Sand Springs ($150.000 Purse)
GP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
April 1, 2023

Before I begin looking at this race, I just have to say that Michael LaRosa is in my thoughts and prayers. I didn’t know him, but I do know he was a great person and a pillar of the HRP community. I know that he wants this to go on, and I am privileged to be a part of the SRF team that will ensure that his idea from 2005 will live on for as long as our virtual game will. Thank you, Mike, for allowing me to be a part of this team and I look forward to carrying on that legacy.

Moving on will begin by looking at the Sand Springs, and ungraded stake held at GP. This turf race is for older females and runs a little over a mile. It’s a race that first appeared in 2016, but the second winner of this race has a name which gets your attention given the sad news, “Angel Wing”. Last year, the race was won by TwinTowersRacing with School Of Thought. It would be her last hurrah, as she struggled after the race and is now serving as a broodmare. We’ll only have six horses going in this year’s edition of the race, so let’s begin our look at them now!

#1- Biggle (Mb Stables, ridden by F T Alvarado)- This filly is looking to extend her winning streak to three, and comes out of a good-looking open allowance victory right here at the same distance. She has some stake experience further back on her record, but none of her six victories are in such a race. More of the same from the open allowance will have her be a threat but will likely need to improve a couple tenths to score a win.

#2- Lotta Carnival (Oval Express Farms, ridden by Jo Ruiz)- With just one win in thirteen starts, it’s hard to find confidence that she will get that second win here. From time to time, she has her moments, and two back she was a solid second in the $100.000 Blushing KD at FG, which is at this distance. This is also an inconsistent horse, but just maybe she is getting better at becoming more reliable. May be in the mix, but a win would be a surprise.

#3- Chance 2 Ask (Threshold, ridden by A Beschizza)- Here’s another horse that has just not stepped up at this level. She’s raced ten times and has a pair of wins, but her stake performances are inconsistent. Like Lotta Carnival, she has shown flashes, such as when she was second in the $135.000 Riskaverse at SAR last summer, and around this time last year, she nearly won an ungraded stake at TAM. Was good in allowance at HOU in her last start, so let’s see if she can build on that.

#4- Ma Petite Penne (Night Mare Racing, ridden by A R Rodriguez)- When I looked at the form, this horse really grabbed my attention right away, which is odd considering she has just two wins in eight starts and has not even make $60.000 yet. Her last two starts are appealing, the first being where she broke her maiden, and then winning an allowance at HOU right after. She was given Bute for the first time when she got that first win, and each of those victories are a rout by three lengths. Running a tactic where she is out in front early, and it is working. I think she adds to her winning streak here.

#5- Love Is Free (Iolaus Racing, ridden by D Davis)- In the race right before Ma Petite Penne’s allowance win, we had another very similar allowance, with the only difference being it was an N2X instead of a N1X. That race was won by Love Is Free, and she earned a 93 SRF in the process, which is the same figure Ma Petite Penne earned. By the way, that is also the allowance that Chance 2 Ask was second in. Love Is Free has run in bigger races in her past and a win here could get her right back there.

#6- Red Flags (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by C J Hernandez)- The Grande Sournoise filly has four wins in thirteen starts, and she comes here off an optional claiming win at SA. She doesn’t always win or hit the board, but I do like that she is never out of it, no matter how high up in class the race that she was in was. I expect that trend to continue as she makes her return to stakes racing for the first time since August. Not putting her on top but look for her to be within a length.

Prediction: 4-5-6-1

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded