The 15th Running of the Wonder Where Stakes
Sunday, September 11, 2022
WO Race #2 $250.000
3YO F Bred in Canada 123 Lbs 11/8 Turf
Track Record-1:57.98 (Billy Joel-2020)
Stakes Record-1:59.20 (Inquisition-2021)
#1 Have One On Me (Nakamura Stables/M. Murrill): Rail horse has an allowance win and a bang-up 2nd in a G2 in her two starts for this outfit. Lass raced up front in both of those efforts and is well-drawn for that kind of trip here. Mile-and-a-quarter is a question, but have to like horses that have shown speed and the will to repel challengers.
#2 Low Budget Java (Nakamura Stables/L.J. Luzzi): Hails from the same barn as the horse inside of her, but this gal has never tried the lawn in any of her ten races. Stablemate should help with giving her some pace, but not sure that runner has any intention of coming back to anyone. There are some dirt races further back in her form that suggest she’s capable of laying closer, but the surface switch is a question that has to be answered.
#3 Villeneuve (Mo Mentum Farm/A.A. Gallardo): Dipped her hooves in the graded pool last time at CD, but this “drop” appears to be the right move for the filly. She’s only taken two cracks at routing, but neither effort saw her get closer than four lengths to the winner. She’s shown speed going much shorter so maybe she stays in the first flight, but she’ll have her work cut out for her with this trip.
#4 Tessas Star (Glorify Stables/D.E. Centeno): Filly didn’t make her first start until this April and came back last month to beat winners after taking that purseless debut. Takes a leap into stakes’ company here, but you have to like the way she’s gone about her business thus far and she gets the services of a very competent jock.
#5 Mongolian Khan (Threshold/F. Pennington): TAM stake winner has been close in three efforts since, but hasn’t been back to the winner’s circle. Two of those one-length and less losses came against graded company, so there’s quality here. Like the fact that she has some versatility in her game as she can lay just off a target or rally from further back.
#6 Wander (Mb Stables/C.J. Hernandez): Filly has run an equal amount on turf/dirt and sports an almost identical record on both surfaces. While she did take a G3 on the KYO trail, she just missed last month at the Spa in a similar event. The two G1 tries didn’t go her way on either surface, but this seems like a logical spot for her to turn up. She may be able to sit on the rail in the second flight of trackers, but that would mean she’d have to make up ground on some proven commodities.
#7 Bonnie (Arindel/J.C. Ferrer): Filly had a productive spring with a stake win and a near miss in a G2, but has fallen off form in her two races this summer. Both of the last two efforts were against graded company so the drop to state-bred seems appropriate. Needs to find the form from three and four back to have a chance, but at least we’ve seen it from her before.
Final Analysis: This race looks to run through the rail horse and we’ll back her in a big 1-4-6 exacta and trifecta key in the Wonder Where at WO. Good luck everyone!
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES
