The Gamely Stakes (Grade 1)- $300.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
May 26, 2018
A field of five, highlighted by the reigning BC Fillies and Mares Turf Champion, Good Line, will go to post in the 13th running of the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes. At a mile and eighth, this is one of the better tests out there right now for female stars, so while our field lacks in quantity, it certainly has plenty of quality. This could, perhaps, be the race that Mb Stables wins graded stake #500 in, he is just three away, and for some that might take an eternity, but for Mb, it seems like it can be done in a weekend. Last year, Devil Wears Prada got the job done here for Axeman, and while the now seven year old mare hasn’t won since, she is consistently still finishing in the money in top graded events. Here is the field!
#1- Commanding Faith (Crocker Ggs, ridden by E Maldonado)- She has liked this race track, with wins in her last two starts here, coming in the Grade 3 Megahertz and the Grade 2 Buena Vista. After those wins, the trainer sent her out to KEE for the Grade 1 Wiley, and while she was not bad in that race, she will be happy to be back here. In six SA starts, Commanding Faith has three wins and three second place finishes. More then likely then, she should be fine if she is just able to run her race and not worry about the others.
#2- Sandset (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by D E Centeno)- The Cherokee Sunset filly spent much of her two year old season running in her home states of New York, with the NY-bred condition. She turned in some good results in a couple of statebred stakes, but did not win one. Earlier this year, Team 7 moved her onto the grass for the first time, and she’d run third in the Grade 3 FL Oaks. At the beginning of this month, she went wire to wire in winning the Grade 3 Edgewood at CD. If she can build on that, it will mean trouble for the others in this race.
#3- Killer Angels (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R J Albarado)- After chasing a spot in the KYO last year, Killer Angels transitioned to the turf around this time last year, and it started very successfully. In June, she picked up her biggest win to date, capturing the Grade 3 Regret at CD. She would then contest a series of some of the best Grade 1 stakes out there for a female turfer like herself, and finished in spots that earned a check for the trainer, but not a win. Recently, this March, she found her way back to the winners circle when she won the Grade 2 Hillsborough, with a 101 SRF. Wasn’t as good in the Wiley, but still capable of rebounding nicely.
#4- Infrastructure (Our Athletes, ridden by J J Castellano)- The trainer has done a fantastic job with this one, acquiring her for just $20.000 from Heavens Own last August when she was still an unimpressive maiden. Our Athletes put her on the grass, starting running her long, and the result of that is four wins in her last five starts, and that includes coming into this race on a three race winning streak. Those last two starts are graded as well, first coming in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant, and then the Grade 2 Appalachian. She is still lightly raced, and she will enjoy her three pound weight allowance here in what should be an evenly matched race. I think she gets it done.
#5- Good Line (Mb Stables, ridden by L H Colon)- She was one of the trainer’s many winners over BC weekend at DMR, winning the Fillies and Mares Turf, and because of that, she has now eclipsed over $2,000.000 in earnings. This year, things have gotten off to a slower though competitive start, as her only win this year was in an open allowance which was likely just to keep her fresh. In two starts after that, she’s tried to set the pace (which was not always her style), and came up short. Those runs were still strong, however, so I don’t mean to sound like I am sounding an alarm, but its time to see her have a big race this year.
Prediction: 4-2-5-1
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
