The Rampart – Grade III
1m Dirt Graded Stake
Purse $100.000 For Fillies And Mares Three Years Old And Upward.

1 Pennies Arindel Zayas E J

Claimed back in April this daughter of Moment Of Madness has been in higher grade since and has shown plenty of improvement to make her competitive in a field like this. A couple of Allowance failures was enough to convince the trainer that she if she was good enough to finish second at that level she was good enough for stakes racing and sure enough her first attempt saw a promising fourth in the DEL oaks. She eventually took her first graded success in The Pine Stakes where she raced on the pace from this very draw to show plenty of determination for a half length win. Since then she has disappointed a little and we are left wondering whether she has found her level. The draw will help her be prominent but i wonder whether she will have the finish to win this.

2 Steady Sneaks John Henry Leparoux J R

This filly has had a busy year as this is her twelfth start but she showed no signs of fatigue in her easy win in the Millions Distaff preview last time out so that may not be a factor. Her two previous starts saw her close up in some hot fillies races and the fact that she has the best draw today should see her right in this.

3 Moon Splash D J C Racing Stables Jaramillo E

A real consistent filly she has been brought along gradually by her trainer and has had plenty of success moving through the grades. She has only been out of the first three once in her career and is happy to run near the pace so we should see her in the race for a long time.

4 Truly Deeply Madly Jive Inc. Corrales G

She has won 5 from 6 this year so is clearly enjoying her racing at the moment. All of those wins have come at a much lower level however so her success needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. A bit of a dark horse in this but i worry she may find the step up too tough.

5 Kalaeloa Smokey Stover Lopez P

This isnt exactly a race brimming with talent so a 1.36 and 2 mile work along with great runs in the CT Oaks and the Chilukki in her last two starts may be good enough to find her as the winner. My big worry for her is that she hasnt handled the wide draws so well so tactics and the race engine may play a huge part in her chances today.

6 Bursting Happy Nittany Lion Juarez N

This has been a great filly for the small time trainer winning 3 of the trainers 4 races ths year. I would love to see her run well and actually her best chances may come thanks to the wide draw. As long as the race engine chooses the wide gate speed push as opposed to the wide gate speed pull she could get a soft lead and as she proved last time she can be an effective front runner.

SUMMARY

If the race engine is kind to her draw then Kalaeloa looks a good chance here. If the AI beats her then i would be looking at Steady Sneaks to get the win.

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES