The Vinery Madison- Grade I

KEE Race 3 7F Dirt

Purse $300.000 for Fillies & Mares

 Four Year Olds and Upward

It is not often that you run into a Grade 1 event here at HRP with only four entrants but that is the situation here. Gottahotone would appear to be a prohibitive favorite with this group so let’s take a look and see if there is any way to beat her.

1 Mortality, trained by John Henry

Will be dropping back in distance today as she has spent the last year running all her races at 1 mile or longer. She has a very fast mile work showing on her form back in December but her recent six furlong works were not quite as good. Her last outing was a dull performance in the Houston Ladies Classic but she was up against the top fillies in the game there so hard to count that one against her. I actually think this distance may suit her well just not sure she is good enough to beat Gottahotone.

2 Gottahotone, trained by Team 7 Illusions

This super consistent mare has finished first or second in 16 of her 23 lifetime starts. She was purchased by her current owner in June of last year for $277.770 and was promptly entered into graded events. While she was not able to win any last year she was able to qualify for the BC Filly & Mare Sprint where she ran a game third. Her last outing was a very impressive win in The Fritchie where she beat her main challenger today, Natural Zone, easily. She seems to be on top of her game right now and will be tough to beat.

3 Natural Zone, trained by Mb Stables

This filly had a tremendous 2017 as she won 5 of her 7 starts including the BC Filly & Mare Sprint beating Gottahotone in the process. 2018 has not been quite as kind however as she has been out of the money in her only two starts so you have to wonder if her suspect conform has caught up with her. Works do not seem to have really fallen off so you have to give her a shot.

4 Roxy Lisa, trained by Canadian Racing

Another consistent filly that has won 6 of her 10 lifetime sprint races. In her only two previous attempts at the graded level however she was unable to hit the board. A four horse field is a great place to try and get that first graded win but her works are a bit slower than the rest so hard for me to recommend.

Summary

Gottahotone just seems to be at a higher level than these right now and I think she will be able to sit just off the pace being set by Roxy Lisa and get home for a win. The one wildcard right now is the weather as there is currently a 50% chance of rain. Gottahotone has only raced once on an off track and was not able to hit the board while others in here have fared well on it.

2-3-1-4

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES