The Suwannee River (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies and Mares Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
February 9, 2019

Before I start with this preview, I want to ask readers to not read anything more into things I might say other then the written word. I was criticized for calling Fear The Dragon a longshot in my last recap. This was interpreted by one reader as saying I disrespected Fear The Dragon. Calling him a longshot does not reflect my personal opinion on a horse and their future chances, it reflects that they were 15/1 on the odds board, and that basic fact, only. If one does not like that a horse is 15/1, place a large bet on them in the handicapping contest win pool to lower the odds, and then I won’t call them a longshot if they win. Opinions are based on the odds, and how I perceive their form. It is not meant to be expert analysis. I do not sit down and chart each horses performance, watch every single past race, analyze every trip, et cetera. I simply gloss over the past performances, and see if I notice trends. In some cases, I will remember a past race, and use that to help. If I were an expert on studying horses, I would apply to write for the Daily Racing Form. If I got paid about 5-10 times more then I do to write these articles, I would put far more work into analyzing a horses past. But like most of you, I also have a full time job and a family, and there is only so much time in a day to spend on this.

Now, on to the Suwannee River, a Grade 3 turf event for older females that runs for the 16th time. Barcelona Farms held a brief dynasty in this race, winning it four consecutive years from 2009-2012, doing so twice with the late Valibert. Last year, the race was won by Gdp Inc, and Hide N Seek Pup, a now six year old mare that is still running well, and beat one of these in her last start. Our field of eight features some well known names, so let’s take a look!

#1- Tornado Warning (Mb Stables, ridden by E Jaramillo)- Sound the alarms, Tornado Warning is returning to graded competition! Over the course of last year, she appeared in some smaller graded races, such as the Lake George and since the runs were decent, Mb Stables tried the Grade 1 Flower Bowl. That did not go well, and she hasn’t seen a stake since. After a couple of wins to end the year, she debuts in 2019 looking to prove herself at this level again.

#2- Sandset (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by C Landeros)- One of those horses that never runs poorly, but just cannot seem to pull off the win. She has won two of 17 lifetime, and that does include the Grade 3 Edgewood in May. Since then, she has been a fixture in top races such as the BEL Oaks and Beverly D, and tends to perform well, just needs to find a little extra to be able to prevail in the stretch, and that has kept her from being a bigger name in the game.

#3- Maggie Greene (The Sidley Stud, ridden by J L Ortiz)- This four year old filly was particularly strong over the summer months last year, winning the Grade 3 ONT Colleen Stakes, and following it up with a victory at the Grade 2 Lake Placid. Later, she won the QE II Challenge Cup at KEE, and this sent her to the BC Fillies and Mares Turf. In the Suwannee River, she will return to the track for the first time since running ninth in that race. She won’t have regular rider P Husbands for this one.

#4- Devil Wears Prada (Axeman, ridden by Jef Sanchez)- Kicked off her eight year old season with her 51st career race in open allowance last month and we’ll see if she can make the BC for the third consecutive season, and the fourth time overall. She was third in the BC Fillies and Mares Turf in 2017, ran a grueling 11-race campaign in 2018, which included being fourth in the 2018 BC F & M Turf. In that allowance, she ran into 2018 Suwannee River winner, Hide N Seek Pup as one of her three rivals to beat, and was second to that one on soft turf.

#5- Free Sunset (Smokey Stover, ridden by L Saez)- A day after winning the BC Fillies and Mares Turf, Free Sunset probably felt that she would go back home to her stall and get some special attention. Instead, she was sold. Such is the life of the virtual horse. Free Sunset was picked up in private sales for $875.770 by Smokey Stover and makes her debut for him here. If only virtual racehorses could have feelings and a sense of wanting redemption, because she’d be certainly motivated to beat, at least, Sandset, here.

#6- Snow Doll (Oliver Klozov, ridden by J R Leparoux)- The trainer looks for their second career graded win with this mare by the great Whats Up. While his foals, in total, have been anything but great, Snow Doll is trying to be one of the few exceptions. Very early in her career, she tried a couple of smaller stakes but has primarily been a strong starter allowance horse. Two races ago, she ran second at the CC Tiara, which was her first stake in a long time, and hopes to build off of that here. Not going to be a favorite against this type of crowd, but will be interesting to see where she stacks up against them.

#7- Calling The Shots (Diablo Diablo, ridden by E J Wilson)- This four year old Z Cars filly will make her graded stake debut in this race. After breaking her maiden, she has become exceptionally consistent, though good finishes that were not wins likely kept her from being advanced sooner. She’s run well in a couple of $75.000 stakes, including a win in the Lady of Shamrock the day after Christmas. Now, she gets a great chance to see how she fares against those with bigger resumes, pretty similar to Snow Doll in that regard. I’m intrigued by her consistency, and think she will be a player at the end here.

#8- Alligator (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Jimenez)- There was no rest for this one after she ran third in the BC Fillies and Mares Turf, with two races since then. Nothing wrong with that, but two other runners here from that race are just making their first start since. Alligator ran second in the Grade 1 Matriarch to Nancy Broom Moytoy, though struggled when going longer in her last race. That struggle should not happen again, and she should be one of the favorites.

Prediction: 5-8-3-7

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES