Asternia, Itzel likely to play cat and mouse on lead
?q=100)
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Asternia is quite quick and might have a chance to shake free at the start of Friday’s ninth race allowance at Oaklawn Park, but if Southern California speedster Itzel also seeks the front, Asternia could adopt different tactics.
The race, which carries an optional-claiming price of $62,500, drew nine. The field includes stakes winners Tx Women for Arts, Sweet Alyssa, and Midshipman’s Dance.
Asternia, who is a stakes winner, will start from post 3 in her 4-year-old debut. Itzel, who is stakes-placed on turf, will break from post 9 under apprentice Tyler Bacon.
Cristian Torres has the mount on Asternia.
“She’ll be up pressing the pace, I’m sure,” said Randy Morse, who trains Asternia. “I’m not worried about her, what she does on the backside. I want her finishing down the lane is the main thing.
“She’s kind of getting where she’ll relax a little bit more as she’s getting older, so if [Itzel] wants to really go, just let her go. I wish we were on the outside and she was on the inside, but . . .
Asternia is moving back to the six-furlong distance of her win in last year’s Purple Martin Stakes at Oaklawn. She also is returning to the overnight ranks after finishing a close fourth last out in the Poinsettia on Dec. 21 here. She raced on the pace in the 5 1/2-furlong stakes won by Grade 2 winner Spirit Wind.
“I think she got a little tired,” Morse said. “The track was maybe not favoring speed all that much that day, either.”
Asternia is a daughter of the Medaglia d’Oro stallion Astern. She races for Morse and partners Randy Patterson and Sam M. Vogel. Asternia owns the field’s best last-race Beyer Speed Figure of 84.
“She’s a pretty good filly,” said Morse. “She’s growing up.”
Itzel is a 5-year-old mare whose two career wins have come wire to wire in turf sprints in Southern California. She made a rare appearance on dirt last out and set a quick pace in a Los Alamitos allowance over 6 1/2 furlongs before finishing seventh on Dec. 14. Since the start, Itzel has worked a bullet five furlongs over the Oaklawn surface in 1:00.24 on Jan. 24. Peter Miller trains the Texas-bred by Mo Town for Gary Barber.
Dealing Justice could settle into a tracking spot behind Asternia and Itzel, as could Tx Women for Arts. A strong pace could set the table for a handful of runners in the field, among them Turfway Park allowance winner Marmalade Sky and another shipper from the same track in Lure’em In. Midshipman’s Dance won the Mockingbird at six furlongs with a closing rush last season here.
The competitive field also includes Titled Lady, who has tactical speed. She is coming off a first-level allowance win Dec. 27. Ramon Vazquez has the mount from post 4 for trainer Mike Maker.
Sweet Alyssa, who breaks from the rail, won the Opelousas Stakes at a mile on dirt at Evangeline Downs last July. She is moving back to dirt Friday following a fourth-place finish in a turf sprint allowance at Fair Grounds that served as her first out since October.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.