Filly stares down boys in futurity

Chief Officer has an excellent chance to join the short list of fillies who have won Finger Lakes's oldest and richest stakes.

A Bill Mott-trained daughter of Officer, Chief Officer figures to be a short price in Monday's $250,518 New York Breeders' Futurity for statebred juveniles at six furlongs.

First run in 1963, the futurity has been won by a filly nine times, most recently Mother's Sacrifice in 2003.

In her most recent start 2 1/2 weeks ago, Chief Officer cruised to a 6 1/4-length win in the Lady Fingers. Her 78 Beyer Speed Figure matched the number she earned for her maiden victory in late June at Belmont Park. That figure is also 11 points higher than any of her seven opponents in the futurity has ever run, and it would have been good enough to win three of the last five runnings of the futurity, including the win by Mother's Sacrifice and another filly, Shesastonecoldfox, in 2001.

Francisco Jara will come in from Saratoga to ride Chief Officer for the first time.

The second-fastest horse in the field is Endless Circle, who shipped in from Saratoga to win his maiden locally in the $127,000 Aspirant on Aug. 19. Running one race before Chief Officer on that day's card, Endless Circle ran nearly a second slower.

Solid Strike, the beaten odds-on favorite in the Aspirant, and Tomorrow the World, distant runner-up to Endless Circle in that stakes, could improve with cleaner trips.

Solid Strike, a wire-to-wire winner of his career debut at Belmont on July 3, broke slowly and tried to duck in at the start of the Aspirant. Since then, he has worked a five-furlong bullet in 1:00.80 for trainer Gary Contessa at Saratoga.

Tomorrow the World, a locally based colt, easily won his first start Aug. 7 and showed courage when he overcame a stumble at the start of the Aspirant to finish second.

* Following a two-race experiment on turf, No Reason returns to her preferred surface in the $75,000 New York Oaks. A 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies, the New York Oaks goes as race 8 on the card.

After winning back-to-back statebred stakes on dirt downstate, No Reason regressed badly when tried on turf in a pair of stakes at Monmouth and Saratoga. Her form is far better on the main track.

No Reason's competition in the New York Oaks includes Towering Escape, who beat statebreds by 21 3/4 lengths in the mud last time out at Belmont, and Fly to Me, a decisive winner over open second-level allowance company locally three weeks ago.