Selene Stakes (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
For Filles Three Years Old
WO- One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
May 15, 2016
There’s bound to be a few that we saw running in KYO prep races in the 11th running of the Selene Stakes, a Grade 3 event taking place north of the border at WO on Sunday. While the elements seem to be a given to hit the track on Saturday, we should be good to go without worrying about an off track for this race. It will indeed feature several who had good finishes in the KYO preps, but just could not quite find their way into the field. Three past winners of the race have earned at least $1,000.000 over their careers, so certainly this race can lead to bigger things even if not the KYO. Those winners were in three consecutive years: Wyverness (2009), Millionaire Heiress (2010), and Fine As Wine (2011). No trainer has won the race more then once. Two jockeys, R C Landry in the early days, and J R Velazquez have multiple wins in this stake. The latter is at BEL on Sunday. Eight have been entered into the race, so let’s take a look at them!
#1- Bella Ensign (EasyMoney Stables, ridden by J Stein)- The Ghost Walker filly has been very consistent over the course of her career, finishing in the money in nine of her ten career races, and four of them ended up in the winner’s circle. Unlike the others, though, she never seemed to be put on the KYO trail, and picked up those wins at places like TP and GG . She is two-for-two at this distance, and the GG win seemed to be just as good as what any of the others were doing while Oaks chasing. However, a point could be made that she ran that while carrying 113 pounds while others ran similar while carrying 122. Bella Ensign knows how to be in the mix, so she should be again, and with a good rail trip, she can’t be counted out.
#2- Regal Portrait (Mb Stables, ridden by D Moran)- This filly had a strong two year old season, which is highlighted by a win in the $500.000 FL Sire Stakes- My Dear. The races of that series always attract some great competition, so such a win should not be taken lightly. That is the last time that she has won, but she has been right in the thick of things in her last two starts, running second in the Martha Washington at OP, then being third in a three-way victory photo in the Grade 2 Gazelle, a race won by Track Queen. She seems due for a big win, and seems poised for a strong season. As such, I feel she is the one to beat here, though this is wide open field.
#3- Proud Bird (Mb Stables, ridden by L Contreras)- A proud trainer is what Mb Stables was after his Proud Chai filly flew away with wins in her first three races. Those wins came while going six furlongs, and led to her being placed in the SUN Oaks in mid-March. Her fourth place finish there was decent, but she had no time to rest and was thrust right into the Grade 3 Fantasy three weeks later due to chances running out to get KYO points, and Proud Bird nearly pulled it off, and finished second. That is a very telling result, having been done on short rest, and now she has had time to recover. Don’t rule out an all-Mb exacta here.
#4- Aldonza (Heavens Own, ridden by G L Olguin)- Her breeder, Jerry Garcia Racing, hyped this filly up quite a bit as a two year old, thanks to lightning fast work times. She would do enough to get into the BC Juvenile Fillies, but would only have a sixth place finish to show for it. Getting to that race is the highlight of her career so far which still only has a maiden win, and a win in a $75.000 stake (AP Washington Lassie) to show for the hype and the big price tags that have surrounded her. Pan Farms bought her from Jerry Garcia for $300.000, raced her once, then sold her to Heavens Own for $375.000. So far, the trainer has only a third place run in the GP Oaks to show for their investment. This would be a great time for her to step up/
#5- Looknlisten (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by G Boulanger)- The Red Rioja filly got off to a great start to her career, winning four of her first five races. The last of which was the ungraded Silverbulletday Stakes at January at FG. After that, something just went very wrong in the Grade 2 Alexandra, having one of those head scratcher type races that gets to all of us virtual trainer from time to time. She recovered decently from that, shaving almost a second and a half off her time at the same race track in FG Oaks, but still was only fourth. She likes to come from way out of it in the stretch, so be looking and listening for her then.
#6- Technomin (The Sidley Stud, ridden by E J Wilson)- So far, this Techno filly has not matched the success she had as a two year old this season. Her two year old season saw her pick up a win in the Grade 3 Mazarine BC Stakes, which in turn helped her earn her spot in the BC Juvenile Fillies. After an eighth place finish there, Technomin has been slow to get going as a three year old, with just a win in a TP optional claimer and you know the trainer wants more then that. Chasing the KYO did not go well for KYO, as she would never be a factor in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel or the Grade 2 Gazelle. I would have preferred to see a better work leading up to this race then her recent time.
#7- Vaguely Pink (Wolfs Den, ridden by S R Bahen)- The Pink Panther filly has run in a stake once before, dating back to November when she placed third in the Key Cents. Overall, she won three of six for her prior trainer, La Canada Racehorses. Wolfs Den picked her up in the March auction for the bargain price of $7.780, and raced her twice on the turf in April. She got a pair of third place finishes for her new trainer, but she will return to the main track here to see if she can get back to that form of early in her career. It’s a tough field, so don’t give up on her if she doesn’t factor into this.
#8- I Can Dance (Aml Racing, ridden by P Husbands)- After an early career that saw her run in claimers and lower level allowances for Williams9, she was sold to Aml Racing in private sales for $35.000, and the new trainer has been able to advance her career even further. He was obviously very impressed with the way she ran while winning a $28.000 claimer at SA in March, as her next race would be the Grade 1 SA Oaks. She stepped up to that dance, as even though she finished 6th, it proved the trainer to be correct with his optimism. This is actually a great field, in my opinion, for Aml Racing to see where she might stack up against her peers. She will not be my pick here, but I can definitely see her winning this.
Prediction: 2-4-3-8
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
