November 22, 2015

A trio of runners from Team 7 Illusions looked to upend the LA Jewel at DED on Saturday afternoon but Royalty Racing piped them all with Minda, who dropped from the Grade I Alcibiades to score her third win of the season. A daughter of regally bred sire Chief Charley, she won a minor state-bred event at EVD in July and is now three-for-three against LA-bred rivals, with nearly $200.000 to show from her efforts.

Favourite Arc Of Charley (*0.50) sprinted out of the gate in the Jewel as second choice Minda (1.20) dropped off from the rail and as the three stablemates moved forward under the line the first time, a minor speed duel emerged despite what looked to be slow fractions. The opening split of 24.64 was modest and the leader looked well within herself with Dead Hat (25.10) as her shadow but by the time the quartet hit the backstretch, through a half-mile in 48.60, Minda looked to be making a minor move up the rail as Dead Hat fell in behind. Arc Of Charley looked to sprint away from the field heading into the tight final turn and put two-lengths on her rival and nearly four-lengths on Minda but a quicker middle split led to six-furlongs in 1:11.95 and that played right into the hands of the backfield. As the field straightened out into the lane, Minda looked to stall and Arc Of Charley had the advantage but in that final sprint, the gray had enough to run by en route to a length win, with Dead Hat along the inside in third and Hillbilly Medium (20.20) fourth after showing little throughout.

After testing the biggest fish in both the DMR Debutante and the Alcibiades, Minda dropped into an easier pond and found victory in the LA Jewel from off-the-pace, making it three wins from six career starts. Unfortunately, the only LA-bred stakes in the coming months are sprinting so she might need to wait until the new year for her next race, when the real fillies improve and she can test her ability going long.

Congratulations goes out to owner Royalty Racing and their two-year-old filly Minda, a closing winner of the LA Jewel at DED!

Prediction                  Minda / Arc Of Charley / Hillbilly Medium

Winner                       Minda

                                     Two-year-old gray filly

                                     Chief Charley-Mindaugas (Jolly Be Great)

Owner                        Royalty Racing

Time                            24.64, 48.60, 1:11.95, 1:36.08

Overall

Minda                          1.20 stalked, wide into lane, up in time

Arc Of Charley          *0.50 set modest pace, could not hold on

Dead Hat                    25.10 inside run, no late gains

Hillbilly Medium      20.20 outrun throughout

Triple T Racing 🙂

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded