The Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (Grade 2)- $250.000 Purse
PIM- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
May 18, 2018

It is PRK weekend, and once again it looks like the weather is not going to cooperate with our TC plans. Both Friday and Saturday, the meteorologists have the chance fo rain to be 90-100%. Perhaps a vortex will be created over PIM and there will not be an off-track, but it’s looking very likely. When we get to talking about the PRK, we can ponder if that’s something that Pretty Ferro will like after all. For now though, let’s look at the Black-Eyed Susan, a Grade 2 that is the biggest race for females at the track over the weekend. Purses for this race have been bigger in the past, including $500.000 being on the line in both 2012 and 2013. In 2014, that figure was cut in half to be at its current level. With just six going to the gate, it is not a large field, but it is certainly a talented field. Let’s meet our participants!

#1- Jinxed Queen (Gdp Inc, ridden by D E Centeno)- This filly qualified for the KYO, thanks in large part to winning the Grade 2 Gazelle, but the trainer opted to scratch her, perhaps concerned about her outside draw for the race. For the Black-Eyed Susan, there will be no such concern, as she has drawn the rail. Now, she will look to extend her three race winning streak, something that started in a $75.000 claimer back in January. Her lone attempt on an off track was also in a turf race, and it didn’t go well. It’s been a while since then, and Jinxed Queen has never been on better form. She is the class of the field.

#2- Terrific (Keikowin Racing, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- Broke her maiden on a sloppy track, but then again that was where it always seems to rain, at PM. That’s still the only race she has won, and after attempting some turf races for a while, she was back on the main track for her last start. That was a four horse FL-bred allowance, in which she finished third. It would seem like she is overmatched here, but at nine furlongs, maybe, she’ll save her best for last. Tough to pick, though a good chance to see where she stacks up.

#3- Nice Tactical Speed (Maxmillon Farm, ridden by R J Albarado)- She has won just one of four, but is coming off a fourth place finish in the Gazelle, a race in which she lived up to her name in the way she ran. After looking good most of the way, she hung on fairly well, and got a decent fourth place check. She might need to improve just a little bit from that race, but I can’t see any reason why that would not happen. Nice Tactical Speed has no experience on an off-track, but her triple ideal conformation creates optimism.

#4- Dame Magnifique (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This filly has had mixed results on off tracks in her career, coming in consecutive races earlier this year. One she won, that being the $125.000 Marsha Washington at OP, but following that, she was off in the tougher Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks, at TP. She returned to OP hoping to repeat her Marsha Washington effort, but in the Grade 3 Fantasy, Dame Magnifique seemed to run in the middle of the field for the duration of the race, and would just miss out on cashing a check. Her works are good, especially her last two, so I am feeling pretty good about her stepping up and having a big race here. Maybe not quite a win, but don’t rule her out.

#5- Blue Jeans (First Class Stable, ridden by R Bejarano)- With a little more consistency, Blue Jeans may have been able to find her way to the KYO. However, she can be hit and miss in her career. Her last two races tell the story on that one, both coming at FG. In the Grade 2 Alexandra, she would come from behind to get closer to the leaders, but would only be able to get up for ninth. In her next race, the FG Oaks (Grade 2), she was in a similar spot when she began her close, and this time got up for second. Race times differed by about half a second. Other lines in her past performances show this same trend. Tends to be a longshot, and while she is a good horse potentially, it seems like how she’ll run is as predictable as a coin flip.

#6- Pink Cross (Fractious, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- This filly never really went on the KYO trail, and instead showed her talents in several FL-bred stakes late last year. While she never won one of them, she was always competitive. In March, she made her graded debut, but that would come on the turf in the FL Oaks, in what was also her grass debut, and it did not go well. She rebounded, though, with an allowance win afterwards. Now, she takes on the toughest field of her career, and if she can turn out another low 90 SRF run as she has been doing, she should be in the mix here as well.

Prediction: 1-3-5-4

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES