May 11, 2015

After taking a one-year hiatus, the Grade II Black-Eyed Susan Stakes returns to PIM with a reduced $250.000 purse and no one from the Grade I KY Oaks field but in their place, a field of six has been assembled and is led by a Grade I winner who towered over the field in both class and speed figures. But in order to win, she will need to prove that she can handle the nine-furlong distance while negotiating the outside stall against a field that much to prove if they hope to make it to the bigger races over the Summer.

1-Lingerie Fantasy (Three-year-old bay filly / Owner-Jerry Garcia Racing)

Lingerie Fantasy was a debut winner at CD last May but never really translated that early form into a lucrative two-year-old campaign and off an improved wire-to-wire win at SA over this same distance, she will try to jump back into Graded Stakes company and meets a field that she can lead from start to finish once again. The only issue is that the final fractions of her last win were very slow and there are some big closers in this field so the hope is that she can set a more modest pace and control things more, without letting her guard down when the real running happens in the final furlong.

Analysis-Will need more pace control to win this tough event

Fair Odds-8/1

2-Step Softly (Three-year-old bay filly / Owner-Mb Stables)

Sire Chai Latte has already produced a number of top class three-year-olds this season and his second daughter in the Black-Eyed Susan field is Step Softly, recently third in the Grade III Bourbonette Oaks behind a filly who actually raced quite well in the KY Oaks. She seems to have much of her success going a route of ground and two starts back, she romped home by three-lengths over this same distance in a faster time that her inside rival, so the talent is there to continue that upward momentum and from a barn that knows how to win, she looks to be a major player.

Analysis-Likes a route of ground and looks to be improving

Fair Odds-6/1

3-Famed Queen (Three-year-old bay filly / Owner-D J C Racing Stables)

Winless in six career stakes attempts and coming off a tiring fifth in the SUN Oaks, Famed Queen does not look like the type who will enjoy the nine-furlong trip and only in the Busher two starts back did she close into the pace, and that was a wicked pace. Setting the pace has always been her choice of tactic and it has never really worked out at this level and while others seem to be improving, this filly seems to be stalling and might lack the confidence others have to get the job done.

Analysis-Has encountered trouble with the distance before

Fair Odds-12/1

4-Ancient Royalty (Three-year-old bay filly / Owner-Paradise Stable)

Ancient Royalty is one of only two stakes winners in the Black-Eyed Susan field and after taking the Cincinnati Trophy, she made a good account of herself in the Bourbonette but a tough effort in the Grade II Beaumont derailed her momentum. Now, she gets back to a route of ground hoping to find a pace to chase and if she gets that to her inside, she might be able to stalk early and pounce late en route to another solid showing for her powerful stable.

Analysis-If the pace is honest, she knows how to close

Fair Odds-5/1

5-Midnight Wild (Three-year-old black filly / Owner-Maxmillion Farm)

The real wildcard in the Black-Eyed Susan field is Midnight Wild and if you throw out her lackluster effort in the Silverbulletday over a muddy track, you have a lightly raced three-year-old with a maiden win going two-turns and a huge second at SA, albeit to a filly in this field as well. The only concerns are that she has never really ran a fast race, and that translates into her speed ratings, and unless she can pick up the pace, others are simply quicker and in short, will beat her to the wire.

Analysis-Good filly simply needs to run faster

Fair Odds-10/1

6-Google Maps (Three-year-old gray filly / Owner-Aml Racing)

I rated Google Maps a 6-1 chance in the Grade I KY Oaks, based on her blockbuster win in the SA Oaks and the fact that she owned the best SRF speed rating in the field, and when the rating for that race came up with a 97-mark, you knew that she would have been a contender and now, meets a subpar field that she can simply throttle into submission. Owner Aml Racing is clicking at 30% and has a filly who cruised home for her third straight win going a route of ground; add an outside post, inside speed and a workout that is quicker than anyone else and you have as close to a lock as possible.

Analysis-The question is how much she will be win by

Fair Odds-2/5

Overall

In all of my years writing for the SRF, and it has been a lot, I have never made one of my choices as low as 2/5, but the respect I have for Google Maps in the Grade II Black-Eyed Susan is so high that it would take a superstar performance from one of the other fillies to upset her. She looks to be about four- to five-lengths better than everyone else in the field and if she runs back to even a fraction of her SA Oaks win, she should easily run away from Ancient Royalty and run down the potential speed of Step Softly, whom I peg to be second and third respectively behind the dazzling winner.

Prediction

Win-Google Maps (2/5)

Place-Ancient Royalty (5/1)

Show-Step Softly (6/1)

Triple T Racing 🙂

Categories: Grade II