The Fox (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies and Mares and Upward
One Mile on the Inner Turf
April 2, 2016
A great day of racing at GP is highlighted by the FL Derby, without question, but there are plenty of big races in the lead up to it as well. It will be a great day to be out at the track, and hopefully the 40% chance of showers does not come to fruition, and we can enjoy the races on fast and firm surfaces. Among these races on the undercard is the 12th running of The Fox, a Grade 2 event for female turf horses wanting to go long, but not too long. The race was not held in 2008, and in the two years that followed, we had two consecutive dead heats for the win! Well, I guess that’s not really a rare thing in our world. Initially, this was a $100.000 race and a grade 3, and when it got an increase in grade, the purse started going up as well. Last year was the first year it ran for $300.000, and it’s good to see that purse level returning. The race will be contested by seven, so let’s take a look at the field.
#1- Zero Hour (Sanny Village, ridden by R J Albarado)- This highly successful Holly Summer mare is a two time graded stake winner, and also has won the ungraded $400.000 HOU Ladies Classic. Her career earnings exceed $700.000, but she did not get started well this year as her only race in 2016, which came off a five-month layoff, saw her finish last in a SA open allowance (in name only, the field was as strong as any ungraded stake). The concern there isn’t the overall finish, as much as it is the 89 SRF she earned for the race. She has been on the turf once before, and she has put together some good work times on the grass coming into it, so she should be expected to be a contender for a win here.
#2- Condottieris Fox (Hawaiian Shirt Guy, ridden by J R Leparoux)– It would be fitting for Condottieris Fox to win The Fox, but she’ll have to earn it on the track instead of by her name. Around this time last year, she began a five-race winning streak in overnight races, two of which were on soft turf. Keep that in mind if that rain shows up. In five off track starts, she has three wins and two second places finishes. She’s had some good second place runs in big races, but her claim to fame at this point is winning the $500.000 Grade 1 QE II Challenge Cup at KEE. She is on a great run of form right now, and might not even need the rain to end up in the winners circle here.
#3- Wild Weather (Downwind Stables, ridden by J Rosario)- The trainer is showing an high degree of confidence in his recent $10.000 private sales purchase (on March 28th), entering her immediately here. She has some experience in graded events, having finished third in the Grade 2 Chilukki last November, but she has not raced at this level since. However, her last three starts have all been here at GP on the grass at similar distances, and she was second in all of them. So really, the surprising aspect is more the low sale price. Downwind Stables certainly will be the victor of that negotiation, and it may start paying big dividends right here. Hopefully, she will be the only wild weather we see on Saturday, though.
#4- Storm Yell (Goforwand, ridden by G Boulanger)- After 20 starts, sixteen of which have seen her finish in the money, Storm Yell is set to make her graded debut after a second place run in the $100.000 Sand Springs last month right here at GP. The details of that race essentially mirror what she will see today. You have to like that she gets in the money, until you notice how many three horse fields she has been a part of. More then likely this race will run quicker then the Sand Spring, so she may need to pick up a notch to have a chance at the win, but she could find herself sneaking into the money again.
#5- Natural Flower (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- Nice to see some foals of the great Barbarino being able to reach this level. Natural Flower has the interesting distinction of being the only stake winner that superstar has been able to produce. However, it has been an impressive flower that he gave seed too, as she has won four graded stakes over the course of her career, highlighted by the recent Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes at SA. She has also twice been a part of BC day, running in the BC Turf Sprint the last two years. A mile seems to be the longest distance that the trainer will have her run, and with her coming off that Buena Vista win at a mile, you really have to like where she is heading into this race. If we run on a firm turf surface, she is the one to beat. In the event of an off track, she is an unknown, having never raced on one.
#6- Spanish Fly (Our Athletes, ridden by J J Castellano)- While you were watching fireworks on the fourth of July, Our Athletes was busy at the ELP claim box and came away with Spanish Fly for just $9.000. The trainer liked what he saw right from the start, and entered her in the $100.000 Riskaverse, and she would be second while having her picture taken with the winner. In her next start, she would win the $75.000 LA-bred Raspberry, which would be a precursor to more good things to come. She hasn’t won a graded stake yet, but has come close in a couple. Most recently, the trainer sent her to an optional claimer (a race in which every entry had stake experience), and she would come away with a win at that SA event. She’ll have a good shot here, but I am not quite going to put her on top. She also has no off track experience.
#7- Last Voyager (Canny Lodge, ridden by J Talamo)- The trainer looks for their second career graded stake victory in what has also proven to be a great claim. In November, Canny Lodge claimed her away from Barcelona Farms after she routed a GG field by nine lengths. Impressed by that result, the trainer put her into the $75.000 Tropical Park Oaks, and she would win in an impressive winning race time. After a couple of graded attempts saw her finish out of the money, Last Voyager was back at the track three weeks ago, and was second in a PRX optional claimer. As long as she is ready to go off of the quick turnaround, she should make her presence felt here.
Prediction (firm turf): 5-3-6-1 (Off track): 2-1-6-7
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
