9/26/2020

  11  SA    Rodeo Drive Stakes (GI) [BC]
         $300.000      3yoF&Up        1 1/4m  Turf          3yo 12lbs  Older 124lbs

This job is a lot easier when you write the correct race…  and what a race we have here, a nice group of females going the classic mile and a quarter on the lush SA turf course and we look at the field for the 2020 Rodeo Drive Stakes (GI).  I’m probably getting rather chalky today but I can’t get past Too Scared To Party… man is she a tough race mare.  She has three graded wins on the year, two in a row and just seems to be lights-out right now.  I’ll drop down to the rail and put Maggie Greene in the second spot.  I’ll excuse that last out where she just really didn’t get in the thick of things, but she’s got a ton of money in the bank and those come from winning.  Ete Creek is another that looks good and she broke out in her last race taking the DMR Oaks at 10/1 odds.  It’s a solid group of turf females and should be a good one to take in. 

Here’s The Field –

Had a two race win-streak snapped back in the summer and it’s been a third and a sixth in her last two starts, all of those vs. graded horses.  This mare is a tough nut and she has twelve wins and $2,225.000 in the bank… you don’t need to know much more… she’s tough – and the defending champ of this race.  

Big win for this one last out taking the DMR Oaks (GI) by a nose to get her biggest win to date.  She has a pair of wins, a pair of seconds and a third from seven 2020 starts, so you know she can be tough vs. any type.

Another that has been very consistent this season, showing three wins and a pair of seconds from eight starts and she had a good couple of races at SAR prior to this one, winning the Waya (GIII) and a runner-up finish in the Great Falls (GII) after doing all of the heavy lifting.  She likes to show her speed and play catch me if you can.

Was third in the fore-mentioned Great Falls (GII) only beaten a length as the post time favorite.  She’s gone a few races without a win, the last coming in Feb, but that was over this track so maybe the home-cooking does her well.

Only two starts this season and she’s coming back from a lengthy vacation.  Her last start was a third at GP back in Mar, and her other seasonal start was over that same course… another third.  She shows eight lifetime wins from only nineteen starts, so she can run. 

Didn’t show much on that soft AP turf when ninth in the Beverly D (GI) but she won the Lake Placid (GII) prior to that one, so let’s guess that was due to the footing and maybe she can bounce back in a big way here.  

She was third last out in the DMR Oaks (GI) and won The Wonder Again (GIII) three back going wire to wire in that one.  She has some speed and it will be interesting to see what the tactics are for this one here today. 

Three wins in a row and she looks pretty sharp right now.  Two of those were at The Spa and the other was here in SoCal at DMR, but this is graded company so she will need to tie the laces tight today if she want to run with these. 

 – Scratch –

Seven starts this year and she’s still looking for her first win.  She’s been second a couple of times, but that was earlier in the year but was third in the RGD (GIII) at DEL prior to that tiring next-to-last finish in the Beverly D (GI).  I don’t think she likes it wet, but this is a tough spot either way.

Sold for a big price after that two-length win at DEL in the RGD (GIII) and paid immediate dividends taking the SAR Oaks in her first start for the new connections.  This looks like another spot where she can be a tough cookie and I think she’s probably the one to get past. 

Back to back wins for this tough filly and she looked good winning the Pucker Up (GIII) over a soft AP turf course.  She’s lightly raced but has four wins from nine starts, really never missed a check and other than the post position, there’s not much to get down on her about.  Can she make a splash here?

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES