July 12, 2016
Sandwiched right in the middle of a huge stakes schedule for the Distaff division, the Grade I DEL Handicap shines as a beacon for those looking to prep for a huge season at SAR and more recently, as a stepping stone to a start in the BC later on in the year. Inaugurated back in 1937, some amazing East Coast fillies took victory through the middle of the century including Miss Grillo, Busanda and Flower Bowl, before duel winners like Endine, Obeah and Susan’s Girl really put it, and themselves, on the map (notice how each of these winners has a Stakes race named for them). It took a bit of a backseat in the 1980’s as the BC really emerged as the year-end goal but an increase in purse money has led to some big recent winners including Summer Colony, Fleet Indian, Blind Luck and Royal Delta.
At HRP, the list of winners in one of the more impressive you will find among fillies and mares, with Catachresis being the first winner in a race that held a 127-pound highweight with everyone else at 116-pounds or less. Miss Kriss Kross carried only 108-pounds in that inaugural edition but carried much more the following year en route to victory for owner Team 7 Illusions, who have the highweight this time around in search of their first win here in almost a decade, while Poolside Ec used her win in 2011 as a springboard to a huge win in the Pacific Classic against males, one of the few times that has happened in modern HRP history. Golden Chance did one better the following year and pulled a DEL Handicap-BC Distaff double while the next year, Avery Island was the winner after her Horse Of The Year campaign to become a Grade I winner at both six- and ten-furlongs. A Class Angie beat a huge field last year to notch her second Grade I win of the season but faced an even tougher field with eight rivals signed on to tackle her, including a returning Grade I winning three-year-old from a few years ago, the reigning divisional champion and a trio from top owner Mb Stables, who are trying to add this race to their already impressive collection of 99 stakes wins this campaign.
1-Chili King (Six-year-old black mare / Owner-Sanny Village)
Chili King returns off a long layoff in one of the toughest races of her career and having been assigned only 115-pounds, will certainly benefit from the decreased weight compared to others, as well as the inside post. She only made four starts last year and only has a single race in almost a year so the freshening might be a bit of a challenge but on talent alone, she is a multiple Grade I winner going a route of ground and was fourth by less than a length in this race two years ago, proving that she knows the course and can handle the best of the best.
Analysis-Intriguing off the huge layoff
Fair Odds-8/1
2-Dashboard Rahy (Four-year-old black filly / Owner-Australia Wide)
Like a few over the years, Dashboard Rahy tried the Grade I Phipps to see if she could handle a route of ground and while she was a close fourth with a minor late rally, this is a true two-turn test and one that will test her sprinting ability to its fullest. Setting the pace will not be in her best interest unless her jockey can settle her down and it seems like recent workouts have been geared towards increasing her capacity to go long, even if she is setting huge early splits and tiring at the end of them.
Analysis-An attempt to go two-turns will be tough for her
Fair Odds-15/1
3-Lullaby Maker Tf (Four-year-old black filly / Owner-Team 7 Illusions)
Based on last season, and her Grade I score in the La Troienne, Lullaby Maker Tf is the solid top-weight in the DEL Handicap and as such, has a huge burden to overcome if she wants to continue her ascension to the upper echelons of HRP lore. Virtually unbeatable last year, she only has that single win in four seasonal starts to date and comes in off a tiring third in the Phipps after holding a huge lead turning for home, leading some to believe that this might be too far for her unless she gets a bit of a reprieve up front.
Analysis-Will be in contention from the start but the distance is suspect
Fair Odds-4/1
4-A Class Angie (Five-year-old bay mare / Owner-Night Rider Stables)
A Class Angie is not the same mare who won the DEL Handicap one year ago and only a single win since, she will be up against it with the jump back into top-level competition after failing to score against easier at both PIM and CD. Each have been with their merits, as she closed into the late fractions on both occasions, and she will appreciate the added distance compared to others but one has to consider her recent form as a negative and she will be a much the same price as last year, when she overcame the farthest gate to get all the marbles.
Analysis-Needs more than she showed last year to win this
Fair Odds-10/1
5-Donna Chang (Four-year-old bay filly / Owner-Mb Stables)
Donna Chang was racing for as little as $6.000 around this time last year but a tiring third as the favourite going short in her last has somehow convinced her owner to take a shot going three-furlongs longer against much tougher competition, and that will make her the longest shot on the board come Saturday. Speed ratings are nowhere near the others in the field and she might simply be in here to ensure a fast pace, setting things up for her better counterparts on the outside.
Analysis-Stretching out and looks to be a pace threat
Fair Odds-50/1
6-Unsecured (Four-year-old black filly / Owner-Team 7 Illusions)
Unsecured already has a stakes win to her credit and that backs up her amazing pedigree but she is hoping for more at DEL this weekend and will hope to get a more moderate pace up front with eyes on lasting the distance better than others. She hit the board in a pair of 1 ¼ mile events on the grass and won as the favourite at PRX going 1 ½ miles back in March so the idea is that she will be able to face her energy and make a run at the top prize late, when others are fading or lacking the needed momentum.
Analysis-Should be able to handle the trip better than most
Fair Odds-8/1
7-You Can Do It (Four-year-old bay filly / Owner-Mb Stables)
You Can Do It will try the main track for the first time since very early last year and while she does have success over the grass, her main asset is speed and that is much more difficult to gauge in a race of this distance. She has prepped well since a solid fourth in the Just A Game at BEL and she certainly has the speed ratings to contend with the top markers in here but the surface becomes the huge question mark and one that has to be considered if taking her at a short price.
Analysis-Excellent on turf but the surface switch throws a wrench in things
Fair Odds-10/1
8-Quiet Elegance (Four-year-old black filly / Owner-Mb Stables)
Even though she comes in off an allowance win and has never really stepped up against this level, there is a lot to like about Quiet Elegance and she certainly could be the sleeper in the DEL Handicap off that very impressive win. Moderate fractions helped her and she was able to quicken with ease down the lane and going an extra 1 1/16th will not be a problem, leading some to believe that she might be improving at the right time against a field with a lot of questions.
Analysis-Biggest last out win makes her a logical top three choice
Fair Odds-5/1
9-Christine (Five-year-old bay mare / Owner-Wolfs Den)
There is a lot of early speed signed on in the DEL Handicap and that could play right into the hands of Christine, a $25.000 claim who was knocking at the door all year and finally came through with a huge win in the Just A Game over the BEL turf. Her race had to be seen to be believed and she just capitalized on a collapsing pace and now, she should be much closer in the early stages and could have enough left to run past the early leaders and hold off the closers.
Analysis-Tepid top choice will have to time her run perfectly
Fair Odds-4/1
Overall
From horses returning off big layoffs, to stretch out sprinters and turf starts, the Grade I DEL Handicap has just about everything and while it would be logical to take Lullaby Maker Tf on top as the best filly or mare in the division, she will only be ranked second in this field, albeit only slightly behind last-out Grade I winner Christine. The La Troienne was a good enough race to make this filly a contender and race down the best F&M Turf runner last time at BEL and if you go back to the Doubledogdare at CD, she was second in a race where third choice Quiet Elegance was only fifth and there in lies another reason why she is good enough to handle this class and distance.
Prediction
Win-Christine (4/1)
Place-Lullaby Maker Tf (4/1)
Show-Quiet Elegance (5/1)
Triple T Racing 🙂
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
