November 5, 2015
Holding its traditional spot after the much more sought after BC F&M Turf, the Grade III Long Island Handicap has still attracted its fair share of good winners over the years and on Saturday, one of four fillies or a single mare will add their name to the list, as well as the top prize from its $200.000 purse. Tilt was a rousing winner in 2006 as part of a massive four-race winning streak, Valibert won as the top weight in 2009 to go along with 13 other Graded Stakes victories in her career and last year, it was Volare who won from off the pace in a class drop, after facing the best of her division in the Diana, Beverly D and Flower Bowl. This year, we finally get some Grade I winners looking to add this race to their resume but only one entrant comes in off a win and she has to carry more weight than anyone, adding to the intrigue in a race where 1 ½ miles will certainly take its toll.
1-Copper Piping (Four-year-old chestnut filly / Owner-Diablo Diablo)
Second in the Dowager at KEE and a decent fifth in the Beverly D three starts back, Copper Piping fits with this class level and knows how to handle a route of ground, making her a minor contender with a break in the weights from her top rivals. That one 99-speed rating jumps off the page but at heart, she is really not fast enough on paper to compete and her saving grace will be the distance, where she might be able to close enough to get a minor share.
Analysis-Will enjoy the distance but needs more to win
Fair Odds-8/1
2-Whiskey Wings (Three-year-old black filly / Owner-Team 7 Illusions)
Purchased for $125.000 even without a stakes win to her credit, Whiskey Wings has taken three starts to became a Grade I star and with her win in the Taylor at WO, garnered not only the most weight in the field but arguably, the most attention as well. The addition of a shadow roll might have helped but she has shown a new stalking dimension in her last few races and that will bode well for her here, with the ability to make her own destiny going a marathon distance and prove that she is a force for the F&M Turf division as a four-year-old.
Analysis-Classy filly has certainly improved under new owners
Fair Odds-2/1
3-Risen Queen (Four-year-old chestnut filly / Owner-D J C Racing Stables)
Owner D J C Racing Stables had an excellent BC with a win in the F&M Sprint and a second in the Classic but also dominated Empire Showcase Day at BEL and looks to continue that hot NY streak in the Long Island with Risen Queen, a multiple Grade III winner coming off a tough effort in the very soft Flower Bowl. Third two starts back in the Canadian with a huge 102-speed rating, she is certainly accustomed to going a longer distance and has the class to contend with the favourite, with a four-pound break in the weights the potential catalyst for an upset.
Analysis-Has come through before and could cap off another good season
Fair Odds-4/1
4-Tiz Flirt (Five-year-old black mare / Owner-Scorpion Stables)
Tiz Flirt is the kind of mare who always seems to come up with a big effort in races where other horses come up with even bigger efforts and four straight runner-up finishes going a route of ground, in Grade II and Grade III company, show that she can put on a good show but is not a reliable win candidate. She has been lightly raced all season and always finds a way to run out of ground, or make a move too soon, and she will need to put it all together if she hopes to finally come out on top.
Analysis-Seems to find a way to come out on the losing side of coin
Fair Odds-7/2
5-Golden Broomstick (Three-year-old gray filly / Owner-Drabfantasy)
Owner Drabfantasy struck gold in the 4th Quarter of 2013 when sire Broomstick Nebraska produced not one but three Grade I winning fillies in Juvenile Fillies Turf and F&M Turf champion Broomstick Copy, KY Oaks winner Broomsticks N Booty and Starlet winner Golden Broomstick and now, the latter will try to build on that success but continue the good fortunes of her family here in the Long Island. Fourth in the Flower Bowl but only third while sprinting in the Raven Run, she gets back to the grass at a marathon distance and should be well suited if she gets a pace to chase and can close enough to find the front late.
Analysis-Blue blood pedigree needs to show that on turf
Fair Odds-6/1
Overall
A pair of Grade I winners show great promise in the Long Island Handicap but while one of them won their top class victory last year, Whiskey Wings just won the Taylor in her last and off that effort, will be the favourite here to double-up and end off her season in style. Tiz Flirt has been knocking at the door all year long and should get a good set-up while second-best, with Risen Queen well-meant at this level but a notch below the top runners off three efforts that have not been quite good enough.
Prediction
Win-Whiskey Wings (2/1)
Place-Tiz Flirt (7/2)
Show-Risen Queen (4/1)
Triple T Racing 🙂
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
