10/16/22
4 KEE Buffalo Trace Franklin County (GIII)
$300.000 3yo&Up F&M 5 1/2f Turf 3yo 121lbs Older 124lbs
Down to Lexington we go and what a great field of sprinting spinsters we have for the Buffalo Trace Franklin County (GIII), a five and a half furlong sprint stakes on the KEE sod. Maybe it would be easier to make a list of horses I don’t like in this race, but the list would be empty… this is a loaded field and any outcome will be acceptable (except horses getting left in the gate, which is inevitable). I landed on Hollywood Babe as the top selection off of that big win in the field at KD, not to mention she’s six for six on the weeks this year. Let’s give the perfect Loco Motion a big chance today, since she’s never lost a race, to date. Three for three and looks for her first black-type… it’s a tough bunch, but she’s fast. Ace Queen is another fast filly, and the 3yo gets a few pounds as well. She ran a big race to be second in that KD sprint stakes, so she’s sharp. Mb with a three-horse entry and I skipped ’em all… that should tell you how deep this field really is.
Here’s The Field –
Three wins this season and of course Mb Stables always has to be looked at in any race. She won two in a row, then was fifth in the Caress (GIII) and third in the KD Ladies Spring (GIII), so she needs to regain a bit of form, and if so, she could be tough.
Hot dang, pork and beans… she’s a handful. Four wins in a row, six-for seven this season and she should be the one to beat again today. Her only loss was on the main track, so look over that and go get some win tickets.
Another that has won five in a row, but she steps up in class today as those races have been vs. Alw types. Still, she’s sharp, the barn knows what they have and I think she will be in the middle of things when they turn for home.
Four wins in six starts last season, but she’s still looking for her first win of the ’22 campaign. She’s been on the board in five of six, so it’s not that she’s not a big threat… as a matter of fact, being this due for a win, you may want to give her a double look.
Nine wins over the past two seasons and twelve for her career, there’s not a doubt in my mind that she is one heck of a filly, but her last two starts have been a last of nine in the Honorable Miss Hcp (GII) at SAR and a lack-luster eighth in the KD Ladies Spring (GIII). She needs to find that old form.
This 3yo has been very consistent this season, winning five of nine and not missing a check (her “bad” race was a fourth), and that runner-up finish in the KD Ladies Sprint proved she can run with the best of them. I’d make sure to keep her in mind when you head to the windows.
Only five starts this season, and she’s won two of those, but she did most of her damage early in the season… showing a seventh in the Lake George (GIII) and a sixth in the Lake Placid, both at SAR, her last two starts. She needs to turn it around.
The big barn picks this one up for $285.000, and goes right into the deep end of the pool looking to recoup some of the investment. She’s won five of seven this year, so she certainly has form, and that runner-up effort in the Caress (GIII) at SAR says she may be in the mix.
She’s done everything right thus far, three trip to the gate, three pictures taken, so it’s up the ladder looking for her first stakes score. I like the way she got in done in that OptAlw win at DMR… she’ has speed!
Two wins this season, but those were her first two starts of the year. Still, she’s been close in every start and was passing horses late in her KD Ladies Sprint (GIII) fourth place effort, last out. She may be overlooked here, and that could be a bad bad mistake.
Third part of the 3-headed Mb Stables dragon and although her only ’22 win came back in Mar, she’s been close every time the send her over to the gate. I love a horse that is due for a win and she may fit that description.
COZMAN 2 / 9 / 6 Willie’s Green Card 8 / 7
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
