NY Stallion Series- Liberty ($100.000 Purse)
SAR- For Three Year Olds Foaled in NY
One Mile on the Inner Turf
August 13, 2015
The New York Stallion Series heads to fabulous Saratoga on Thursday with the tenth running of the Libery Stakes. It’s an ungraded event, but don’t let that fool you as these Stallion Series races are always very competitive. The most successful winner of this race came in 2012 with Jimmies Fivepeat, who is just ten bucks shy over $1,000.000 over her still active career. The now six year old mare, named in honor of Jimmie Johnson’s five consecutive NASCAR titles (see I know this because I named her myself, after all) has certainly had a career worthy of association with the champion. Last year, Princess Mandy raced to victory, part of a great 2014 season for the Night Rider Stables filly. Serenity Stables is the only trainer to win the stake more then once, doing so in 2007 and 2013. K Desormeaux and E Prado are tied on the jockey leaderboard with two winners apiece. We have a field of seven going to the gate, so let’s meet our runners!
#1- How Funny (Australia Wide, ridden by J Alvarado)- The legendary trainer showed his nose for talent, picking this filly up for a $7.500 claiming tag at LS in May. How Funny didn’t show much early in her career, but won her last two races prior to being claimed. Australia Wide wasted no time showing his confidence in the filly and put her in the $125.000 Mount Vernon just two weeks later! While she didn’t win the race, her third place finish and 95 SRF (career high had been 85 before that) certainly opened up some eyes. Note that the Mount Vernon winner, Raquette Lake, is in this field as well. Now, with some time to prepare his horse for her next race, How Funny comes to Saratoga hoping to build on that. She may have to show a little more improvement here to win the race, but you have to feel confident that she may do exactly that.
#2- Bombshell (Second Chance Farms, ridden by J Leparoux)- This filly by the late Kings Jester seems to be in the best form of her career to date right now. She has won her last two, including the $100.000 Wild Applause at BEL last month in impressive fashion, earning a 94 SRF figure. She has tried running in a graded event once, and finished sixth. It after that attempt where she won her next two. This will be a tough race, but if she is at her best, I believe that she has it in her to win and get back into graded competition. It’s possible that this race might suit her running style to a tee as it’s possible we could see some quicker then average fractions. Bombshell fired off a bullet in her last work at six furlongs, coming almost a month ago at DMR.
#3- Angelinas Bankroll (Night Rider Stables, ridden by E Trujillo)- In an effort to win his second consecutive Liberty Stakes, Night Rider Stables brings Angelinas Bankroll to the starting gate. More then likely though, she will be a longshot on raceday. It took her some time to break her maiden, needing six starts to do it. She was put in a $32.000 claimer after that win, and showed us nothing. Then, in late June, on soft turf at 67/1, she finished 2nd in a four-horse NY-bred N1X allowance. Her career best SRF came in that race, an 88, and she’s going to need to find a way to get that to the mid-90’s, at least, to win here.
#4- Fem Fatale (Hambletonian Stable, ridden by J L Ortiz)- Purchased by the current trainer from D J C Racing Stables in the March auction, this filly has come to life for Hambletonian Stable. She had shown the potential early in her career to do what she is doing now, but at the current time Fem Fatale is in great form while running in New York State. Running only in New York bred races for her last six, Fem Fatale has put together a (6-3-2-0) stretch with those wins coming in her last three races. On Thursday, she is promoted to the NY Stallion Series, and I like her chances tremendously. Fem Fatale is working well and is ready to roll.
#5- Shadowlass (Canadian Racing, ridden by J R Velazquez)- In vintage Canadian Racing style, this filly is still rather lightly raced. She did not break her maiden until her fourth start, but she had shown the potential to be a good racehorse well before that. Kudos to the trainer for letting her to develop as she has, because after she won for the first time, she was excellent over yielding BEL turf last month, putting together a 96 SRF. What I really like about her though is how she is working coming into this race with recent seven furlong works, plus her running style, if she comes from off the pace again could loom large here. Note that she will not wear the blinkers, as of press time, that she had on in her prior start.
#6- Raquette Lake (Night Mare Racing, ridden by J Rosario)- This Pink Panther filly has had some big races in her career, she just has not been able to do it consistently. Two races back, she was victorious in the $125.000 Mount Vernon, topping How Funny and two others in the process. Then, the trainer tried to move her up into the Grade 1 BEL Oaks, which proved to be too much for her as she finished ninth, and six lengths back. A try on the dirt in April also did not go well, but she had some good turf runs prior to that. She’s run a mile on the turf in the low 1:33’s before, and if she does that again, then it will be a long day for everyone else. However, I just don’t see that happening here. Her works are also a little inconsistent, with her most recent one being a second slower at six furlongs then the one prior. On her best day, Raquette Lake could be the class of the field, but I shy away from picking inconsistent horses.
#7- Grey Wind (Drabfantasy, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Like Raquette Lake, Grey Wind is also by Pink Panther. Back in May, Drabfantasy purchased the filly in private sales for $80.00, and has put her on the dirt for NY bred races in her last three starts, with the highlight being a second place run in the Arctic Queen Stakes at FL just a couple weeks ago. In that, she topped 2012 winner Jimmies Fivepeat, that we mentioned in the opening. With a quick two week turnaround, Grey Wind returns to the turf, where she had run regularly for Night Mare Stables before that. If she is ready to go, then she can be in the mix here, but I am looking elsewhere.
Prediction: 5-2-4-1
— NS
Categories: Ungraded
