BC Juvenile Fillies Turf (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
DMR- For Fillies Two Years Old
One Mile on the Turf
November 3, 2017

The biggest weekend of the racing year is upon us. Welcome to DMR for the BC. The festivities kick off with the 10th running of the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. These young two year olds fillies have flashed a lot of talent in their careers thus far, and the sky is the limit for them. Maybe we have a legend in this field. Back in 2014, the great Broomsticks Copy won what was at the time, just the second win of her career. No one knew how great she would be, but the filly would go on to dominate as a three year old, returning to the BC to win the Fillies and Mares Turf, putting in her rare company as a two-time BC champion, and winner of two separate BC races. Is the next one here today? Her trainer, Drabfantasy will be hoping Broomsticks Concerto, who is part of this fourteen horse field, can be a near copy of what his legendary filly was able to do.

Success as a three year old and beyond is not a guarantee, however, for the winner of the race. You may remember last years winner, She Needsa Brazilian. She was looking very good at the time of her win, but would not be able to win another stake race. She’d only end up winning one more time, in an optional claimer. On October 14th, she raced for the final time, and has since been retired even produced her first foal already! For the most part, the winners of this race have had a career that falls somewhere between Broomsticks Copy and She Needsa Brazilian. Naturally, we have a talented field, but none of these are standing out over their peers yet, so a win today could serve as a big boost heading into the three year old season.

It’s the first race of the BC events taking place this weekend at DMR, and congratulations to this great race track for hosting the BC for the first time. Now, let’s meet the field!

#1- Maggie Greene (The Sidley Stud, ridden by N Arroyo Jr)- Starting on the rail, this Walking Dead filly does not have quite the resume as others in the field, and is still actually looking for her first turf win. In seven career starts, she only has one win thus far, coming in a maiden race at LAD. What got her here was a second place finish in her last start, the Grade 3 Miss Grillo at BEL. She came from off the pace in the race, coming within a half length of Sweet Gail, who should be one of the favorites in this field. That makes her very capable, but I will be looking elsewhere.

#2- Crown Of Light (Estero Farms, ridden by J Bravo)- She’s been sold in private sales twice already, but that time on the market has not stopped her from having success. Estero Farms has done a great job with her since acquiring her, and she awarded the trainer with a win in the $100.000 Johnson at SAR, which is always a tough race despite being ungraded. Unfortunately, she did not follow that up as well as I would have liked to see at KEE in the Jessamine. That’s not to say she was a disappointment, as she still picked up a fourth place check, but the speed figure, though on good turf, is lower then I’d like to see.

#3- Unsuited Rainbow (Barcelona Farms, ridden by J Alvarado)- This Unsuited filly should be one of the favorites for this race, and will have all the jockeys in the field looking over their shoulder for her in the stretch. Unsuited Rainbow has won four of six, and three of four when on the grass. Only once has she run in a stake, but she had no difficulty stepping up in class, as she would win the Grade 3 Jessamine at KEE. Though the most impressive thing about that result is the way that she won it, as she fell way back, and still had six lengths to make up and eleven horses to pass in the stretch. Hard to see her looking to try anything differently today, but that proves she has the heart and desire that is needed to win a race like this.

#4- Quakerce (Sir Daniel Martin, ridden by T C Baze)- Winner of three our five in her career, but it was her last race that put her onto the BC scene. After an average showing at the Grade 1 Natalma at BEL, Sir Daniel Martin sent her to the $100.000 Surfer Girl Stakes at SA on three weeks race, and she picked up the win. It was her first stake win, and it seemed to be beneficial to her to be a little closer to the front in that race then she was in the Natalma. That was also the secret to her prior wins. This might make her start very important. If she gets left behind at the start, her day may done right then and there.

#5- Chai Mission (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Maldonado)- After a handful of close calls trying to break her maiden the conventional way, the trainer decided he had enough of that and entered Chai Mission into the $75.000 Our Dear Peggy at GP. It would be both her turf debut, and her first time going long as well, and she would dominate the field on the soft turf that day, winning by five lengths. It’s hard to determine what we should make of that race, but a big win is a big win no matter how you look at it. She also has the bloodlines, and one of the best turf trainers in the game today.

#6- Dalitierri Girl (Hawaiian Shirt Guy, ridden by J J Castellano)- The trainer looks for his second straight win in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, and Dalitierri Girl could give him a shot, just as long as the $100.000 Surfer Girl, her last start, is a throw out. If we look at the other races, we see a consistent filly who’s always near the front, although she does have just one win to date so far. Then came the Surfer Girl, where she completely ran out of gas late in the race. Maybe that was a product of running on three weeks rest. I wish I could see a more recent public work, especially to see how she fared after the Surfer Girl, but nothing is public since mid-September. I’ll have to look elsewhere, despite having a connection to her dam.

