Ocain 

1 1/16 Mile InTurf Stake Purse $200.00 Fillies Three-Year-Olds Foaled ln NY. At SAR

Ocain brings us five young, talented three-year-old fillies that manage to separate themselves slightly on paper, but since they’re not running on paper, I’m terrified. At first, I thought it was a two-horse race between Hit The Mark and Whirlwind Spirit. Hit The Mark looked impressive winning at second asking while Whirlwind Spirit placed in The Mount Vernon. As I wrote the individual comments, I began to realize this is a five-horse race.  Dark Peel almost never finishes worse than second on grass, Hawaiian Wolf and Heaven Park are both progressing so fast either could steal this.                                                                               

Horse                                  Owner                               Odds  SRF

Hit The Mark                       Mb Stables                         *8-5        88

Whirlwind Spirit                 Acber Farms                       9-5        95

Dark Peel                              Our Athletes                       3-1        95

Hawaiian Wolf                    Greyfriars Stable                  4-1        93

Heaven Park                       D J C Racing Stables           5-1        90

1  Whirlwind Spirit                 Acber Farms          95

Whirlwind Spirit was looking every bit like a deep closer dirt horse for her first seven races with a couple of wins on that surface and a second-place finish in The $125.00 Suncoast Stakes at TAM. Then came the Grade II Edgewood and turf… she basically flopped, but in the process, she closed seven lengths. They were encouraged. So encouraged they entered her in The $200.00 Mount Vernon at SAR and she placed second in an excellent performance that brings her here.

2  Hawaiian Wolf                Lemax Farms                          93

Royally Bred Hawaiian Wolf from the Night Mare breeding farm is showing great promise as she climbs the ladder after being a little slow to graduate. She didn’t take any time adjusting to racing against winners with a second in a NY restricted optional claimer. Know she steps up to stakes and there’s no telling how good she may be.   

3   Dark Peel                  Our Athletes                  95

Here’s a lass that is the daughter of a Banana Peel. Well, Dark Peel is pretty slippery on turf. In six starts on the grass, she has won two and been second three times, most recently second a head in the $150.00 NY Stallion Stakes – Joy at six-furlongs. Now she has to stretch out for this race. Not a problem; she has routed successfully on several occasions. Only problem I see is she is a closer, and I don’t see the pace in this race setting up for a closer.

4   Heaven Park                        D J C Racing Stables                 90 

Heaven Park took a little while to break her maiden, when she did, she enjoyed it so much she went right ahead and won another, this time on dirt. She followed that up by returning to the turf for The $150.00 Wild Applause at SAR and finished fourth beaten only one-length. Since winning that maiden race, she has been improving leaps and bounds. Makes it difficult4ttt 3d to gage just how much and how she will affect this race, especially coming from as clever a stable as D J C Racing Stables.

5   Hit The Mark                Mb Stables                  88

Not much history to discuss about Hit The Mark as she’s had but two starts, and the first pretty much the standard throw away start at TUP. The fireworks started on the second, a pricey maiden for NY Bred at a mile and an eight on the AQU inner turf course which she won in handy fashion. As of late, Mb Stables has been having great success with young horses in their early developmental races, and I see the same pattern with this one. I expect a similar win to his last here.

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded