Final two Finger Lakes stakes for open company

Finger Lakes will host the final two stakes of its season this week – and while most of the track’s fare throughout the season highlights New York-breds, these two open-company stakes are, fittingly, named for statebred champions based at Finger Lakes who ventured beyond to compete in some of the world’s biggest events. Monday’s $40,000 Shesastonecoldfox Stakes, named after the champion New York-bred 2-year-old filly of 2001, is followed by Tuesday’s $40,000 Tin Cup Chalice Stakes, the namesake of which was the state’s outstanding 3-year-old male of 2008.

Shesastonecoldfox won her debut at Saratoga in the summer of 2001, took two stakes at Finger Lakes, then followed by 15 1/2 lengths in the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes for statebred fillies at Belmont. That earned her a shot in the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Belmont, where she led early before fading badly. Shesastonecoldfox was stakes-placed as a 3-year-old before retiring to a broodmare career in which she produced several stakes horses.

The only filly with prior stakes experience in a field of six for this namesake race is Maggy’s Palace. After winning her debut at Finger Lakes, she finished fifth in the Lady Finger – a race Shesastonecoldfox won in her championship campaign.

Sweet Brown Sugar posted a front-running 6 3/4-length debut win Oct. 18 at Finger Lakes. Her Beyer Speed Figure of 69 is the highest in this field. Tomaki also is coming off a dominant maiden win at Finger Lakes – but going two turns, and with only a 39 Beyer Speed Figure.

Rounding out the field are the maiden She She’s Shadow and the debut starters Unbridled Sister and World Bank. In a field mostly made up of in-state horses, She She’s Shadow is the lone horse bred outside of the Empire State, as she was born in Florida.

Tin Cup Chalice won his first seven career starts, including a sweep of the 2008 Big Apple Triple for New York-breds with the Mike Lee, New York Derby, and Albany Stakes. He was second against open company in the Step Nicely at Belmont before winning the Grade 2 Indiana Derby, besting a familiar name in Pyro. He then accepted an invitation to the Grade 1 Japan Cup Dirt that December, to much local fanfare, but finished 13th after racing in a prominent spot early. Tin Cup Chalice died in a training accident the following spring at Finger Lakes.

Appropriately here, New York-bred Ranger Blue is an open-company winner, taking his maiden wire to wire going a mile at Presque Isle Downs with a Beyer of 56, narrowly the best in this field. He is well drawn on the rail in this field to utilize the same front-running tactics. However, he was most recently fifth in the Bertram F. Bongard at Aqueduct, won by El Grande O, one of the leaders of this division. The question will be if he faltered in his first start on a conventional dirt track because of a sloppy track, or if it was simply a stern class awakening.

Enticing Prospect was a debut winner at Finger Lakes with a Beyer of 55. He would like to use similar front-running tactics, but drew widest, in post 7.

Completing the field are Finger Lakes maiden winners Benji Brown and Love That Bird; Mountaineer maiden winner Cruzin for Chaos, a Kentucky-bred; and the maidens Cable Ready and One Witheverything.