Arnaz Stakes ($100.000 Purse)
DMR- For Fillies Two Years Old
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
November 19, 2022

There will be six fillies going to post for the fifteenth running of the Arnaz Stakes, a race that debuted in 2004 at HOL, but has not been run every year. This stake, for some odd reason, never seems to pull a big field over it’s history and that confuses me given the extra importance of two year old racing within our game. I don’t think the proximity to the BC would be that much of an influencing factor as the class that runs here is not going to be at that level. Regardless, our field is either up and comers or those who have been in stakes but have not been turning in consistent positive results. In 2021, Williams9 won the race with Blooming Flowers, but she has not been back to the winner’s circle since. Here’s a look at those looking to be the next winner of the race.

#1- Black Moon Concerto (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by V Espinoza)- Hit and miss is the story of her five race career thus far, with a pair of wins rotating with poor finishes. Maybe her best race was better than it seems though, as it was in the Grade 1 Alcibiades at KEE last month and she is not facing that type of field. Maybe, also, that was just a little too long for her and this will be a better distance. All that could add up to why she should be the favorite here and not just a contender.

#2- Proper Thing (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J Bravo)- The only horse in the field that has not made exactly five starts in her career. It will be her fifth, and her third for D J C Racing Stables. He claimed her for $30.000 from Night Rider Stables in May and got her to break her maiden in her next start. Didn’t impress in the mud at a PID allowance in September, but has had time to improve since then.

#3- Chopsticks (Nj Vets, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- After getting her debut race out of the way, Chopsticks won back to back starts, including the $75.000 Tah Dah a BTP. The trainer hoped she would be able to build off of that into graded competition, but she struggled quite a bit in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes. Ran fifth last month in the PID Debutante Stakes, tiring in the stretch at a shorter distance than this.

#4- Double Dragon (Fractious, ridden by Ru Gonzalez)- Won on debut, a two furlong dash at TAM, and then in August, she got it done again. That time, it was in the $125.000 Rio Grande Senorita Futurity, so things were going real well for her then. Since then, it has been a struggle, with two flat performances in her last two starts. But, they were the Grade 1 Frizette and DMR Debutante. Still, she was beaten by six lengths in each, so I’m not ready to throw them out, fully.

#5- I Can See (Rousee, ridden by D Van Dyke)- This filly broke her maiden in July, and off of that was sent to a couple of ungraded stakes. At first, it was $125.000 CTBA Stakes for CA-breds, where she was third. Then, the trainer wanted to see what she could do on the grass, placing her in the OT Juvenile Fillies Turf, and she did run fourth. Her last race saw her win an allowance and she seems to be one of the top choices in here.

#6- Miss Laffin (South Beach Racing, ridden by R A Vazquez)- Four of this filly’s five career starts have been exclusively against FL-breds. That includes her lone win. Otherwise, she’s appeared in a couple FL Sire Stakes races and was third in the Vixen. Last month, she left Florida for the first time, running in second in a muddy PID allowance. Should be in the mix here.

Prediction: 1-5-4-6

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded