Rail racer Sweetness ( High Voltage ) definitely found the footing to her liking here at SA as she would hold back in the early fraction of this affair, then make a charge late to get up for her trainers third stakes title of the season. She was joined by her fellow gray filly Sweet Tip Toe ( Estero Farms ) who completed the $!5.60 exacta payout.
- CA Cup Oaks- Purse $200.000
- Santa Anita Park- For Fillies Three Years Old, Foal in CA
- One Mile in Distance- Turf Course
- January 18th, 2020
Saturday’s Sweetness victory for trainer High Voltage made for a productive day at SA, as his stable’s other entry of Royally Bred captured the SSM F/M Turf Sprint one race earlier here, making him a threat for some top sophomore turf events this season. His other runner Holy Iron won a turf affair over at GG as well, making for three of his four season’s victories. It seems obvious to this writer that Sweetness earned some experience coming out of the Gr. III Durante, and definitely needs some distance to put in her best efforts.
While Shake The Stick ( Nakamura Stables ) and stablemate Time Lady would go to battle on the frontend coming off the turn to the backstretch, jockey Van Dyke would take to the back and wait for the right moment to make his move to the front. Post time favorite Sweet Tip Toe would be in a stalking position just a couple lengths off the front duo, with Take The Fifth ( Fractious ) poised to his outside.
As the field hit the top of the stretch, Time Lady had gained the lead away from a now fading entrymate as Sweet Tip Toe split the duo to be placed with her eyes on the wire. Sweetness was still maintaining the rail as she moved into fourth place, with Take The Fifth going widest off the turn.
With just a sixteenth of a mile to race to the line, Sweetness managed to get a head in front of a late charging Sweet Tip Toe, with Time Lady placed between this duo. The two would battle to the line, with Sweetness stopping the ticker in a final time 1:33.92.
So whats next for Sweetness ? Possibly a move back up to the Grade III level and attack the Herecomesthebride event at GP at a mile and a sixteenth, or will she make an unlikely switch to the dirt and try to make a run at the KYO? Only High Voltage knows that answer, so lets wait and see what her future holds.
| ## | Horse Name | Owner Name | Jockey | Odds | Fin | Time | SRF | ||
| 1 | Sweetness | High Voltage | Van Dyke D | 4.60 | 11 | 1:33.92 | 90 | ||
| 2 | Sweet Tip Toe | Estero Farms | Maldonado E | 1.70 | 21/2 | 1:34.14 | 89 | ||
| 4 | Time Lady | Nakamura Stables | Franco G | 2.90 | 3no | 1:34.24 | 88 | ||
| 3 | Take The Fifth | Fractious | Gutierrez Mario | 2.05 | 41 | 1:34.26 | 88 | ||
| 5 | Shake The Stick | Nakamura Stables | Baze T C | 19.50 | 5 | 1:34.50 | 87 |
Track: Firm
Time: :234 :472 1:102 1:334
$2 Mutuel Prices:
| 1 – Sweetness | 11.20 | 4.50 | 2.70 |
| 2 – Sweet Tip Toe | 3.30 | 2.30 | |
| 4 – Time Lady | 2.50 |
$1 Exacta: 1 – 2 Paid 15.60
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 2 – 4 Paid 28.00
Scratched: None
Duffer
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
