The Azeri (Grade 2)- $350.000 Purse
OP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
March 11, 2023

We will be treated to an exciting field for the 18th running of the Azeri at OP on Saturday, featuring the likes of Z Command, Karloffs Monster, and Naples, among many others. It’s a field that is very worthy of the $350.000 purse that it offers. For Z Command, she will be looking to win the race for the second time, having also won it in 2021. She is one of the many well-known past winners of this race, a list that also includes Darling Harbour, Halfbaked, Antiquated Idea, and Hydro. Last year’s race was won by the seven-year-old Wbf No Regrets, who went on to have a successful season for TwinTowersRacing. That one certainly had no regrets over her career and has been retired to shed. The starting gate is full for this year’s edition, and here are the runners!

#1- Shining Moments (RNP Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- In 27 starts, this one has found the winner’s circle nine times, and probably more than half of those wins were in races that I was able to cover. Since winning the Grade 2 Hillsborough Stakes almost a year to the day of this one, she’s been a bit cold with just one win and several off the board finishes. That win came in late November though, in the $500.000 Grade 3 Falls City Handicap, so don’t think this mare is done. Struggled last month in the Pegasus Fillies and Mares Turf, but that doesn’t need to be a death sentence.

#2- Scalp (Spankys Barn, ridden by R Santana Jr)- For the most part, Scalp has been a turf horse, running on the green in ten of her twelve starts. In her last race, she returned to the main track for the first time in over a year and was second in the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes. One of the ones she finished better than that day was the great Z Command. This is a great test for her right here, because another strong finish against this company will probably mean she hardly ever sees the grass again.

#3- Karloffs Monster (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J Lezcano)- It is always exciting to see this one out on the track, and the reigning BC Distaff champion should be one of the favorites here. Winning the BC was part of a three-win campaign that also saw a victory in the CCA Oaks. Another past race she was in that we’ll mention, because it also runs today, is the TAM Derby and she was the runner up. Much more recently, in her last start, she was victorious in the Grade 3 HOU Ladies Classic in late January. On great form, she should be one of the top choices here.

#4- Minx (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by S Elliott)- This four-year-old filly had a successful season in 2022, making many starts against NY-breds. Her biggest score in those races was the $200.000 Fleet Indian in late August at SAR. Also fared well at the graded level, running second in the Grade 3 RP Oaks and winning the Grade 3 Comely. This will be the first time, it seems, that she truly takes on many of the elite horses within this division, so it is a great test for her and a fantastic opportunity to make a name for herself.

#5- Z Command (Smokey Stover, ridden by R M Hernandez)- One can never go tired of seeing Z Command in a race, unless of course, you have a horse that is running against her. At this point in her career, she has fifteen wins in 44 starts, and has made over $5,000.000 in her career. Now, that part that no one really wants to say about her: is she losing just a little bit of her step? Since winning the Grade 1 Spinster at KEE in October, though not running in the BC (scratched), she wasn’t a factor in her next two graded races. But she wasn’t poor, either! Ran second in an open allowance last month and maybe that can get her going again. This is certainly a great chance for her to show everyone she has plenty left with a win!

#6- Feliz Cumpleanos (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by R EIkleberry)- Earlier, we made mention of the La Canada Stakes, and that one that ended up winning that race was this filly by Cp Enlightment. Her 2022 was more about hitting the board than winning, as she only managed one victory, an open allowance, but hit the board six times. That makes her 2023 already starting out better thanks to that La Canada win. A few weeks later, she ran here in the Grade 3 Bayakoa, and was third. Overall, you like that consistency, but she still is looking for that big signature win. This would be it.

#7- Pink Attack (The Sidley Stud, ridden by M Franco)- Took part in the BC Distaff last year, but was nowhere near Karloffs Monster with a highly disappointing finish. That result really goes against her form otherwise, because three of her last four races have ended up with her in the winner’s circle. Prior to the BC, she won the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes, and in her last start, won the Grade 3 Royal Delta. Now, it’s back to prove herself against truly elite company and she’s better than what she showed at KEE two back.

#8- Third Gear (Smokey Stover, ridden by El Gonzalez)- Emerging as one of the better fillies in Smokey’s barn, but when he has so many of them, it is easy to get lost in the shadows of the others. Since being picked up in private sales for $300.000 last year, she has five victories out seven starts while in the Smokey silks, highlighted by the Grade 1 Cotillion. That sent her to the BC Distaff, and while she didn’t cash a check, she finished in the middle of the field. Despite that, she has not been back in a stake, as when you have so many good ones, you can be conservative. Beat a field of five, which also included Paris Broadway, in an optional claimer in her last start. Third Gear is a good option in this field, but 2023 might be the year where she makes an even bigger name for herself, in general. I think that starts, or continues, right here.

#9- Matamata (Smokey Stover, ridden by N Juarez)- When you already have Z Command and Third Gear in a race, do you really need another one? When you have a stable as strong as Smokey’s, especially within third division, the answer is a resounding, “of course you do”. In comparison to her stablemates, she is the third wheel, but Matamata has been great herself with eight wins in 18 starts, earning over $800.000. She’s won three of her last four, including the Grade 3 Bayakoa right here last month. Might be the third best Smokey horse here, but is a 1-2-3 finish impossible? It might not be.

#10- DIrectors Chair (Nakamura Stables, ridden by L J Luzzi)- Another great option in a loaded field, but she has not seen many of these particular opponents in a while, due to many recent races being on the grass. That included running in the BC Fillies and Mares Turf, though her finish there was forgettable. For 2023, she returned to the main track for the first time in ten months for the HOU Ladies Classic and looked good there, placing second. Didn’t follow that up well in the Royal Delta, and that race is why I am a little uneasy about picking her against the quality of opposition she sees here.

#11- Naples (Arindel, ridden by D Moran)- The great horses in the field keep on coming with the addition of Naples, the 2021 KYO and BC Distaff winner. What an amazing year that was for her, and we were all very excited for her over that season and wondering just how great she could possibly become. 2022 started decently, but she was sluggish when attempting this race, the Azeri, in March. She certainly had her moments that year, and did run in the BC Distaff again, but it may have been underwhelming in the grand scheme of things, based on her 2021. This year began with a win, against CA-breds in the Moscow Burning and now she has the chance to redeem herself in the Azeri.

#12- Derby Connection (Mb Stables, ridden by P Husbands)- After making an impression early last year, and finishing second in the KYO, Mb Stables picked this one up in private sales for $600.000 two weeks after that race. Derby Connection ran well with her new trainer, placing third in the Acorn, then winning the Grade 1 Alabama in August. Now, the bad news. Since the Alabama, Derby Connection has been flat, struggling in the Cotillion but seemed to bounce back to a point by running in the middle of the field for the BC Distaff. The race that concerns me is a dud in her last, the Grade 3 Bayakoa, against a few she sees here. You never rule out anything saddled by Mb Stables, but she will not be one of my picks.

Prediction: 8-3-5-9

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES