The Gazelle – Grade III [KYO]
AQU Race #4 1 1/8m Dirt Graded Stake
Purse $250.000 For Fillies Three Years Old.
1 Dem Say Night Rider Stables Cancel E
Comes here for a crack after two good runs so far this year albeit at lower grade. She kept on pretty well last time in one win allowance company over a mile so the trip shouldn’t be a problem but the step up in grade may well be. She gets the ace draw which will certainly help to level the playing field and she has worked well enough to have a go but so far you would have to say there hasn’t been enough to give her a winning chance.
2 Break From Holly Nakamura Stables Carrasco V R
Took the Princess Elizabeth last year and then ran a fine third in the Demoiselle but failed to back that form up in her last start of the year at overnight level. She started off the year with a fine third from a terrible draw in the Sweetest Chant but then ran a bit lack lustre last time in the Davona Dale. Whether it is inconsistency or a lack of speed that is holding her back i don’t know but she is proven at this level and has the perfect draw to get some of this. The trainer has been in fine form these past couple of seasons and she must be one of the favorites to win.
3 Top Billing Smokey Stover Alvarado J
Only five starts but this filly certainly has the look of a KYO sort. Her first go at this sort of level came in the Alexandra Stakes where for some reason she was taken way back off a fairly average pace and struggled to make up much ground at the end. I think that may have been a bit of an anomaly because last time out she went up on the pace to score a win in an overnight at GP so i don’t think we will see a bad start and a repeat of that Alexandra run today. Her works are very solid and her trainer is on song, a winning chance.
4 Lucky Insist Rock Creek Murphy Ci
Dead heated with Break From Holly in the Demoiselle last year and is very comparable with that filly both in works and form. She began the year with a strong win in the Busanda but then disappointed a little in the Honeybee last time when getting back off a slow pace and never making any ground. She is certainly in this race with a chance but she has yet to really settle on an effective racing style and she would have to get the right race shape to have a winning chance.
5 Secret Eyes Arindel Court J K
Well there are few trainers that have had the form this stable has been in recently and this could be another big success for the up and coming stable. The winner of the Frizette last year she got a rotten draw in the BC Juvenile Fillies and understandably ran poorly. She soon bounced back to take the grade one Starlet and was one of the few two year olds heading into 2021 with two or more grade one wins. Her first start of the year came in the Alexandra where she got back and made ground off a funny pace but she bounced back in the FG Oaks last time to be a one length fourth.
Her works have been just OK this year but she has class a plenty and must come into reckoning as one of the favorites.
6 Steppin Out Mb Stables Ortiz J L
Mb Stables has never had a better chance of sweeping both the KYO and the KYD and has been so dominant that even this maiden must be considered a winning chance. Second on debut at the end of last year she has run twice this year running a cracker last time in the Honeybee to be fourth. Her works are pretty much the best in the race so it is easy to get enthusiastic about her breaking her maiden here but we must not forget that she still hasn’t got in the top three beyond maiden level.
7 Mafia Sharis Stables Castellano J J
A consistent filly that gets a crack at the big time today and there is no reason apart from a sticky draw that she shouldn’t put in a bold show. She was a game winner of the Ruthless and has always run like this sort of trip will suit her so with some luck in running she could be a factor.
8 Are You Ready Team 7 Illusions Saez L
Despite a pretty awful run in the Santa Ysabel Stakes last time you write this stables fillies off at your peril so it pays to take notice of this one even with a really tough draw. She ran on from a bad draw to be beaten less than a length in the Busandra the time before so clearly will love this trip and her works say she is right in this.
9 Bronx Belle Arindel Franco M
The second filly from the yard she is a real consistent sort but with this draw may be the one that is used to ensure a good pace for her stable companion. A nose behind Mafia in the Ruthless she is never far away but has yet to prove herself at this sort of level.
SUMMARY
An interesting race with the Mb Stables maiden going but i am still to be convinced a maiden can beat some of the more established runners so i am going for Top Billing despite Steppin Out having superior works. Secret Eyes and Break From Holly are certainly big chances too and i would be boxing those four up for the trifecta.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
