Falls City Handicap – Grade III
1 1/8 Mile Dirt Stake Purse $400.000 Filly & Mare 3 Year Olds And Up.
1st Always A Virgin Tinkey Gaffalione T
The outside speed push saw this one take the lead early on which was an AI gamble as this was the furthest the horse had ever run. She had shown last time though that she could see this sort of trip out just as well as she could sprint, and she just had enough energy left to hold on by a nose at the line. Considering the pace she set was pretty strong she did very well, but you would have to say the race conditions suited her in the end as she out lasted the three-year-old. Apart from a couple of glitches on wet ground this is a very consistent filly and a flagship runner for the stable who should continue to be a force at this level through next year.
2nd Your Demise Riggins Racing Velazquez J R
Here we had classic HRP race engine AI as one wide gate went to the front and the other dropped way back to last. I doubt very much that the winner was on lead and the runner up was on trail so it is clear this was a result of the draw and the AI but either way the result stood and neither the winner nor the runner up will be complaining. Out of the two you would have to say this was the performance of the race, A three-year-old GIVING a four-year-old weight and a ten-length head start and still nearly winning is a remarkable effort. In normal circumstances you would have to say this one could well be a top four-year-old but we have seen four-year-olds falter a little at HRP so both the trainer and I will be hoping she can break that trend because this was a hugely promising effort.
3rd Queen Evade Party Maxmillion Farm Cedillo A
This was another three-year-old that was worse off at the weights, and you would have to say she put in a huge effort to be in a very close third. Her draw meant that she was put in a nice position by the AI, and she was finishing strongly enough to win if it wasn’t for the freakish effort of the runner up and the weight advantage that the winner had. All in all, this was a promising run and now the trainer will just have to wait for her to turn four to see if she continues that progress.
4th Afar D J C Racing Stables Ferrer J C
This was her third effort in a row where she ran as a deep closer and once again, she was doing all her best work at the end of the race but left it too late. Considering the weights, I thought she would be a good top four chance and this result could look very different if they all met again with different draws,
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
