Yellow Ribbon Handicap (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
DMR- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
August 3, 2019
The Yellow Ribbon Handicap is a modest Grade 2 for fillies and mares on the grass that draws a field of six for this years running. The most successful trainer in this race is Threshold, and no, he didn’t beg me to include that in this preview. He won the race in both 2013 and 2015, which were consecutive editions as the race was not held in 2014. His winners were the late Classic Fusion and Three Little Birds. He will not have an entry in this field. Last year, we saw gritty veteran Devil Wears Prada win the race at the young age of seven. She’s still been competitive, but is not here to defend her title. Now, let’s take a look at those who will be looking to add their name to list the winners!
#1- Too Much Wisdom (Mb Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- That list of past winners is missing Mb Stables, something you don’t see much of anymore. If that will change then Too Much Wisdom is going to have to successfully covert herself to the grass in her turf debut. She’s been running well on the main track, including second in the Grade 1 La Troienne three months ago. This makes her a surprising entry here, but there is no denying that it is well calculated by the trainer. I’ll have to see it, first.
#2- Upper Darby (Chili King Stables, ridden by Ru Fuentes)- She has done a good job hitting the board in some small fields lately, but none of them resulted in a trip to the winners circle after the race. This is her graded debut, and her only ungraded try was a disappointment. She has won twice, her maiden, and in a $50.000 claimer. Chili King has surprised me in the past, and he has always been good on the grass, but Upper Darby will probably be a longshot.
#3- Smart Queen (Night Rider Stables, ridden by F Prat)- Since being claimed by Night Rider, Smart Queen has only been seen in sprints on the main track, and has been successful to an extent. Prior to the claim, she had quite a bit of experience in races just like this one, so she’s proven she can win with these conditions, it’s just that those wins are mostly at lower levels. Like the first two, she could pull it off, but it’s hard to throw a lot of support behind her.
#4- Twinny (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Maldonado)- The first three in this field all seemed to have a little something about the race that makes them hard to predict. That’s not the case with Twinny. She is brought here by the king of the turf, and comes into this race off a win in the Grade 3 Penny Memorial Handicap, a race with identical conditions. That win makes her one of the higher weights, but only by two pounds, and I don’t think that’s enough to bring her down. Just hope that the Twinny that ran in the Appleton doesn’t show up.
#5- Sillian (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by N Arroyo Jr)- This is the high weight in the field, but in carrying 121 pounds, it is something that she should be able to overcome. Her last two races have seen her struggle, and she has defeated a combined one horse between the two of them. In Feburary, though, she lit up the board as a 71/1 longshot in the Grade 2 Buena Vista, and she will need to get back to that in order to have a shot here.
#6- Validation (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by V Espinoza)- She ran in the Yellow Ribbon Handicap last year, and finished second. She won’t be able to get revenge on Devil Wears Prada, but there is no reason to think that she cannot do one spot better here. Lately, she is on excellent form, winning three of her last four, two of which were ungraded stakes. The Cherokee Sunset mare has only attempted one graded stake since last year’s second place finish. Figures to hit the board here.
Prediction: 4-6-1-3
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
