KD Ladies Turf (Grade 3)- $600.000 Purse
KD- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
September 7, 2019
It’s the biggest weekend of the year at KD, as the race track gets its chance to host some of the best horses in the game with BC implications on the line. There is one automatic qualifier here, and while the KD Ladies Turf is not that race, it allowed the best jockeys in the game to come to track with preference over BEL. In this race, we will have a field of ten going to the gate for a $500.000 purse as the stake runs for just the third time. Last year, the race was won in stunning fashion by Killer Angels, though it proved to be the last hurrah for the TwinTowersRacing filly. Here is a look at this field!
#1- Stormy Embrace (Mb Stables, ridden by E Maldonado)- On the rail, this three year old filly by Decima is coming off a fourth place run in the Grade 1 Beverly D last month. It was the first time she had run on the grass since making her debut. That is a longer race, but she has been working quite well over the last few weeks. The trainer will make any adjustments that is needed. I am preferring others in here, but she can still get a piece of this.
#2- Alligator (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- On the surface, there is nothing really wrong with this four year old, but I can’t overlook her last race. First, she was downgraded quite a bit after winning the Grade 1 Just A Game, into an open allowance at ELP. In that allowance, she ran seventh of eight. What happened? The downgrade could suggest the trainer was concerned about something after the race, and then she came up flat. After some rest, she’s back where she would seem to belong. I have always like this horse but I can’t get around that.
#3- Fomalhaut (John Henry, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This is another horse coming off a disappointing finish, but at least for Fomalhaut, that came in a Grade 1. At SAR, she was flat from start to finish in the Grade 1 Diana. She had been on good form heading into that race, and it includes winning the Grade 2 NY the month prior. She will now have had about two full months off, plenty of time for her to recover from what happened at the Spa.
#4- Nancy Broom Moytoy (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by A Beschizza)- Another horse looking to recover from a disappointing race. For Nancy Broom Moytoy, we can probably disregard what happened in the Grade 1 Beverly D when she tried to wire the field from an outside post, and faded in the stretch. This is a shorter race, and then there is the whole other story about the outside push. I would not be surprised if Team 7 Illusions puts her on the lead here, too.
#5- Festive (Mb Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- A four race winning streak came to an end in herlast start, the new $750.000 SAR Oaks. That’s a longer race, too, and like those to her inside, it was not her best effort. Going back to a mile puts her back in her wheelhouse, and the three year old should recover fine from that last race. Will it mean a return to the winners circle? We shall see.
#6- Bagina (Chili King Stables, ridden by J R Leparoux)- Not one of the better names I’ve seen, and yes, I get what the person naming her was (probably) trying to do. For me, that falls flat on the face here. This unfortunately poor-named filly has shown some talent but will still be making her stake debut and Chili King debut here.
#7- Validation (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by J Lezcano)- Now we get back to better names, and in fact this one has a name that is BC-champion worthy. The five year old mare makes her 28th career start here and hopes for that very elusive first graded win. She has several ungraded $100.000 stake wins, but gets seconditis often when it comes to this level. That was the case in her last start, the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap at DMR.
#8- Sillian (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by L Contreras)- That aforementioned Yellow Ribbon Handicap is also the race that Sillian comes out of, but she as not as strong in it as was Validation. She was fifth there, and two lengths behind the rival she sees here again. In February, she made an impressive jump forward into graded competition in the Grade 2 Buena Vista, but its all been off the board ever since.
#9- La Terrifiant (Our Athletes, ridden by F Geroux)- This four year old filly is a gritty one, and her turf career has become a great success. After running third in the BC Distaff last season, Our Athletes moved her to the grass, and was rewarded right away with a winning performance in the Grade 1 American Oaks at SA. Two races later, she won another Grade 1, this the Grade 1 Wiley at one of the trainer’s favorite tracks, KEE. Her last race, the Grade 1 Diana was not her best, but we’ve said that about a few horses in here, and actually it was better then what others are coming out of. La Terrifiant has shown the ability over time to bounce back from a subpar start, and I feel that happens here again.
#10- Too Much Wisdom- Scratched
#11- Angel Shark (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by D E Centeno)- We don’t have Killer Angels back for this race, but we do have an Angel Shark. This City Of Angels (not the same sire as Killer Angels) filly has won five of nine, with a four race winning streak that saw her rise from the allowance ranks to winning graded stakes. The most recent win came in the Grade 2 San Clemente. Her last race was a second in the Grade 1 DMR Oaks. Now, she makes her third start in six weeks, which should be okay, but it worth a mention. Starting from the outside is also something to never overlook. I like her, but not to win.
Prediction: 9-7-11-4
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
