Lady Angela Stakes ($125.000 Purse)
WO- for Fillies Three Years Old Foaled in ON
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
May 1, 2016
North of the border this weekend, a small field of five will be contesting the ninth running of the Lady Angela Stakes. This is a long sprint for female three year olds that call Ontario home. It is a race who saw its most prolific winners earlier in its history. 2009 Wyverness is the only past winner to crack $1,000.000 in career earnings. The victory marked the first stake win of her career, and at the time of the race she had only a maiden win to her credit. Certainly then, this is a mare that those in this field can try to follow in her path as she would win races such as the Gazelle and Ruffian over the course of her career. The winner last year, World Of Wonder, only lasted two more races before she was sent to the shed, and has amazingly already produced four foals, because that’s how we roll in our virtual world. Speaking of foals, Wyverness has one left, just to throw that out there. Without any further delay, here is our field of five! 70% chance of rain, by the way.
#1- Cruise Control (Crocker Ggs, ridden by M Rainford)- This newer trainer is undefeated in stakes so far in their career (as of press time), going 1-for-1 in them. We’ll ignore the fact that they are otherwise 0-for-39, as it’s what you win, not how many you win. Crocker Ggs was very active in the most recent auction (having myself been outbid for several two year olds by them), and it was there that they did purchase their stake winner. Another such purchase was Cruise Control, a wise $10.520 purchase that shows they did their homework in regards to studying pedigree. This is a difficult assignment, not as much in that she might not be capable of winning the race on any other day, but because she is coming into this race on a five month layoff with only a win at the free track to show for her past runs. I’m also not really sure that this is the best distance for her, and think she will prefer a little shorter then this. Cruise Control’s lone race heading into this was on firm turf.
#2- Ena Barb (Canadian Racing, ridden by L Contreras)- This filly has had some successful parents. You all know what Barbarino has accomplished, but on the dam side, Numero Ena is a two time graded stake champion and a runner from the 2012 BC Ladies Classic. Ena Barb is still young in her career, having only hit the track three times, but is recently coming off a good-looking third place run in the Grade 2 Forward Gal Stakes. That was in late January, so the fact that she is also coming into this race off a layoff needs to mentioned, and it might be a little curious as to why the KYO trail was never really pursued with her after that promising race. The work times seem to be good, so she seems as though she has what it takes. She does look, to me, to be the horse to beat in this field, but that layoff has to be a concern. If you find it hard to go with her because of that, take her neighbor in the starting gate to the outside. Has never raced an off track.
#3- Pinot Girls (Night Rider Stables, ridden by G Boulanger)- The Black Road filly has also been on the KYO trail, and a little more so then Ena Barb. She picked herself up some KYO points following a third place run in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel at SA in March, but she needed more then that to get in the big race, and she would come up short in early April in the GP Oaks. Instead of CD then, she heads here, and looks to be a strong contender and may end up the morning line and post time favorite. Don’t be surprised to see this become a two horse race to the wire between her and Ena Barb, though I am going with her rival here because I believe she is an improving horse, and I don’t quite have that confidence in Pinot Girls. She’s raced on an off track once, but it was her debut and too long ago to still be relevant.
#4-Tennessee Bluebelle (Hawaiian Shirt Guy, ridden by G L Olguin)- You will not often see a horse make a jump from allowance company to a stake after they finished the allowance race running last, beaten 15 lengths, and earning a 66 SRF. It was a a muddy track that day and Tenneessee Bluebelle is a better horse then that. So, if you want to blame that on the rain, here’s your problem: 70% chance of showers at WO on Sunday. You have the feeling that the trainer has checked “dry track only” on this one, and it would not be a surprised to see her scratched. If she does run, and even if the track is fast, this still seems like too high of a jump for her too soon. Other then that miserable race, her only other two starts have been on the free tracks.
#5- Head In The Noose (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by D Moran)- A win in this race for the trainer would mark their second straight win in the stake, and Head In The Noose figures to be a contender, though will not be one of the favorites. She was won one out of three career races, and seems to be either good or bad, with little in between. In her win, which was at 4 1/2 furlongs at GP, she jumped out to the lead and stayed there for the win. In her other two races, she beat a combined one horse, again showing the desire to lead early, but ultimately faded out of contention. As I don’t really see any apparent improvement in her limited public works, it is possible that a tactical change might be in store for her. Otherwise, she’ll have a hard time fending off Ena Barb and Pinot Girls. She has never raced on an off track, though a February breeze could hint at her liking one.
Prediction: 2-3-1-5
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
