The 19th Running of the G1 Derby City Distaff
Saturday, May 7, 2022
CD Race #10 18:50 $750.000
F&M 4+ 122 Lbs 7 Furlongs
Track Record-1:20.69 (Point Break-2005)
Stakes Record-1:21.00 (Avery Island-2012)
The 19th running of the G1 Derby City Distaff drew a field of nine, but Mb Stables scratched Precise Performance after the draw so we will have a field of eight in the gate. The eight older ladies will be going the G1 BC F&M Sprint distance of seven furlongs as they compete for the $750.000 purse. 30west (2007, 2008, 2009) was able to take three consecutive runnings of this event with the same horse and is atop the leaderboard for HRP trainers while three jockeys have ridden two winners each.
This year’s renewal has drawn an exceptional field with six individuals being graded winners and all eight of the runners have black type on their page. Four of the combatants exit the G1 Vinery Madison (1st, 2nd, 4th, and 7th) so we’ll get a good idea of how “live” that race was fairly quickly. Here’s the field for the G1 Derby City Distaff:
#1 Foregone Conclusion (D J C Racing Stables/M. Franco): 4yo filly comes here off of a win over the AQU slop in a $100.000 stake. That was only her second start this season, so she should be fully cranked for this assignment. Filly’s running style should be complimented by the rail draw as she likes to be close to the action from the start. This will be her 11th start in a graded event and a win would be her first against such company. She’s definitely in the best form of her career and another jump could make her live.
#2 Strawberry (Mb Stables/L. Saez): 4th most recently in the aforementioned KEE G1 above where she was only beaten a length after rallying from off of the pace. Have to like the fact that she’s back at this distance given her prior success routing and the options that were available to her, and the scratch of her stablemate after the draw should boost the confidence on her backers. If the KEE try was truly a prep, we may see a little bit better effort here and that may be enough to put her in the winner’s circle. Contender.
#3 Slckmoment Laga (Night Rider Stables/A. Cedillo): 2021 BC F&M Sprint champ got back in the winner’s circle last month at KEE in a performance that is much more indicative of the filly that she is. Hard to find many chinks in her armor as she always seems to bring her race no matter the trip and she has multiple, proven ways that she can win a race like this. It would be no surprise if she starts stringing top-level efforts together and she could be in store for another special season. Strictly the one to beat.
#4 Dialing (Angelos Stable/E. Jaramillo): Yet another that exits the G1 Vinery Madison and, though she finished 7th, she was only beaten a length for all of it. This will be her 5th consecutive start at the seven-panel trip, and she has been right there on the wire in each of the previous tries. This draw shouldn’t be a problem and she’s always going to be in the thick of it when the money is on the line. Already a G2 winner, a G1 win here is definitely within her scope.
#5 Zero Twist (Smokey Stover/J.C. Ferrer): 5yo brought $424.000 via the March private purchase and she just missed in her barn debut at KEE in G1 Vinery Madison. Lass returns here with some familiar faces from that run, and you have to believe the conditioner has a better handle on her and her abilities this time around. She’s another that wants to be mixing it up early so the trip she works out will be interesting to watch. Hard to go against this trainer/jockey combo and she feels like one of the ones in a loaded event.
#6 Starting Over (TwinTowersRacing/D. Davis): Filly had a three-race winning streak snapped as she floundered going the one-turn mile down at GP last time. Prior to that effort, she had three consecutive stakes victories (including back-to-back G3’s). Filly is a dual surface graded winner and handled 12-furlongs on the grass as well as she did 7-furlongs on the main track. The GP effort shouldn’t get anyone off of her bandwagon as that one can be excused as a clunker. Think we’ll see a much better effort this time, and all of the speed in here may set this up for her late kick. Interesting.
#7 Precise Performance (SCRATCHED)
#8 Baptised By Fire (Mo Mentum Farm/S.X. Bridgmohan): 6yo is a poster child for patience as she was claimed for the hefty sums of $2.500 and $3.200 during her sophomore campaign. She’s now a stakes-winner with multiple GS-placings. She’s yet to take a graded event but this one should set-up well for her late punch. Don’t think she passes all of these, but a minor placing is definitely possible. Wouldn’t discount completely.
#9 Smiling Lucy (Nakamura Stables/V.R. Carrasco): 4yo started her season with a G2 victory before latest effort where she had to settle for 3rd in a GP allowance. Third race off of her layoff should be a positive, but she’ll have to do it from this widest draw. Tough to see a trip for her that doesn’t park her at least three-wide but she looks to be better at four than she was at three. She’ll need to be given the race’s dynamics but, if she gets a little lucky with her trip, she should be right there coming down the lane.
Final Analysis: 3-2-5 in a G1 Derby City Distaff that would have no shocking outcomes. Good luck to all of the runners and their connections!
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES
