The Heavenly Prize ($150.000 Purse)
AQU- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
February 10, 2024
A small field of five will be heading to the starting gate to take part in the sixth running of the Heavenly Prize, held at a mile on the main track at the Big A. The race first appeared in 2017, but has taken a couple of years off, and the likely reason for that seems to be that the race did not fill. This race has never drawn more than six horses, and even that only happened on one occasion. In 2023, there were four runners, and finishing first was Toothless, for Night Rider Stables. It would be the last win of her career, and she would be retired over the summer after a 39-race career. None of our five are even halfway to that point yet! Let’s take a look at them now!
1- Fort Apache (D J C Racing, ridden by I Castillo)- Prior to being claimed for $9.000, Fort Apache had won four out of five races but never really ran for that high of a purse. D J C Racing Stables had bigger plans right away for her, running her in the $100.000 CC Glass Slipper. Okay, that was a disaster, but she may just not have liked the slop. Hasn’t done well on wet tracks over her career, and rain is somewhat possible here on Saturday, with a 38% chance as of Thursday.
2- Groovy (Calia Stable, ridden by K Carmouche)- Won once over her ten starts last year, but did a better job with hitting the board during that time. She was at her best over the spring, running second in the Davona Dale and third in the Ashland, but that would not be good enough to get a spot in the KYO. She would run in the Eight Belles instead but struggled. Since that point, she has been hit and miss, and her win came in October at the $50.000 Betta Be Rite Stakes.
3- Majestic Chai (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J Lezcano)- After a pretty good two-year-old campaign, Majestic Chai got several opportunities on the KYO trail and did not show much of anything. Once that was over, she continued to be ineffective at the stake level, but did perform much better in optional claimers. It’s hard to be excited about a horse that has not a lot in stakes in 2022, but you never know in a small field.
4- Safe Trippi (Night Rider Stables, ridden by E Cancel)- Claimed by the trainer for $25.000 in March after an inconsistent career in overnight races. Night Rider Stables would make the adjustment on her to start sending her long on the turf, and Safe Trippi responded with two wins, one in a claimer and the other in a $26.000 allowance. Following that, it was the Grade 3 Frankel Stakes on yielding turf, and she ran very poorly. As she switches surface, she’ll be hoping the rain holds off.
5- Hallucination (Smokey Stover, ridden by L J Luzzi)- Needed a few races to break her maiden, but once she figured out how to win, she has been doing that more regularly, grabbing three wins in her last seven starts. She had been on a strong run of form prior to her last race, which was the Grade 1 La Brea. She had never seen that level of competition before, and it also may have been a little too short for her. Having said that, she still ran in the middle of the field there and with this being a softer field, more of the same from that can still get it done here.
Prediction: 5-2-4-3
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
