I'm Already Sexy somewhat suspect contender in Modesty
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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – If you, handicapper, long for a challenge, by all means, start digging into the past performances for the Modesty Handicap.
Fifteen were entered, and 14 can start in the Grade 3, $200,000 Modesty, a 1 3/16-mile grass race for fillies and mares. The morning-line favorite, Tabreed, is a tepid 7-2. The highest-weighted runner totes 117 pounds, the lowest 113. That tells you all you need to know – on paper, at least, the Modesty runners are separated by tiny increments.
Had she come forward from the level she established during the second half of her 3-year-old campaign, I’m Already Sexy might be a defined favorite Saturday. I’m Already Sexy won the listed Hatoof Stakes here by just more than four lengths last summer and came right back to capture the Grade 3 Pucker Up by a little more than four. Her trainer, Wayne Catalano, bristles slightly at the suggestion that I’m Already Sexy’s two starts this year, a sixth in the Distaff Turf Mile and a second in the Mint Julep, indicate that the filly has yet to get back to her best form.[bc_video_id:329745:]
“Her first start, she went 46 and change, too fast, and last time, she was beaten three-quarters of a length,” Catalano said.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Tabreed. Trainer Christophe Clement is 0 for 10 (with only 2 in the money) over the past five years in graded stakes turf routes after a layoff of at least 180 days.Click for more details. – Dan Illman
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Honey Hues, the Mint Julep winner, came back with an Ellis Park stakes win last weekend, while Coffee Clique, who won the Distaff Turf Mile, returned to take the Grade 1 Just a Game. Moreover, I’m Already Sexy is first-time Lasix on Saturday.
“We never had a reason to run on it before. She had a light trickle, so we decided to put her on,” Catalano said.
I’m Already Sexy has post 13 but the speed to mitigate the draw. She might find early company from Maid On a Mission, and the lingering sense remains, despite Catalano’s assertions, that the 4-year-old filly might not have progressed from last year.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 13 I'm Already Sexy. Trainer Wayne Catalano is 3 for 3 with an ROI of $8.73 over the past five years when adding Lasix for turf routes. Click for more details. – Dan Illman
In fact, the 2013 Pucker Up runner-up, Every Way, might be a better bet. Every Way has been first or second in her last five starts and has started beyond 1 1/16 miles only once, though her female family is loaded with stamina influences. She has the pace to take up an ideal tracking position just behind the leaders and could be poised for a breakthrough performance.
White Rose, another 4-year-old, just delivered such a breakthrough. A modest sixth in the three-turn Keertana two races ago, White Rose shortened to nine furlongs in a second-level allowance June 15 at Churchill and won by more than five lengths, going easily through the stretch. She has come back with strong works but must overcome post 14.
Tabreed, in from New York for trainer Christophe Clement, traded decisions with White Rose last year. She makes her first start since November, but long layoffs are of little concern with this outfit.