The Beldame (Grade 1)- $400.000 Purse
BEL- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
October 1, 2016

The rain stayed away from BEL today, and we were able to get off our great day of racing under fast and firm conditions.  That was good news for the Grade 1 Beldame, which features a strong field with plenty at stake.  Several in here seemed to have a good chance, and in the end goes to the rested filly, who was just making her fourth start this year.   Despite her name, Chili King is indeed a mare, and not owned by Chili King Stables.  Though it was he who bred Chili King (as well as Hirsch Turf Classic co-winner Chrystal Pip in the next race).  This is her second Grade 1 in three starts, and she really did have a nice clean and comfortable rail trip in order to achieve this.  It is the first time Sanny Village has won the stake, but the fourth time that jockey J R Velazquez has won it, including two of the last three.  The time of the victory was 1:48.36, congratulations to our winner! Let’s see how it happened!

1st- 1- Chili King (7/2)– Our eventual race winner from Sanny Village got off to a decent start while running steady along the rail in the backstretch.  At a half mile, she began to inch a little closer to the frontrunning Memorandum and would be up to third, two and a half lengths out, as she prepared for the turn.  Handled the turn well, until she ran into the leader, who clearly was not able to sustain this same pace.  J R Velazquez didn’t need Google maps to figure out how to avoid this roadblock and took the Asclepios Trail detour.  That is, he pretty much ran into Asclepios Trail and shoved her out of the way. By the top of the stretch, she had pulled even with Memorandum, and there was nothing that one could do to keep her from taking the lead.  Chili King seemed strong at this stage, and began to open up.   Google Maps was weaving her way through traffic and wanted to make it interesting, but it would be Chili King who took the quickest route to reach her destination here today.   It was nice response to this challenge, and she gets a nice win!  Chili King is a six year old mare by Western Red Cedar, and out of Youre All I Need.  She was bred in Kentucky by Chili King Stables as a yearling and was acquired by Sanny Village in private sales for $100.000 back in January 2013.   Congratulations to the connections!

2nd- 6- Google Maps (3/1)– Broke well out of the gate for Aml Racing and started to battle Memorandum early.  Then, for some reason, she drops back about five lengths in the backstretch and ends up being 6th as they moved into the turn.  This concession of ground also meant that she put herself two and a half lengths behind Chili King.  Midway through the turn, she would look to make up that ground she gave up by splitting Proud Bird and Nice High Five.  Came on strong in the stretch, and gets within a length of Chili King at the end.  If only she didn’t concede so much ground early.

3rd- 2- Proud Bird (4/1)- The Mb Stables entry started conservatively as her stablemate was up there setting the early fractions.   She would be fourth going into the turn, three and a half lenths out.  At the top of the stretch, she was in a bit of bind as Chili King was ahead of her directly, and Google Maps already claimed the lane to her outside.  All while Memorandum was calling it a day.  Never really made a bid and simply prevails in a tight photo.

4th- 4- Asclepios Trail (9/1)- Started midpack for Bigking, but as the backstretch run continued, she would advance to second and situate herself less then two lengths behind the pacesetting Memorandum.  Started to run well in the turn, but as Chili King was making her way through she seemed to nudge Asclepios Trail pretty firmly out of her way, and it didn’t seem as though she recovered from it.

5th- 3- Charming Face (4/1)-   The second entry from Mb Stables left a lot of ground between herself and her stablemate as they moved down the backstretch.  She would trail the field heading into the turn, about seven lengths out.  Remained at the back while going around the turn, not able to make much headway.  Does well enough in the stretch to join the field, but never threatened.

6th- 5- Nice High Five (27/1)- The longest shot on the board from Alegria had no interest in the early pace and went directly to the back of the field, but started to show some life just prior to reaching the turn.  Stabilized in this midpack position around the turn and into the stretch.  Someone needed to tell her that her name didn’t mean she needed to run five wide around the track like she did.

7th- 7- Memorandum (9/2)- Quickest of them all out of the gate for Mb Stables, and would set the opening half mile in a time of :47.50 as she opened up by a length and a half on the field.  Continued to pace the field around the track, going six furlongs in 1:11.34, but once passed, she lost interest.  The last half furlong was particularly ugly for her.

Track: Fast
Time: :47²  1:11¹  1:35⁴  1:48¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 6 Paid 12.20
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 6 – 2 Paid 95.30

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES