The Matchmaker – Grade III
MTH Race #7 1 1/8m Turf Graded Stake
Purse $300.000 For Fillies And Mares Three Years Old And Upward.
1 Favorite Sister Black N Gold Stable Pennington F 124 —
With a dry forecast it brings this rain hater into it from the inside draw because if you ignore her wet track run at SA then she has some decent form for a race like this. A decent enough three-year-old she came straight out having turned four and won the Megahertz over the mile coming from midfield with a strong finish. Ignoring her March effort in the wet she last ran in the Eatontown where once again she kept on strongly to be fourth beaten less than a length. She seems to start all her races at long odds but has defied the odds monkeys on more than one occasion and whilst she may not be the best in this field on paper, she measures up well enough to expect a good effort.
2 Emily Nakamura Stables Martinez C 124 —
Won four from six as a three-year-old but didn’t really tackle anything of significance until the end of the year when she ran a nice third in the Pebbles. Brought back gently at four she has gradually improved in her three efforts so far and was very impressive when taking the Presidents Cup last time out. I like the way she is improving, and her works are suggesting that improvement has continued so I would put her in here, with a great draw, as a decent win chance.
3 Wander Mb Stables Velazquez J R 124 —
The first of the Mb pair and as you would expect her form is littered with big efforts in top races. The winner of nearly $2,000.000 she looks, along with her stable mate, head and shoulders above these of form and it really could be as simple as boxing up the two Mb runners in this race. I guess if you had to try and find something negative about her you could say she hasn’t won in five attempts this year, but when you look at the races she has competed in, well, as I said this race looks like a good spot to record win number one for the year. Possibly her two best races of the year both came in grade ones where she was beaten less than a length and as she is already a grade three winner over this trip and placed twice at grade one level you would have to say she stands out.
4 Blind Appeal Nakamura Stables Elliott S 124 —
On paper maybe this four-year-old is the biggest chance of upsetting an Mb clean sweep as she has won at grade two level when taking the Mrs Revere last season and has a decent record of 6 wins from 13 starts. Lightly raced this year, my biggest worry is whether she will need this run as it has been a while since she ran third in the Bewitch, but her works say she is ready, so I guess we will just have to wait and see.
5 Be Exceptional TwinTowersRacing Geroux F 124 —
A solid filly, she has, as you would expect from this stable been busy in her career so far. She was very brave in winning the Possibly Perfect Stakes last time over 12 furlongs so we know she will want every yard of this trip and whilst her form isn’t as strong as some, you don’t have to go back too far to find a brilliant third in the grade one Matriarch where she very nearly lasted home after making the running. There are reasons she can win this, and the stable knows how to upset the form so I would be keeping an eye on her.
6 Red Flags Maxmillion Farm Alvarado J 124 —
The Turf King brings the Mint Julep winner here and she is another potential fly in the Mb One-Two ointment. A consistent sort, she has started the year well as a five-year-old and won’t have to improve much on her recent form to be part of the finish. She had Tabitha Stephens a length behind her in the Mint Julep but is three pounds worse off in today’s race, so that will bring them very close together, one to keep in mind if you are looking at combination bets.
7 Tabitha Stephens Mb Stables Gutierrez Mario 124 —
She looked like she was going to continue her great form when she came out in the Pegasus Fillies and Mares race in January and very nearly won getting beat just a nose on the line. She hasn’t gone on from that as well as I expected in her next three, going on the speed and fading a little at the end of her races. At her best she is a big chance, and I wonder whether she will take her usual spot near the front or be saved a little to help her get home, either way at her best she is a win chance.
8 Bombing For Peace Jerry Garcia Racing Dettori L 124 —
When she won the grade one BEL Oaks last year, I really expected her to set up a sequence but since that race 12 months ago she has failed to win and has been largely disappointing. You do have to be wary of grade one winning form though and in her last race in the Eatontown there was a glimmer of the filly that won the BEL Oaks, so I do wonder whether she is on her way back. The outside draw won’t help, and she will probably go back so will need a strong pace to launch from but if things go to plan, she could well be the surprise package.
SUMMARY
At first glance this looks like a shoe in for an MB one-two, but the more you look the more you realize that the others may not be the pushovers they first look. For me, Wander looks a good thing, but Tabitha Stephens may not be the automatic choice for second and it may be worth shopping around for that second spot to put on your betting slips.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
