Fleur de Lis Handicap (Grade 2)- $400.000 Purse
CD- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
July 1, 2023

As we move into the first weekend of July, there are plenty of stakes to be excited about but CD should get most of the attention with an impressive overall slate of races. The Fleur de Lis Handicap is part of that card, running on Saturday and sending older females nine furlongs around the main track. This Grade 2 event runs for a $400.000 purse, which equals a one-off race at that level back in 2004 but is otherwise at a high point. 2003 was the year that race first was contested, when it was won by the late Black Beauty. Since then, it has been run every year other than in 2011 and has seen Mb Stables in the winner’s circle four times. However, he was not there last year, as it would instead be Arindel celebrating the win in a race that only had four horses in it. Processing Geek was the winner, and while she is still active, she is no longer racing at this level. For 2023, we will have a field of seven heading to the starting gate. Let’s meet them now!

#1- Kalthoff Repeater (Spankys Barn, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Made a couple of starts here last summer, and ended up finishing second in the Eight Belles. Finished her three-year-old season in a steady, but non-flashy manner and would even win the CC Glass Slipper here in November. As a four-year-old, things have been steady for her still, generally getting positive results but has not won a big one quite yet. You’d have to say that the Eight Belles run is still a career highlight, and you have to wonder if she can take her career to the next level and be a graded stake winner. That doesn’t have to happen here, though, but it seems like a good spot for her.

#2- Charleston Girl (Nakamura Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- The majority of her career has seen her run in the silks of Broken Spoke Stables, but in a Christmas Day sale, she was off to Nakamura Stables for $50.000. Since then, she has made three starts, all of them being in open allowances or optional claimers at top tracks. She’s won one of them, which was a three-length win at PIM in her last start, and that will earn her this race, which is her graded stake debut. Before heading here, she had a nice work at BEL, and should be strongly considered in all wagers. Mine will have her on top.

#3- Cardano (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by L Dettori)- This filly has been running well of late, winning three of her last four races. Those all came in overnights, and her most recent race was win at WO for an $86.580 purse. She has had scattered ungraded stake attempts over her career, with most being with the ON-bred condition. Last fall, she did win the $80.000 Thunder Bay at WO. This will be the first time that she runs at the graded level, but with some momentum on her side, this seems like a good time to do so.

#4- El Salvador (Iolaus Racing, ridden by Ru Silvera)- When looking at this horse, one thing will jump out at you immediately: the fact that he has changed ownership hands so many times. Looking deeper within all those sale lines, you see a horse that has not really been running at high levels at all, so she wouldn’t seem to be a candidate to win here. That doesn’t have to mean anything, as her only start with Iolaus Racing so far was a win at SA, and the first time she was given lasix since 2021. Perhaps, she just needed someone like drop, though she has passed through good barns along the way. We’ll see how it goes.

#5- Bella Chica (Mb Stables, ridden by L Saez)- Mb Stables has won this race four times, but not since 2017. To get back in the win column here, he sends this Great Bounty filly to the gate, a horse that has won over $1,200.000 for her career. Most of that came last year, with four wins, highlighted by the $500.000 WO Oaks, as well as the Grade 2 River Run at KEE. This got her to the BC Fillies and Mares Sprint, but had to run that on two weeks rest, and it may have shown in her result. She has not gotten off to a good start in 2023 and has had about two months of rest since the La Troienne, her last race.

#6- Cackle Street (The Sidley Stud, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This is a handicap, so weight will always be a consideration, and Cackle Street will hold the distinction of being the high weight here. She’ll carry 121 pounds, three pounds more than most of the field. Noteworthy, but not a deal breaker. This filly was at her best towards the end of 2022, which includes a win in the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes up at WO last November. She would drop in class after that, but finally returned to the graded level at the beginning of June, running second to her stablemate, Pink Attack, at the Grade 3 Belle Mahone.

#7- Her World (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J C Ferrer)- The Fleur de Lis will be the graded debut for Her World, a filly by Gordon Drive that has won four of 13 starts. She began the year, with an impressive five length win in the slop at TAM, which would send her to the ungraded level. Her World would hit the board in each of them but struggled in the Graceful Bertha Stakes at FG.  Must be strongly considered if it’s an off track. 46% chance of rain Saturday as of press time, and she’s an off-track star.

Prediction: 2-3-6-5

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES