The Noble Damsel (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
AQU- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Inner Turf
October 22, 2022

Maggie Greene returns to action this Saturday as she defends her title in the Grade 3 Noble Damsel. This race will for the 20th time, but it’s the first time that it takes place at AQU. Over the years, it has had a consistent purse level of being somewhere between $100.000 and $200.000, and it has always been a Grade 3. When Maggie Greene won this race for The Sidley Stud last year, she would end up going to the BC Fillies and Mares Turf two weeks later, but Nevada Silver in the Hill Prince/BC Mile, she was unable to make that work and did not have one of her better races. While she’s had the most successful past of any of the nine horses going to post, she might not necessarily be the favorite as it is a very capable field. Let’s take a look at everyone who is looking for the big win here.

#1- Saddle Up (Our Athletes, ridden by P Lopez)- Over her career, Saddle Up has been successful, with five wins in 21 career starts. She’s run in several top notch graded stakes, including the Grade 1 QE II Challenge Cup around this time last year and the Grade 1 Wiley as recently as April. She’s typically been very competitive, but as you look at her past, Saddle Up does not have that one race that you look to and say, “that was her signature moment”. For now, that’s the Grade 3 Athenia at BEL last year, but it wasn’t a loaded field. Here, she would score a win over better company even if it is also a Grade 3. Won an open allowance in her last start.

#2- Becoming (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by J Lezcano)- Becoming ran in this year’s version of the Athenia in her last start, placing fifth on this race track and fizzling out in the stretch. This race being a furlong shorter could perhaps help with that problem. Prior to that, she turned in good third place effort in the Grade 1 DMR Oaks but it was again a race where she was beaten in the stretch. Six months ago, she went wire to wire in the Grade 3 Providencia Stakes at SA, and that’s the last time she has been to the winner’s circle. I would not be surprised if she won this race, as I can see how it might happen, but it’s tough to pick her in what is a very good field for a $150.000 race.

#3- Be Genuine (Hunterman Stable, ridden by D E Centeno)- This filly was a part of the BC festivities last year, participating in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, but that is about all there is to say about that race for her. After that race, she struggled for a little while, but when put up for a claiming tag at the free track, she ran second and that might have got her going a little bit. She’s now won three of her last five, including the $100.000 Centennial Distaff Turf Mile. This is a great chance to see if she can continue to ride that momentum.

#4- Hunt For Love (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by E Maldonado)- Her biggest hunt so far has not been for love, but for a maiden victory, needing nine tries to accomplish the feat. While that run was going on, she was typically hitting the board, but could not come out on top until running against NY breds at SAR. Once that search was over, she’s won one more time, taking an optional claimer at AQU in her last start. I’m not sure if she has proven herself going long though, and would be more inclined to pick her if it was a sprint.

#5- Twisted Express (Mb Stables, ridden by Ru Silvera)- If you don’t want to pick Maggie Greene, this is probably the horse for you, although I would not be surprised at all if she ended up as the post time favorite. Her problem is that she does not win enough, doing so only four times in 24 starts, which, when it’s in this barn, does grab your attention. Had a career defining moment last year, though, taking the Grade 1 DMR Oaks, but we have not seen that again. Her last start was close to it, running second in the Grade 2 KD Ladies Turf, where the purse is actually more than double that of the 2021 DMR Oaks. Can she do that twice in a row? She’s had enough cold stretches to make that questionable.

#6- Maggie Greene (The Sidley Stud, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- When it comes to virtual racing, Maggie Greene has certainly been a noble damsel over her career, winning a grand total of seventeen times over her 57 career starts. The seven year old mare has now made over $4,200.000 in her career. We can go back in her long career and point out major highlights, like the 2020 BC Fillies and Mares Turf that she won, but in terms of “what have you done lately”, the answer is not as impressive. She’s won two graded stakes this year, the last being the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay at BEL but she has been a bit of a non factor in her last three starts. She seems to be dropping back a little, though did win this race last year and often we see horses do well when they return to a race that they won previously.

#7- Notorious Jenn (Asgar, ridden by S Elliott)- This five year old mare has raced the vast majority of her 23 career races on the dirt, and never won any of her three turf starts. She has also mainly been a sprinter, and has one win in seven starts when going long. Her last race was a dirt sprint, a $100.000 ungraded stake where she placed second. Two back, she was a non factor going long on the grass. While she did work well on the turf in early September, this is a tough spot for a horse that has not proven that this is the ideal condition type for her. That can change, of course, but I wouldn’t put virtual money on it.

#8- Command All (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by Ru Gonzalez)- She is only three, so there is plenty of time for her, but she has not been living up to her name on race day. In twelve starts, she’s only won twice, but has “commanded most”, by hitting the board in half of those races. The trainer has not backed down from running her for large purses, but it’s hard to get excited about her because when she’s “off”, she doesn’t look all that great. It’s possible that she is putting it all together now, and I think she’ll get a graded win at some point. Just not here.

#9- Rebel Girl (Marijane Racing Stab, ridden by D Davis)- Early in her career, this horse didn’t show much of anything, and then she started running off victories, but for very small purses. Marijane picked her up for a mere $3.000 with a claim, but had much bigger aspirations for her. Two races later, she won the $100.000 Plenty of Grade right here, and after two more starts, she became a graded winner when she took home the Grade 3 Eatontown at MTH in June. Her last three haven’t been as good, but there was a period where she was raced too frequently, and it may have got the best of her. Needs a good bounce back here.

Prediction: 5-6-1-9

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES