SSM F/M Turf ($75.000 Purse)
GP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward Foaled in FL
One Mile on the Inner Turf
January 14, 2023
Outside of a couple races this weekend, it is a very quiet few days on the stakes scene. Due to that, we’re going to get some coverage here of some stakes that have under a $100.000 purse. Here, we look at the SSM F/M Turf, which as the name implies, is run on the grass for females that were bred in the Sunshine State. This race has seen bigger purses in the past, and in fact it debuted for $300.000 back in 2004 and then increased to $500.000 through 2009. Then, things began to decline, all the way to last year, where the race was run for less than a $100.000 for the first time. Emo Storm won the race, and although she appeared in a handful of graded races after that, Arindel’s filly would never visit the winner’s circle again. Just five go to post for the 2023 edition the race, and there is some good quality among them but sadly the small purse is what it is. Let’s meet those horses now!
#1- Queen Of The Chai (Martyparty, ridden by El Gonzalez)- The King Party filly has won three of thirteen career starts, and will return to the grass after a couple of races away from it. She had been running well on the turf, scoring a six-length win in the $75.000 Tomboy at BTP in August before running second in a photo a month later in another $75.000 stake at that track. Despite that positive trend, she was moved to the dirt and ran decently but now finally gets her chance at the grass again.
#2- Ace Queen (Ace Racing Stable, ridden by Al Gonzalez)- Our next queen comes into the race with a great track record of getting it done: seven wins in 18 career starts. However, none of those wins have come in her last four starts where the trainer tried to move her up in class to take on some very good horses. Last month, she ran in the Grade 1 American Oaks and was a non-factor there leading the trainer to take a step or two back with her. Perhaps, she might just need a confidence boost after that last race. It’ll be interesting to see how she fares here to get an answer on if it was just an upper tier of competition that got to her, or possibly, if these distances are best for her.
#3- To The Beach (Arindel, ridden by P Lopez)- For the most part, To The Beach has run on the dirt and that would make sense based on her name. Only four of her sixteen starts are on the grass, but what makes this noteworthy is that of those four races, it is where her only two career wins have come. If she wins this, it will be exactly a year to the day when she won last, and that was also here at GP. Since then, we’ve seen her in the Grade 1 Ashland, and the Jersey Girl, and she has had some productive results. A win has been much more difficult for this inconsistent filly.
#4- Pineal Gland (T Boy Racing, ridden by E J Zayas)- This is the most experienced horse in the field, as the seven-year-old mare makes her 44th career start. Over that time, she has run in lots and lots of open allowances and had success in them. She’s hit the board in 40 of 43 races, and only once in her entire career has she been out of the top four. Those results, which only very recently saw her move into the ungraded ranks, has allowed her to accrue almost $600.000 in earnings. She does have a couple of small ungraded stake wins on her record. Kudos to T Boy on his excellent placement with her, and this is a good spot as well.
#5- Rita Vrataski (Jormav, ridden by J J Castellano)- She is the same age as Pineal Gland, but does not have anywhere near the same amont of career races. This is only her 13th career start, a stretch that saw her go from September 2020 to January 2022 without even racing. And since then, she has only raced three times. Things may now be different for her under the guidance of Jormav, who claimed her for $12.500 just three weeks ago after a win at TAM. Obviously, he likes what he sees to run her here, so let’s hope she is up to the challenge.
Prediction: 4-1-2-5
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
