The Bayakoa (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
OP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 3, 2024

Just a few days after being named 2023 Horse Of The Year, Matamata will be heading to the starting gate to kick off her five-year-old season against eleven rivals at OP. The race is the Grade 3 Bayakoa, which first appeared on our schedule in 2015. For Matamata, this is familiar territory, as it is where her 2023 season began. Not only was she here, but she picked up the victory in a photo. We won’t have to wait long to talk about her a lot more, but the other eleven in here are capable of spoiling the party and would love to take her Bayakoa crown. We’ve really had some no-nonsense winners over the short time this race has run too, as Z Command, The Reaper, and Sinissippi Delite are also past victors here. Let’s take a look at our field!

1- Matamata (Smokey Stover, ridden by D Cabrera)- As promised, we get right to her, and it’s probably only fitting that the newly crowned Horse Of The Year wears #1. The Bayakoa was one of five wins for her as a four-year-old, and none of them were bigger than her BC Distaff win a few months ago. She also won the Grade 1 Phipps, and the $500.000 Grade 3 Pitcher Stakes, which in total gave her over $2,200.000 in earnings on the year. Following that up will be difficult but a win here means it starts the same way.

2- Karloffs Monster (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Cohen)- Not going to be intimidated by the presence of Matamta right next to her, as she too, is a BC Distaff champion. That happened in 2022 at KEE, and she began 2023 by winning the HOU Ladies Classic, a race that was run a week prior to the Bayakoa. However, that is still the last time she has won a race as the year got quiet for her, particularly from April onward. She still ran in top races, which we are accustomed to seeing out of the trainer and not backing down with a good horse.

3- Long Term Parking (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by M J Sanchez)- When we last saw this filly, she struggled quite a bit in the Grade 1 La Brea, with a double-digit finish. She’s been an inconsistent horse over her career, as there are similar lines like that in her past performances. When the good side of her is seen, we see races more like her runner up in the Grade 3 Comely two back. She’ll probably bounce back, but still has a tough assignment here regardless.

4- Niagra Keys (Alydar Stables, ridden by E J Wilson)- Won three of her first four races, but has not been able to get a fourth victory. That did allow her to compete in the KYO, where she finished in the middle of the field. A month later, she was fifth in the Acorn before she was moved to turf for a little while. Unable to win there, despite hitting the board a few times, and returned to the dirt in her last start. Ran third in the Grade 3 Rampart, closing well, but this is a stronger field.

5- Shining At Knight (Our Athletes, ridden by N Juarez)- Comes into this race with wins in her last two races, including the Grade 3 Comely last month where she beat Long Term Parking by a length. She’s also a horse that ran in the KYO, a spot she earned with consistent performances in prep races, but she did not beat anyone once there. That consistency continued right away after the race, and she comes here off a very good mile work at FG. She’s doesn’t have the most name recognition here, but she is very appealing runner.

6- Celine (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by A R Rodriguez)- A win in the SA Oaks last spring clinched her spot in the KYO, but the best she could do there was twelfth. Even with that, she was only beaten by a length, so there was no reason to sour on her for the Acorn. There, she stepped up and finished second, and would follow that up with a good meet at SAR, hitting the board in each of the CCA Oaks and the Alabama. Unfortunately, we’re not talking about wins here, and when she ran in the BC Distaff, she could do no better than tenth. I can forgive that, but I don’t like that she was only third in a $29.000 open allowance at TAM last month.

7- Up She Flew (Riggins Racing, ridden by R E Eramia)- This is another BC runner, but she took part in the F & M Sprint, and ran third. Took care of business in an allowance three months later and closed out her year by capturing the always competitive Grade 1 La Brea at SA. Her 2023 also included a win in the Grade 1 Ballerina at SAR, so plenty to be excited about. Those are seven-furlong races, but she has more than enough experience running over a mile to not be concerned with that.

8- American Sky (Iolaus Racing, ridden by G Saez)- In her last race, American Sky won the, Bayakoa? Actually, that would be the Bayakoa Stakes, a Grade 3 from LA run in mid-December. That victory marked her third in a row. Overall, she’s won seven of 18, and picked up her signature win here last April: The Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap. That’s the only other time that she has run at this racetrack, and the trainer hopes she’ll handle it just as well.

9- Golden Angel (Rock Creek, ridden by C Landeros)- She’s run in a couple of graded races during her career, but none since the end of 2022. Last year, Golden Angel mainly ran in mid-level overnights, and typically finished in the money. She would close out the year in the $100.000 Broussard Memorial Stakes, where she failed to beat either of her rivals in the three-horse field.

10- Alice Springs (London Racing, ridden by J R Leparoux)- This General Ferro filly has made ten starts, with three victories. Last March, she won the $150.000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes, which sent her into graded competition. She at least picked up a few fourth-place checks, but nothing that is going to help the trainer make a profit on her. Won an optional claimer towards the end of the year and bounces back up to this level to hope for better.

11- Swiss Chocolate (Riggins Racing, ridden by J K Court)- Once she got that first race out of the way, Swiss Chocolate would become a very consistent horse, hitting the board in ten of twelve races with four of them being wins. She was particularly hot over the summer, with a three-race winning streak being highlighted by the $200.000 Fleet Indian for NY-Breds at SAR. Continued to run consistently afterwards and could be an interesting one to watch this year to see if she can carry that momentum.

12- Ignore Tucker- Scratched

13- Chica Lugo (Panionios Racing, ridden by T Conner)- The early scratch of Ignore Tuckers allows this Niagra filly to draw in. Her last race was both her stake debut and the first time she went long, coming in the Grade 3 Rampart down at GP. She placed fourth in that race, but with that experience behind her, she can hope for a lot better here. Her last mile work was prior to that race but was impressive and suggests that she can handle this opposition.

Prediction: 1-5-7-2

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES