Autumn Miss post will allow Cairo Memories to settle early

ARCADIA, Calif. – Draw an outside post in a two-turn turf mile and kiss your chances goodbye. Unless you are the filly Cairo Memories and your trainer is Bob Hess Jr.

Cairo Memories drew post 10 in the Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, and Hess was thrilled even though the race for 3-year-old fillies is a mile on turf.

“I’m fine with that,” Hess said, regarding post 10. “I like that.”

The trainer’s reasoning is valid. Cairo Memories broke from an inside post in both recent starts in Grade 1 races, which forced her hand. Jockey Mike Smith had no option except to let Cairo Memories roll early. She paid the price late.

“We’ve been hounded from the outside the last couple races,” Hess said. “Maybe she wasn’t good enough, but Mike felt she could have been second [in the Del Mar Oaks].”

Cairo Memories drops in class Saturday following her Del Mar third and Belmont Oaks fifth. A three-time stakes winner and class of the Autumn Miss, Cairo Memories could land a perfect trip Saturday. Her tactical speed gives Smith the option to position her third in the clear, while Pammy’s Ready and Gracelund Gray contest the pace.

:: Get ready for Santa Anita racing with DRF PPs, Clocker Reports, Picks, and more. Shop Now.

Cairo Memories, 3 for 3 on Santa Anita turf, is the likely favorite in the Autumn Miss, the final race on a card with seven stakes. A half-hour earlier in race 9, Amy C and Connie Swingle will vie for favoritism in the $100,000 Senator Ken Maddy Stakes for filly-mare turf sprinters on the downhill course.

Although Cairo Memories is entered in the Fasig-Tipton November sale in Kentucky, she is expected to be withdrawn and continue to campaign through 2023. Her nine-start career includes three stakes wins and $418,500. The Autumn Miss is a race she should win.

“She’s a really good filly, she’s run her ass off,” Hess said. “Is she Grade 1? Hopefully down the line. We’re going to go forward and hopefully springboard this race into the American Oaks.”

The Grade 1 American Oaks is Dec. 26 at Santa Anita.

The main rival for Cairo Memories might be Rhea Moon, whose recent improvement coincides with a change in style. Last out at Del Mar, Rhea Moon was rated early and uncorked a 22.47 final quarter for an impressive win in a first-level allowance turf mile.

“That was the filly we thought we bought [in Europe],” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “I think maybe we had her a little too close to the pace in her previous races.”

Rhea Moon’s rider is Juan Hernandez.

Others in the 12-runner field include European import Nadette, Grade 3 winner Tezzaray, stakes winner Lucky Girl, and stakes-placed Helens Well and Golden Dragon Queen.

◗ D’Amato starts the principals in the $100,000 Maddy. They are 3-year-old Connie Swingle and late-running 4-year-old Amy C, whose style gives her the advantage over a hillside course conducive to late-runners. Freedom Flyer and Royal Address also entered.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.