finish- 1:51.36)- Blondewithhandcuffs had gotten away from the field, and since she still had plenty left in the tank for the stretch and did not mind running in the mud, she went on to an easy looking win. Out Of The Park was good in the stretch, but not nearly enough to make Blondewithhandcuffs even remotely concerned. Bay Of Indy is the best of the rest in third, with Lordess getting by the fatigued Last Lady for fourth.

About The Winner- Blondewithhandcuffs, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by S Ryan, is a five year old mare by Il Miglio Fabro and is out of Blondewithabullwhip. She was bred by Jerry Garcia Racing as a yearling in Kentucky and acquired by Mb Stables in the June 2018 auction when she was still unraced for $35.000. The win is her ninth in 25 starts, her second stake win and first graded win. Her career earnings are now $640.540.

Track: Muddy
Time: :48¹  1:12³  1:38   1:51¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 2 Paid 69.80
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 2 – 7 Paid 168.20

Scratched: Tamalpais, Z Command, Mag Ol(L)

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES