The Great Lady M Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
LA- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
Six and a Half Furlongs on the Dirt
July 5, 2021

We don’t usually have high quality stakes racing to talk about on Mondays, but that will change this week as the 18th running of the Great Lady M Stakes takes place at LA. It is a race for older females, though three year olds are also invited to take part as well. This is one of those races that first appeared at HOL, and it would run there until 2014, where it would then move to LA. Last year’s race was won by Z Is For Zero and trainer First Street Stables. As of right now, it is still the last race she has won, and while she is still active, it’s safe to say that she needs a reversal of form. For the eight running here, it’s a chance to be great, both on Monday, and hopefully well into the future. Here’s the field!

#1- Empire World (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Cedillo)- She has won nearly half of her races, with seven victories in 15 starts, and comes here off of the Grade 3 Colors at CD, where she won. Maximilian has done a great job with her since claiming her for $12.500 as Smokey Stover let one get away. Two starts after the claim, she won the Grade 1 La Brea. There are a couple blips in her past performances, but in this field, I would not worry too much about them. She should contend.

#2- Baptisted By Fire (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by A Centento)- Apologizes in advance to the trainer, because I will surely misspell this name at least once during the recap. Mo Mentum is getting used to the spelling, too, though, since he recently purchased the mare for $45.000. This will be their first race together, and he is certainly very confident as it is a generous price paid, and the toughest crowd she has ever run against.

#3- El Gran Condottieri (John Henry, ridden by J J Hernandez)- Here is the only three year old to accept an invitation for this race, and it will also be her first race with her new trainer. John Henry picked her up in the auction a couple weeks ago for $85.010. Her last start was in mid-April, and in it, she won the NY Stallion Series- Park Avenue by three lengths. A little surprising that she would be on the shelf for two months after such a solid win. Looks good in here, and with a four pound weight allowance on the field, there is much to like.

#4- Data Overload (Mb Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- We last saw her up north at SA, running two months ago in the Grade 3 Desert Stormer, and running a solid second. You have to go back to last October for her last stake win, which was in the Raven Run, at KEE. After that, she was dropped into overnights and didn’t really set the world on fire in them, which is interesting. Worked well here a few days ago.

#5- Sinissipi Strange (Threshold, ridden by U Rispoli)- Made her stake debut last month, and was up to the challenge, finishing third at seven furlongs in the Bed O Roses Handicap. Note that in that race, she was a couple pounds heavier than over half the field, too. She was hot going in, winning thee in a row, but none being a race that will excite you all that much. In the Bed O Roses, she proved herself well, and looks to follow that up here with a big run.

#6- Oneida (Night Rider Stables, ridden by J Pyfer)- You can count on this horse being part of the exacta recently, as she has done that in each of her last six starts. Five of those are second place finishes, and pretty much all of those races were ungraded stakes. The win came in her last start, the $100.000 Skipat, against three others. Further back, she has graded experience, but she seems to be a better horse now than she was then.

#7- Obvious Deception (Nakamura Stables, ridden by T J Pereira)- The jockey will be looking for a third straight win in the race, and he picked the perfect horse because Obvious Deception is seeking her third win in a row. For the mare, they came in open allowances, but she is a former BC Distaff runner, and the winner of the Grade 1 Hirsch almost a year ago. Recently, she has cut back on her distance in those allowances, and now will get a chance to sprint at this level. Certainly has a good shot here.

#8- Silver Jazzmin (The Sidley Stud, ridden by T McCarthy)- This is another horse that is looking for her third straight win, but she is coming off a graded win. Six weeks ago, she was a half a length in front of Data Overload at the wire to win the Desert Stormer, and if anything she would probably like that this is a half furlong longer when comparing her to that rival. She’s hit the board in four of her five starts this year.

Prediction: 3-5-1-8

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES