Valentine Stakes ($100.000 Purse)
SA- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward Foaled in CA
One Mile on the Turf
May 9, 2021

It was looking like the Valentine Stakes was not going to fill, but on the last day, we would get our fourth nomination, so the race is a go! Three of the four runners here do have recent experience, so we still should get an entertaining race. The field was bigger last year, as eight went to post for what was also a $100.000 purse. Smart Queen won that, for Night Rider Stables, for what would be the final race of the then six year old’s career. She’s been busy in the shed since then, and has already produced three foals! Now, for this year’s field!

#1- Commanding Jane (Serenity Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- This filly is a steady producer, and tends to finish in the to four every time she is out there. She comes out of the Top Flight Handicap at AQU last month, and finished third in that race. None of her three career wins are at the stake level, but she does seem to be knocking on the door of one soon. Perhaps moving her to the grass for the first time will be the answer to getting her a stake win.

#2- Sacred Scrolls (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by Ru Fuentes)- Finally was able to break her maiden in her last start, which must have been a long time coming for the trainer. I say that just because she had run in two optional claimers and an allowance before she won a race. Now, she has the win out of the way, and can show the talent that the trainer believes she has. Sacred Scrolls does work very well, and has three second place finishes for her career. This is her third race in six weeks, however.

#3- Absolutely Creepy (Black N Gold Stable, ridden by F Prat)- This is the most accomplished horse in the field, as Absolutely Creepy has won eight times in 22 starts. Seven other times, she has finished second, so needless to say, she knows how to be near the front. Only recently has she been running at the stake level, and in her last start, she won the $75.000 Miss Houston Turf Stakes, which is also run at a mile. Off of that, she looks like a very good choice here. If she is at her best, I don’t think she can be beat here.

#4- Army Flag (Paradise Stable, ridden by V Espinoza)- In the past, Army Flag has been able to get good results, but lately she has not been beating anyone. Finished dead last in her two starts, the Grade 3 Very One, and in an open allowance. In the Very One, she was eight lengths behind Absolutely Creepy. The open allowance, run at this distance, was not much better, as she was beaten by six lengths. It is hard to get excited about her here, and you wonder if the shed may be best for her now.

Prediction: 3-1-2-4

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded