The Matchmaker – Grade III
MTH Race #1 1 1/8m Turf Graded Stake
Purse $200.000 For Fillies And Mares Three Years Old And Upward.

1 Always Condottieri Maletto Ferrer J C

This one has drawn the ace in 4 of her last six races and won the grade one Wiley back in April just before the cut off for a 6Lb penalty. That’s pretty lucky so you have to feel that luck happens for a reason and she must be a very good chance in this disappointing field. No-one is quite sure what happened in her last start when she ran a stinker in the NY after starting the hot favorite and finished stone cold last. We have to just put that down to some random occurrence or some terrible mistake by the trainer and if she is anywhere near her grade one winning form this will be a formality.

2 Certain Latte Night Rider Stables Lopez P

After a liftetime on dirt the miracle that happens when you switch surfaces saw this one take the Mount Vernon last time and she gets another go on the turf today. Her works are very strong on the surface so you have to think that after all this time she has decided to like grass and to move from being a sprinter to a router, something may have shifted in her code and that makes her very dangerous from the perfect draw.

3 Fangs Of The Storm Arindel Gutierrez Mario

Coming from the highest rated trainer she qualified for the BC last year where she ran OK to be 7th in the BC Fillies and Mares Turf topping off a very successful three year old season. This year she has been a shade disappointing but was given a confidence booster last time in a competitive overnight at WO and did the business so she may be ready to kick start her year.

4 Zalinda Threshold

Another that was successful last year but has struggled this year she too will be looking for a return to winning form. Despite being given the same instructions she doesn’t seem to be able to run the same race twice which can be a sign of deterioration and the wide gate once again makes it tough for her to run her own race.

SUMMARY

With the only speed seemingly coming from Always Condottieri that horse may well get an easy lead from the draw and be impossible to get by. We are however at HRP so it remains to be seen if one of the other trainers clicks the button and turns their horse into a front runner. It will be cat and mouse and any of these could win on their day.

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES