Cash Back is speedy but light on experience in Melody of Colors
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – According to her Beyer Speed Figures, Cash Back is the fastest filly in Saturday’s $75,000 Melody of Colors Stakes at Gulfstream Park. But she is also the least-experienced member of the field, with only two starts under her belt, and therein lies the dilemma for those trying to select a winner in the five-furlong turf dash that drew a field of eight, including three supplementary entrants.
Cash Back won both of her previous outings going 5 1/2 furlongs over the turf at Fair Grounds, a maiden special weight dash Dec. 3 and an entry-level optional claimer six weeks later. Trainer Brad Cox has worked the well-bred daughter of Congrats four times since her last start in preparation for Saturday’s stakes debut.
“She’s really thriving right now, and we expect a big effort out of her,” said Cox. “She’s got a lot of natural speed, and she definitely has moved forward since her last race.”
Trainer Ralph Nicks will counter the Louisiana invader with Kandoo and More Royalty.
Kandoo is coming off a second-place finish in the OBS Sprint, where she was beaten a half-length by Social Butterfly after contesting all the pace. She also was third after showing speed in Tampa Bay Downs’s Sandpiper Stakes in her 2-year-old finale. Kandoo won her only previous start on grass, a first-level optional-claiming dash by 2 1/4 lengths last fall at Gulfstream Park West.
“She did everything but win last time and handled the [synthetic surface] well,” Nicks said, referring to Kandoo’s effort on Safetrack at the Ocala Training Center. “She’s already won on grass, and I think she’s a five-, 5 1/2-furlong type of horse.”
More Royalty is 2 for 2 on grass but has not started since winning an entry-level optional-claiming race here Sept. 20. Nicks said he gave More Royalty some time off “to let her grow a little” following her most recent win and that she’s been training well for her return.
My Dear Venezuela is a question mark in her turf debut. She finished second in the Grade 3 Old Hat here in her 3-year-old debut Jan. 2.
Hi Holiday is the lone stakes winner in the field, but that victory came on dirt in Monmouth Park’s Sorority on Sept. 6.
Dad’s Kiddo finished a tiring fourth in the Old Hat, and like My Dear Venezuela and Hi Holiday, she will make her turf debut Saturday.
KEY CONTENDERS
Cash Back, by Congrats
Beyers: 83-78
◗ She is easily the best-bred member of the field. Her dam, Hidden Assets, was a Grade 3 winner who has produced four stakes winners, including Good Deed, a five-time stakes winner who finished a troubled second as the favorite over this course in the 2015 Ladies Turf Sprint.
Kandoo, by Kantharos
Last 3 Beyers: 65-56-68
◗ She handed More Royalty her only loss, registering a 5 3/4-length victory when both launched their careers in a maiden special weight dash over the main track here last summer.