NY Stallion Series- Fifth Avenue ($150.000 Purse)
AQU- For Fillies Two Years Old Foaled in NY
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
December 18, 2016

As the SRF heads into its holiday break coming up, it is my pleasure to write my final preview for what has been a thrilling 2016 season.  Hopefully, everyone within our virtual world has a happy holiday season, and I will be back to take on even more exciting action that will take place here in 2017.   For this article, we will turn our attention to the Big A to look at five juvenile fillies who will also look to successfully close out their 2016 campaign.  It is the 11th running of the Fifth Avenue, part of the NY Stallion Series.  There are no standout past winners, but the most prolific such filly was Sense of Stile, who won in 2014 and amassed $530.000 in career earnings.  Most past winners seem to range between $300 and $500 overall.   These fillies are just getting started, with none of them a $100.000 earner yet.  Should be an interesting battle, so here they are!

#1- Crown Of Jewels (M.b.o. Racing Stable, ridden by J Rosario)- Early in her career, this filly found herself running in the Astoria and the Lynbrook before she even broke her maiden.  Those races did not go well, and the trainer finally allowed her to run against maidens again at SAR in August.  All the practice against stakes horses paid off and she would win that day and in every race since.  She rides a three-race win streak which also saw two FL allowance wins.  So now with that under her belt, she returns to the NY-bred stake scene likely far more prepared and ready to go then she has ever been before.

#2- Retrospective (Canadian Racing, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- In five races, this Winter Warrior filly has picked up a couple wins, including one in the her most recent outing.  Back on Travers weekend at Saratoga, we saw her participate in the NY-bred Seeking The Ante and it went poorly. That race in itself seems like an outlier to her overall performance too, and it was interesting to note that it is the only race of her career where she did not have a shadow roll.  Now, much like Crown Of Jewels, she gets another chance to prove herself against NY-bred stake competition after getting her career back on track.

#3- Sneaky Little Opus (Kopites, ridden by J Alvarado)- By the name, we know you can guess her sire, and it will be fifth career start as she looks to add to the stakes winners produced by Sneaky Little Pirate, while having a little Opus in her to boot.  So far, it is just the maiden win, but she has never failed to the hit the board and has run against stakes company in her last two starts.  In October, she was third in the $100.000 OK Classics Lassie at RP, and then last month ran in the Key Cents, an NY bred stake, and ran third, a spot ahead of Cobra Crunch though they ran very similar times.

#4- French Connection (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- The career of this Risen Ruler filly could not have gotten off to a better start as she won the first three races in which she participated in.  The third win of the streak was the $100.000 Sorority Stakes down at MTH, making her the only horse in this field can call themselves a stake winner.   After that race, she moved on to both graded stakes, and going over a mile, and took part in the Grade 1 Alcibiades and would be 6th of 10 there.  She returns to a sprint here, and it should be restated that she has never lost while sprinting.  It’s a resume that may make her the post-time favorite, though my pick is another in here.

#5- Cobra Crunch (Aer Stables, ridden by M Franco)- The King Cobra filly has been lightly raced and patiently brought along by her trainer up to this point.  She has started just three times, and her first two runs resulted in a trip to the winner’s circle, including a decent allowance win at MTH.  Both of those wins were on the grass, and Cobra Crunch was moved to the main track for her most recent start, the $100.000 Key Cents, where she ran well, though still finished 4th of 5.  If she can put forth her best effort here, there is no reason to think she can’t get it done in a very balanced field.

Prediction: (very balanced field, can go any way): 2-4-1-3

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded