The Miss PS (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
PIM- For Filles Three Years Old
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
May 21, 2016

Lea came into the event on a three race winning streak, and had accomplished quite a bit in her career up to this point.  Those past achievements made her the favorite, both by us and by the betting public, and by a decent sized margin.    She had done a lot, even running in the BC Juvenile Fillies, but the one thing she hadn’t checked off of her bucket list yet was to win a graded stake.  Ungraded stakes hadn’t been a problem, and today, Lea would not disappoint those who had faith in her.   It wasn’t easy, and Pink Candy Stripes, a filly with a comparable resume, made her earn it all the way to the wire.  In the end, it is the D J C Racing Stables filly that gets the elusive graded win.    It is the first win in the stake for the trainer, as well as for her jockey, R J Albarado.  The time of the race was 1:09.43, making it the second quickest running of the Miss PS Stakes.  Congratulations to all on the victory!  Let’s look a little more at it.

1st- 5- Lea (1/1)- Essentially an even money favorite, the D J C Racing Stables filly had a lot of people backing her, and she did not let anyone down today. The eventual race winner would break well out of the gate, not allowing Pink Candy Stripes to get to her inside.  This can be seen as a critical moment of the race as there was not much separating these two over the entire six furlongs.  She would poke a nose in front as they reached the end of the backstretch, setting the opening quarter in :22.99.   She handled the turn very well, increasing her advantage to nearly a full length, while running a half in :45.68.  At the top of the stretch, with this slight advantage, the two of them prepared for the dash to the finish.  Both were in great stride, and R J Albarado worked hard to make sure that the advance of Pink Candy Stripes would only allow the rival to get closer and force a photo finish.  As a filly who knows how to win lately, Lea was able to clamp down just enough to keep Pink Candy Stripes behind her.  After reviewing a photo, Lea was posted as the winner, running a time of 1:09.43! Congratulations to winning trainer, D J C Racing Stables!  Lea is a three year old filly by Quick Code (by General Assembly) and out of Internet Speed (Sir Speedy and Swarley in her pedigree). She was bred in New York by D J C Racing Stables as a second quarter two year old, and the two have been together throughout!

2nd- 6- Pink Candy Stripes (8/1)- As a surprising longshot, the Barcelona Farms filly broke sharply out of the gate, and was matching strides with Lea down the backstretch while running in the third lane, and remained in this position as they moved into the turn.  During the run around it, she lost about half a length on Lea, likely because of being to her outside.    At the top of the stretch, she was now a half length back, and the two of them both buckled down for the stretch run, and would dismiss Love Appeal from racing with them.  With a half furlong to go, she began to make some very slight progress on trying to get by Lea, but it would not be enough to overtake her.  It would force the stewards to look at a very tight photo for the win, but in the end, she is posted as the second place horse.  No reason to think she couldn’t turn the tables the next time they met.

3rd- 3- Stump The Skeleton (5/1)- The Chili King Stables entry started at the back and was keeping Little Kruz company during the early portion of the race.  During the backstretch and even into the turn, she would end up conceding six lengths to the frontrunners. At the top of the stretch, the three who had been hanging around at the back all seemed to make a push to the front at the same time, and Stump The Skeleton seemed to have the strongest kick of all of them. It was a strong effort that enabled her to be third in this race.  The trainer will be content with that, but she will need to be closer to the front or start her run earlier next time if she wants to beat a horse like Lea.

4th- 4- Little Kruz (13/1)- The entry from Brave may have struggled a little bit right out of the gate, and she would be at the back of the pack early.  She usually likes to come from behind, so this was not too much of a surprise.   Little Kruz would ride at the back throughout the turn, and have five and a half lengths to make up as they approached the top of the stretch.  She would respond gamely to J R Velazquez’s asking but would also end up wider then the trainer may have liked.   This run allowed her to get up for fourth place but she never threatened the leaders.

5th- 1- Bye For Now (7/2)- While on the rail, the Mb Stables entry got off to a midpack start, dropping back by about 3 ½ lengths as they moved into the turn.  She would not make much of a push in the turn, and it would not be until the stretch where her, Stump The Skeleton, and Little Kruz all seemed to make a synchronized push to the front.  Bye For Now was very good in the stretch, but it was too little too late.

6th- 2- Love Appeal (7/1)- Started well and wanted to get involved early for her trainer, Hay Makers Inc.  She would run alongside the two leaders throughout the backstretch, and into the turn.  At that point, she started to lose some touch with the leaders, but still seemed as though she would have enough fight in her to hold off those coming from behind.

Track: Fast
Time: :22⁴  :45³  :57¹  1:09²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 6 Paid 22.80
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 6 – 3 Paid 67.50

Scratched: None

Winner, Exacta, and Trifecta picked by NS

— nS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES