Brandy's Girl at her best for Crank It Up Stakes
Trainer Edwin T. Broome believes that Brandy’s Girl was on her way to her first open-company stakes win in the Melody of Colors Stakes in February before she clipped heels with another horse and went down near the three-sixteenths pole. Jockey Rafael Hernandez broke several ribs and his collarbone and had to have a kidney removed following the scary spill, but Brandy’s Girl emerged relatively unscathed.
Brandy’s Girl will look to get that first open-company stakes win Saturday at Monmouth Park in the $60,000 Crank It Up Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong turf dash that drew a field of 11 3-year-old fillies, plus one runner on the also-eligible list.
“Rafael was laying on his face, telling his agent, who was right next to me, ‘I hadn’t even let her run yet. We were going to win by a pole,’ ” Broome, who also bred and owns Brandy’s Girl, said of the spill. “It’s been a crazy ride with this filly, but she can run. Right now, she couldn’t be doing better.”
Brandy’s Girl bounced back April 28 with a front-running two-length score in a $62,500 optional claimer on the Gulfstream Park turf, ripping through a half-mile in 42.83 seconds and finishing the five-furlong sprint in a snappy 54.55. The filly earned an 88 Beyer Speed Figure, tying for the highest mark in Saturday’s field.
Key Contenders
Brandy’s Girl, by Posse
Last 3 Beyers: 88-12-65
◗ She is 3 for 6 in her career and beat fellow Florida-breds convincingly in the Juvenile Filly Sprint on the Gulfstream Park West main track in November under Paco Lopez, who gets the mount here.
◗ Broome is 4 for 18 in turf sprints since the start of 2015, with a $3.22 return on investment. When giving a leg up to Lopez during that period, he has a 21 percent strike rate with a $1.64 ROI, though their numbers together at Monmouth are better (29 percent, $2.00 ROI).
Ramblin N Gamblin, by Elusive Quality
Beyers: 60-88-60
◗ She’s won her two turf starts by seven lengths in total and tied for this field’s best Beyer with an impressive first-level allowance win at Gulfstream in March. She finished second last out in an optional claimer that was rained off the turf.
Cowgirl Tough, by Silver Tree
Last 3 Beyers: 67-72-74
◗ She won three consecutive one-mile turf races in Florida this year before finishing 12th of 14 in the 1 1/16-mile Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico last month. She’s raced seven times but has gone this short only once, in her debut.
Tippling Ways, by Scat Daddy
Beyer: 71
◗ Moves up to a stakes after winning her career debut on the Laurel Park turf in April. Trainer Tim Woolley has excellent numbers in the relevant categories.