Royal Delta (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
GP- For Filles and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 18, 2017

The feature race of the day at GP for Saturday will be what is just the second running of the Grade 2 Royal Delta.   The inaugural running last year saw the same conditions, and the same overall field size with six going to the gate.  In a tight three way finish, Team 7 Illusions’ Hydro nosed out Ocala Express for the triumph.  There is one in this field, that being Dirty Deeds, who could be at a similar point in her career now as the great Hydro was then and she seems as though she will be the favorite in the race to follow in those footsteps.  However, the other five in this race are plenty capable as there are no pushovers at all in this race.  Let’s take a look at our runners!

#1- Sweet Release (Joseph Racing, ridden by J Lezcano)- Finished off her 2016 campaign in impression fashion, winning the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes at WO by five lengths in November.  However, that win must have made prior trainer think she hit her peak, as she was sold after the race for $180.000.   In her debut for Joseph Racing in January, she ran well for a while in the La Canada Stakes, but faded to fifth.  Perhaps she ran too quick a pace there, so I would not be surprised to see her back off just a little here.

#2- Mint Condition (John Henry, ridden by J L Ortiz)- Another one that has followed that familiar Australia Wide to John Henry private sales path.  Mint Condition was purchased by the current trainer in November for about the same as what Sweet Release went for, $150.000.  She was best over the summer, with some good runs in some of the premier Canadian stakes out there, such as the Prince of Wales and WO Oaks.  Her claim to fame is when she defeated three others in the $125.000 Algoma Stakes for Canadians.   She’ll have a shot here, but don’t think she can take down Dirty Deeds if that one runs her best race.

#3- Effortless Admiral (Ekli Stable, ridden by P Lopez)- This four year old Star Admiral filly tends to be a very consistent racehorse.   In her 17 career races, she has hit the board in 13 of them, with five being wins and five being runner ups.   Her graded stakes career has seen quite a few examples of her rounding out the exacta with the winner, but finally after four places at this level, she finally won one when she was victorious in the Grade 3 Locust Grove at CD in a small but talented field.  Since then, she’s been third three times in a row.   Capable of pulling this one off with some luck, but I’d be looking for her again to just be a threat and perhaps continue that third place streak.

#4- City Bus (Tiratzo, ridden by E S Prado)- Makes her 2017 debut in this race after finishing off last year with a win in the Grade 3 Rampart right here at GP two months ago.  That victory was a nice way for her to brush off her disappointing performance in the BC Fillies and Mares Sprint a month prior out at SA.  Earlier in 2016, she has a couple of impressive second place finishes when the weather was warmer, in the Grade 1 Test at SAR, and the Grade 1 Mother Goose at BEL.  If she returns to that form, she stands to be the biggest challenger to Dirty Deeds in this field.

#5- Geek Watch (Nakamura Stables, ridden by J Bravo)- Returns to graded competition after almost exactly one full year.  In 2015 and up to February 2016, she repeatedly raced at the graded level, and had some successful runs here and there amongst them.  One of them, although late in 2014, actually saw her get a win.   Those races were on the grass, and that’s actually where’s been running up until her last race when she made her return to the main track after running in optional claimers for a year.  She won that race, so not surprisingly, she remains on the dirt with the trainer hoping she rediscovers her graded form.

#6- Dirty Deeds (Aer Stables, ridden by J Rosario)- Let’s get this out of the way immediately: Dirty Deeds, if she runs her race, is the best horse in the field.   That’s not only because she is the most prolific earner in this race, needing just another $1.60 in career earnings to crack $1,000.000, but because she was won some big races over the course of her career.  Her biggest win to date came in late September when she won the BC Distaff Preview, also known as the Grade 1 Cotillion at PRX.   Then, somehow, against many of the same horses, in the actual BC Distaff, she didn’t beat any of them.  She made her 2017 debut last month at the La Canada Stakes, and was third, though did defeat Sweet Release in the race.  This is a field she can handle, and I think she has been placed beautifully here by the trainer.  Look for her to come out on top.

Prediction: 6-4-3-2

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES