The BEL Oaks – Grade I

1  1/8 Miles Trurf Graded Stake Purse $600.00 Fillies Three-Year-Olds. At SAR

I’m picking a longshot to take The BEL Oaks in a very contentious field. I like TwinTowersRacing’s improving I Am The Storm over Royalty Stables’ top last SRF 97 Clement and Mb Stables’ Firewall. Here’s the field:                                                                                                    

Horse                                  Owner                               Odds  SRF

I Am The Storm                  TwinTowersRacing              5-1        96

Clement                              Royalty Stables                 *3-1        97

Firewall                               Mb Stables                          3-1        90

Wild Water Wagon              La Canada Racehorses      4-1        94

Shot Of Summer                 Diablo Diablo                      6-1        86

State Title                           Mb Stables                       10-1        94

Influence Seeker                 Mb Stables                       10-1        94

1  Wild Water Wagon                           La Canada Racehorses                   94

Wild Water Wagon was the spectacular deep closer winner of the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf last year. She came away from that race with eyes on becoming a dirt horse and picked up a couple of checks as a dirt graded stakes deep closer but lost by two lengths each time and returned to the grass where she placed second in The Grade III FL Oaks at TAM followed by a deep close victory in the Grade II Appalachian at KEE. However, her next two races were the Grade II Edgewood and The Grade II Wonder Again against most of these and things went wrong. She needs to regain that old form.

2  Clement              Royalty Stables                       97

Clement really came to life with a deep close win in The Grade II Wonder Again at SAR last out after a disastrous miss in the Grade II Edgewood. All of her races have been run at 1 1/16 miles ad she’s won every other race, but the Edgewood was the big win and it looks like the added distance here will only help her.

3   State Title               Mb Stables                        94

Mb Stables bought State Title from Team 7 Illusions for $350.00 likely because she was proven on both turf and dirt and had ran second in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf and won the $150.00 The Sweetest Chant at GP, and it was looking like a pretty good purchase when she ran third in the Grade I Ashland on dirt but then came two up the track finishes in turf graded stakes and the light faded a bit.

4   I Am The Storm                  TwinTowersRacing                     96

I Am The Storm has been with every start since entering the graded division , and I think she is going to benefit more than most by the added 1/16th mile. Could just be my eye, but I like the way she’s developing so she’s my longshot bet.

5   Influence Seeker          Mb Stables                      92

Influence Seeker tired as the favourite in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf and came back to win The Grade III FL Oaks at TAM, then lost the Grade II Appalachian at KEE, then won the Grade II Edgewood at CD and lastly ran out of The Grade II Wonder Again at SAR.

6   Firewall           Mb Stables         90

Firewall has won half of her eight starts, and she has already won three 1 1/8 mile races, each of them wire-to-wire. Her most recent start was a victory in the Grade III Regret at CD.

7   Shot Of Summer              Diablo Diablo                86

After winning the $175.00 CA Cup Oaks, Shot Of Summer ran third in The Grade III FL Oaks at TAM and two races later finished second in the Grade II Edgewood at CD. Then she finished fourth in the Grade III Regret at CD.    

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES