The Diana – Grade I
SAR Race #9 1 1/8m Turf Graded Stake
Purse $500.000 For Fillies And Mares Four Years Old And Upward.

1 Painville Mo Mentum Farm Dettori L 123 —

She ran up three in a row early in the year and looked like she was an early contender for BC honors before she ran inexplicably badly in the Wiley before a third in the CD Distaff Mile. She has since come back to winning form in the Just A Game last time when dead heating for the win. It’s a reflection on the game that three of her last four runs have been dead heats but a further reflection that it is very hard for horses not to throw a few inexplicable runs in a season and for now, at least, we have to believe that her two defeats weren’t because of a lack of ability.
There doesn’t seem to be any pace reason that she got beaten because as an on-pace type they can sometimes be caught out by a faster pace so with the tightly woven form in this race I guess she just has to be at her best to be a factor.

2 Always Condottieri Maletto Gonzalez El 123 —

Her form lines are very similar to Painvilles and when the two met in the CD Distaff Mile there was just a whisker between them even though the record shows that this one finished second to Painvilles third. This is an under rated mare in many ways as she is rarely beaten far when she is beaten but the difficulties at HRP as a trainer were no better displayed in her last run when after a run of stakes wins and placings, she was beaten in an FG allowance in a winning time that would’ve won all the stakes race she has been involved in this year. The key to her allowance defeat is that it was against the colts and gelding in the Mike La Rosa Stakes so her defeat is easily explained and with the perfect draw today and back against her own sex she must be a great win hope.

3 La Terrifiant Smokey Stover Centeno D E 123 —

You don’t get much better than this star mare who is closing in on the $9,000.000 winnings mark and will look to break $10,000.000 before her career inevitably comes to an end. At eight years old she just keeps trucking on and won her 57th start last time when taking the NY by a very easy three lengths. Horses like this really do not come along very often and there just aren’t enough superlatives to cover her amazing career. In a race where about four lengths would cover their intertwined form you need to be on a horse that loves the big time and there is no better than her. I hope she wins and marches on towards that $10,000.000 barrier and an entry into what should be a page dedicated at HRP to the greats of the game.

4 Demanding Commander Mb Stables Saez L 123 —

After being bought for $625.000 she came out and won the Wiley beating a good few of these and it looked like, with a career best speed rating, that the move to Mb Stables had been enough to push this filly into super star status. As HRP form goes though she then took on the CD Distaff Mile and weakened into seventh. As I mentioned earlier uncharacteristic efforts must be discarded at HRP as for some reason they always happen, and no-one really knows when or why, so she went to the Just A Game last time and was still made favorite only to be beaten by the horse she had beaten in the Wiley for the second time in a row.
We know she has the ability to win, and we know that the stable has the golden touch so another flip flop in form really wouldn’t be a surprise.

5 Starting Over TwinTowersRacing Velazquez J R 123 —

This is a star studded field and this one could easily be over looked, but she was overlooked in the grade one La Troienne and duly won at 20/1, so I wouldn’t be writing her off any time soon, She ran second to La Terrifiant in the NY last time beaten fair and square but we all know that two races results are rarely followed and she is drawn in a better gate for her today. The main draw back for her is that she has only raced five times on the turf and only won one so that part has to be taken on trust, but her turf works are in the ballpark and she proved in the NY she can run at this level on the grass.

6 Toxins London Racing Prat F 123 —

She has won her last three and turned into a superstar after a fairly average career to date. She has beaten most of these in her last two when winning the CD Distaff Mile at 10/1 and then dead heating in the Just A Game last time with Painville. She certainly adds to the high level and status of this race moving forward to the BC and a win today would not only be a huge statement but a huge win for the stable. Every horse in this field is capable of working similar times so we have nothing to learn from those we just have to rely on the fact that this one has hit a rich vein of form and hope that she can continue it. Three in a row though is hard to achieve at this level and she may just be owed an ordinary effort so it is impossible to be confident in her win chances, but she certainly comes out high in the form choices for this race.

7 Fangs Of The Storm Arindel Lopez P 123 —

Another head scratcher when it comes to form because after a good run of performances, she was last, beaten nine lengths in the NY last time possibly another one of those inexplicable efforts we just have to ignore. Prior to that she had won the grade three Modesty and had been fourth in the Wiley so her form wasn’t far off the best of these. She has over $2000.000 in winnings, so we know she has the ability and now she has had her bad run we can expect much better.

8 Perfect Class Sccj Stables Gutierrez Mario 123 —

What a difference a year makes. Last year this one was flying high as the BC Champ and was looking unbeatable but her efforts this year have come back down to ground with a bit of a bump. We know that superstar three-year-olds tend to win those all-aged races because they have matured quicker than the weight allowance and then as four-year-olds can run a bit flat. The question here is when and if she starts back up her improvement curve and catches up with the older horses on level weights and we won’t know that until it happens, so it is impossible to really weigh up her chances. At her best she would win this for fun but until she does, we won’t know where we stand with her.

SUMMARY

Fillies and Mares fields do not get better than this, what a race!!
It is hard to pick one out of this stellar field of superstars and realistically it should be enjoyed rather than worrying about form and winning bets. but if I had to settle on one it might be La Terrifiant for no other reason than a I really want her to make that $10,000.000 mark before HRP is finished with her.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES