The Suncoast Stakes (KYO)- $150.000 Purse
TAM- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and Seventy Yards on the Dirt
February 8, 2020
The Suncoast Stakes may be an ungraded race, but there is plenty of reason to be excited about it, as it goes to post for the 16th in its history. It started out small with its purse, only being offered $75.000 in the earlier years with it naturally being increased in the year after I actually won it. Now, there are 10 KYO points on the line for the winner, and that is the main incentive for the majority of these trainers. This is a great race for up and coming fillies who are trying to get their feet wet in the KYO trail, and that sums up most of our runners here on Saturday. Last year, this race was won by Z Command, who of course went on to win the BC Distaff. That said, she didn’t come into the Suncoast as an unknown commodity, having run third in the BC Juvenile Fillies a couple months prior. We have a field of nine ready to go here, with a third of them being out of Mb Stables, a trainer looking to win the race for the fourth time. Let’s meet the runners!
#1- Amoureux (Estero Farms, ridden by E J Wilson)- A lightly raced filly, making just the fourth start of her career. The trainer has always held her in high regard though, buying her unraced for $125.020 in the September 2019 auction. She comes here off of her maiden win, which was a smaller field. Speed figure could have been better in that win, but the field did not make her run harder. Jockey E J Wilson has struggled early this meet, with just one win in 23 starts as of press time.
#2- Latte Lady (Mb Stables, ridden by G Saez)- Acquired for $50.000 in a November 2019 private sale after racing for small, if any, purse money. With Mb Stables, she has been able to pick herself up to increased level of competition, and won an optional claimer at SA in her last start last month. Working as good as anyone in this field, and this race is going to really tell the tale of what kind of horse she is because the past pre-sale races don’t do much for that.
#3- Starship Viking (Mb Stables, ridden by J Talamo)- No, Mb Stables is not content just to relax with his one superstar in this division, not that we should have expected him too. Starship Viking has won three of five, with the last two being back to back allowance victories. I like how she looked in her most recent run at FG. Jockey J Talamo is another who is struggling a bit right now as of press time at TAM, but a rider of his caliber should get that turned around.
#4- Lorena West (Tiratzo, ridden by C J Lanerie)- Despite failing to break her maiden the traditional way, the trainer put her in the Grade 2 Demoiselle, and she ran like maidens usually do in those races, and not one of the rare ones that may win. The experience helped, because she won her next start, back in a MSW. Now that she knows how to win a race, she hopes to repeat that performance here. This is an important race for her.
#5- Maui Underworld (Lazy Lizard, ridden by C Landeros)- The filly returns to the track for the first time after finishing sixth in the Golden Rod at CD in late November. She went into the race with a consecutive wins at GG but had a flat looking race by how the race line looks. Seems as though she likes to come from well off the pace, and it does not look like we have many in here that will also be trying to do that.
#6- Tamalpais (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Our final runner from Mb Stables for this race, and it’s one that has been running well. Tamalpais was picked up by the trainer, unraced, in the September auction for just $19.010, and has gone on to win three of her first four races. Mostly recently, she won a race here at seven furlongs a couple days after Christmas. Her best races seem to be the ones where she has run over a mile, so expect her to be a factor here.
#7- Local Glitter (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by M J Sanchez)- In terms of history in running at the stake level, there is no one in here that is close to what Local Glitter has done thus far. She has been a regular running in NY-bred stakes, and while she has not won any, she’s hit the board in two of three. She missed out in her last one, the $500.000 Fifth Avenue, where he was a distant seventh. Hopefully the trainer knows why that happened, because her form was very good before, and she seems like a good choice in this race.
#8- Zero Twist (John Henry, ridden by J R Leparoux)- It will be just the fourth career start for this Zero Return filly, and she will be looking to make it her third win. She is the only horse in this field that has won a stake, doing that in the $75.000 down the highway at GP. That victory earned her a 92 SRF. This is the first time she has run over a mile, but she is well conformed and should have no problem with it.
#9- Queen Of Clubs (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A T Gryder)- A winner of one race in her first starts. After breaking her maiden, she attempted an allowance here at this exact distance, and was passed late to finish fifth. The trainer has had a little over a month to try and fix that so that she finish the race out like she did at DMR before that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she ran with a new tactic here.
Prediction: 7-3-8-2
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