#7- Quiver Pond (Estero Farms, ridden by R J Albarado)- The second of two entries that the trainer has earned for the race, and the one that figures to gave them their best shot to win. Overall, Quiver Pond has shown that she knows how to get to the winners circle after a race, win three wins in five starts. She is also undefeated on the grass, going a perfect two-for-two. One of those wins was the Grade 1 Natalma, where she came from well off the pace. Therefore, Unsuited Rainbow will not be the only one looking to make a late charge for the stretch. In Quiver Pond’s Natalma win, she was able to defeat Daliterri Girl, Broomsticks Concerto, Quakerce, Apricot, and Skeleton Abra, so there is no reason to think that she could not do the same once again. Quiver Pond should be one of the favorites.

#8- Broomsticks Concerto (Drabfantasy, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Three years ago, the legend of Broomsticks Copy got started for the trainer in this race, and they will be hoping that their newest female turf star can follow in that lead. Broomsticks Concerto has only won once in her career, coming in a weak race, and her debut at ALB. That could make it easy to want to overlook her as a contender here, but with a little more luck with the headbob at the wire, she could have two more wins on her resume, including the OT Juvenile Fillies Turf here at DMR in early September. She’s not one of the first choices, but it would also not be a surprise if she copied Broomsticks Copy and got the win.

#9- Skeleton Abra (Chili King Stables, ridden by F Geroux)- A winner of one out of six starts thus far in her career. That came at a mile on the grass here at DMR in August, and the trainer, who is known for having a lot of success on the grass, looked to elevate her career quickly, by entering her into the Grade 1 Natalma. She was fine in that race, but was beaten by three fillies that she runs into again here. Last month at KEE, she looked to wire the field in the Jessamine, and did well until late. She’s still looking for her breakthrough race, and this is a tough way to do it.

#10- Apricot (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by L S Quinonez)- Not really seeing much to get excited about over this one. Her career got off to a good start, but her performance in the Natalma was a major disappointment. She jumped out to the early lead, and completely tired out, finishing fifteen lengths off the pace. Perhaps that was a fluke, and a tactical adjustment from the aggressive start could change things, but they really didn’t when she ran at the Jessamine last month. Works are good and look like she should be better at this distance, and if Team 7 Illusions can get her to get back to the form she was on prior to the Natalma, she could be a threat. I will look elsewhere, though.

#11- Blonde Art (Barcelona Farms, ridden by D Van Dyke)- The filly by the late Folk Art has won two out of her five career starts so far, with the big one being a win OT Juvenile Fillies Turf right here at DMR, where she got up just in time to defeat Broomsticks Concerto. Blonde Art will likely try to do the same thing as her Barcelona Farms stablemate Unsuited Rainbow. I would be higher on her, but I wish she would have followed up that OT Juvenile Fillies Turf win a little better when she ran in the $75.000 La Senorita a few weeks ago. She never got involved in that race.

#12- Sweet Gail (Smokey Stover, ridden by J R Leparoux)- We have reached the filly that should be considered the one to beat, although there are certainly several in here capable of bringing her down. Sweet Gail has been unbeatable in all but her debut race, winning four out of five overall, and she has been doing it against strong opposition. Three of the wins are on the grass, and two of them are going long. In September, she would win the $60.000 Happy Ticket against Maggie Greene, and the good looking Tulia, who is a filly not in this race. If you’re not impressed by that win, then consider what she did after, when she won the Grade 3 Miss Grillo at BEL earlier this month, earning a strong 93 SRF. The race could also suit her running style pretty well, although she will have to be careful and not be too close to the likes of Unsuited Rainbow and Quiver Pond in the back, because those two be coming hard in the stretch.

#13- Agenda (Mb Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- The only entry by Mb Stables in the race, which puts into perspective how good he is when saying it in that tone is a surprise, and not an achievement. Agenda got here by being raced pretty hard in the last six weeks, and this will be her third race in that period of time. They’ve both been wins, the second of which was a triumph in the La Senorita. I have often seen that it’s not the second race on short rest that is a problem, it can be the third. Not to mention, this is a tough spot to start from. She’s improving, but I’ll pick her in a future race, perhaps, but not here.

#14- Speeding Tales (Cherrytree Hill Farm, ridden by D R Flores)- Starting from the far outside, we get this filly by Speeding Home that has won two of her six career starts thus far. She spent the early portion of this season spending quality time at SAR, running in dirt races against the best, such as in the Grade 3 Schuylerville and Grade 2 Adirondack, and registered 2nd and 4th place finishes in those races. After a dud in the Spinaway, the trainer tried her on the grass, and she nearly won the Grade 3 Jessamine, losing out in a close photo to Unsuited Rainbow. She should follow up that race pretty well, but how big of a factor will this post be? I’d like her more with a better starting spot.

Prediction: 12-3-7-14

— NS

Categories: BC 2015-17, Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, THE BREEDERS CUP