KYO Watch: Top Fillies

We are not too far away now from the KYO, a chance for the top three year old fillies in the game to showcase their ability in one of the biggest, if not the biggest race, that they will ever have in their careers. A lot of time has been spent talking about the KYD, and justifiably so. However, the ladies get their chance to shine as well. On the forum, I asked for trainers to provide a list of their top twelve fillies so that they could be ranked for this article, allowing us to see what the community thinks before we officially know who will be a part of the field. I received a handful of lists and was able to piece this list together. There was a lot of fluctuation from one list to another, but trainers seem to think that there are four main contenders here.

Here are the top 12 Fillies in the game, according to the HRP community:

1) Tell It Like It Is (Nakamura Stables) (63 Points)
– This horse actually only received one first place vote, but her consistency at being near the top gave her the slight edge. This Telling Ya filly was a late arrival onto the KYO trail, with the only stake she ran in as a two year old being a small ungraded race in late November. After winning the Grade 2 Davona Dale and Grade 2 SA Oaks, the latter by three lengths, she is well respected by everyone. An off track could be a concern for her, though one tough race on mud should not automatically give her that reputation.

2) Real Nice (Allinthegate) (61 Points)
– Received more first place votes then anyone, but some people are equally not as convinced as she was also fifth on one, and sixth on another. She is by Real Fishy, and was a great $50.000 private sales purchase last June. There was an initial try to run her in top stakes as a two year old but she was not quite ready then. She is certainly ready now with back to back wins in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel and the Grade 3 Fantasy. Interestingly, she was a 28/1 and then a 35/1 longshot in those races.

3) Bite The Bullet (Mb Stables) (57 Points)
– This Spring Lover filly was consistently ranked around the top three or four and did have one first place vote herself. She has emerged as the top contender, in the eyes of the community out of Mb Stables, though the trainer has several well liked horses that received votes. Bite The Bullet started her career by having success in NY-bred races, and ran well in all of her preps, culminating in a win in the Grade 1 Ashland at the beginning of the month.

4) Precise Performance (Mb Stables) (52 Points)
– For as consistent as Bite The Bullet was on the top twelve lists, her stablemate Precise Performance was the complete opposite. Some people love her and had her high up on the list, but some people are clearly not impressed with her, and barely had her on the list to begin with. Looking at her last two starts, you might see why. Some give precedence to the FG Oaks win, though others must be quite put off by the performance in the Alexandra Stakes.

5) Mad Mistress (Jokerjoes) (41 Points)
– This seemed to be the horse that most were looking to after the top four, and she notably slots in here a similar distance below them as she does above the rest of the pack. The Indistinguishable filly is third on the overall KYO points list, thanks to winning the Gazelle (in a dead heat) at AQU at the start of the month. Other then the Honeybee, she is generally consistent, but the Honeybee is probably why she is not liked more.

6) Mercy (Smokey Stover) (32 Points)
– After we get past Mad Mistress, there starts to become very little separation between the middle of the pack here. Mercy, the second Spring Lover filly on this list, appeared in the back end of the top five on a couple lists, while barely making the list on a couple of others. Running sixth in the FG Oaks could be the reason, as some see the finishing position, but others see her only missing by a length, with perhaps tactics being the reason.

7) Lil Baby Bomber (Aer Stables) (31 Points)
– For the trainer, there is likely a lot less excitement for the KYO, but he will still bringing this contender to the race. She was no lower then eighth on any of the lists that were submitted, but not everyone is convinced with her as she was omitted entirely on another. Was the other half of the dead heat Gazelle winning pair, which is just one of her two starts this year. Ran seventh in the BC Juvenile Fillies.

T-8) Drink Me Pretty (Estero Farms) (30 Points)
– The runner up in the BC Juvenile Fillies made it as high as third on one list, but the opinions on her were generally mixed. She is consistent, hitting the board in all nine of her starts, but has not picked up a win this year. However, with a little more racing luck at the wire she could have won all of three starts, the Santa Ynez, the Honeybee, and the Ashland. I was a little surprised she was not higher, so she may be the sleeper.

T-8) Relax (Mb Stables) (30 Points)
– It is somewhat ironic that the top two finishers from the BC Juvenile Fillies end up in a tie on this list, but down a lot more then it seemed like their career was trending just six months ago. Relax has not been forgotten about, and that may be the primary reason she is this high up the list instead of vice versa. Two off the board finishes this year and a less then exciting work at AQU on the 6th cause points of concern.

10) The Belle Tolls (Allinthegate) (27 Points)
– Ranked very highly by one trainer, and off the list by another. Generally, most people had her between 8th and 10th, getting her this spot. The Belle Tolls was another horse that was very well liked as a two year old, but unlike Relax, she hasn’t really fallen off. She won the Las Virgenes, and finished second in the Starlet (by a neck) and the GP Oaks, so this is another horse that I can see being a spoiler in the KYO. The trainer, Allinthegate, has plenty to be excited about for this race.

11) Winegum Wishes (Crocker Ggs) (19 Points)
– The Champagne Wishes filly spent some time running in NY-bred stakes, winning the Gimma, before taking on graded competition. She won the GP Oaks last month, but I have the feeling that people would have wanted to have seen a little more out of her. We can expect to see her coming from off the pace and is probably going to be better at 1 1/8 then what she has shown at 1 1/16.

12) Odd Trek (D J C Racing Stables (14 Points)
– She is a late bloomer, with a win in the SUN Oaks last month being what will get her into the KYO. There’s some indifference about her in regards to the list, but you can’t take away that she has won four of her last five and turned in a good work at AQU on the 15th.

Thank you to everyone who participated by sending me a list for this. I’ll be looking at these fillies a lot more in about a week when its time to preview the KYO!

— NS

Categories: FEATURED STORIES