Wiley (Grade 1)- $350.000 Purse
KEE- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
April 13, 2019

A smaller field of six will be heading to the starting gate for the Grade 1 Wiley, a race that has been won by some of the greats of the game. Back in 2006, Darling Harbour won the race, one of her 24 wins in her 47 career starts. A decade later, Attraction pulled off the win. In between them, you will see many successful horses along the way. While full fields for this race are not common, the field size here is a bit below the recent average. Quality can make up for that, and we’ll have that, as there are no pushovers here with three horse having won in excess of $1,500.000 for their careers. Let’s take a look at this field!

#1- Sweet Gail (Sccj Stables, ridden by J Rosario)- First or sixth? That has been the answer to the question of where has Sweet Gail finished in her last six starts. Two of them are wins. Inconsistency is clearly an issue with her, but when she has been at her best, she’s won races like the Grade 2 Mrs Revere, which was two starts ago. If the good Sweet Gail shows up, she can get it done, but she is a tough horse to pick in here.

#2- Devil Wears Prada (Axeman, ridden by D E Centeno)- There is no quit in this one, and her eight year old season is off to a quick start. She has won her last two starts, the Grade 3 Suwannee River and the Grade 2 Hillsborough, so she comes in here in great form for what will be her 54th career start. Most interestingly, is that she has some unfinished business in the Wiley as she has finished second in this race in each of the last two years. Will this finally be her chance to add this title to her already impressive trophy case?

#3- Agenda (Mb Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- The Engine Failure filly has been consistent in her career, with seven wins in sixteen starts, and overall hitting the board in thirteen of them. Last month, she pulled out a win down at GP in the Grade 3 Very One, and with just a little more luck at the wire she could be coming in here on a four race winning streak. This would be her signature win at this stage in her career, if she got it.

#4- Snacks (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- This is a filly that likes to play catch up in the stretch. Her deep closing style has not always been successful, though, and sometimes she has not completely fired to begin with and ended up with a flat finish. Lately, though, I think she has been doing better. Of course, who knows if the trainer will surprise us all and have her on the lead early? That didn’t work well the last time she tried it.

#5- Free Sunset (Smokey Stover, ridden by L H Colon)- Once again, I get a chance to write about Free Sunset. This time, I focus in on the fact that L H Colon, the true king of the turf in this game, will be getting the ride. Since arriving at Smokey Stover, she has not yet won and just seems like she has just needed a little bit more to put her over the top. With Colon, she will have that, so I’m looking for her to pick up the win here thanks to his amazing presence.

#6- La Terrifiant (Our Athletes, ridden by F Geroux)- The transition to the grass has worked very well for this filly that once won the BC Juvenile Fillies. Her first turf race was two starts ago, and the trainer went big for it, running her in the Grade 1 American Oaks, and picking up the win, coming in late December. She has only raced once this year, in an open allowance at SA, and ran second to Easy Time, and up and comer for Mb Stables. Expect her to be a threat.

Prediction: 5-2-3-6

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES