Katie M'lady concedes weight, deals with stablemate in Peach of It
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Turf or dirt, open company or Illinois-breds, nothing has stood between Katie M’lady and the Hawthorne winner’s circle during 2023, and even a demanding weight assignment probably won’t get her beat Thursday in the $75,000 Peach of It Handicap.
Katie M’lady was one of six older Illinois-bred fillies and mares entered in the Peach of It, a 1 1/16-mile dirt race. Her main rival is Journeyist, also a Michele Boyce-trained stablemate, though Katie M’lady’s stiffest challenge probably is the 126 pounds she must carry in the Peach of It.
That’s three pounds more than Katie M’lady ever has been assigned during her 12-start career. Under 123 pounds, she won the Indian Maid Handicap against Illinois-breds by 5 1/2 lengths on July 5, a performance that revealed the mare as a dual-surface threat. The Indian Maid was rained onto dirt after being carded for turf and was the first time Katie M’lady had raced in a dirt route. The 86 Beyer Speed Figure her victory produced stood as a career best for the 5-year-old until Katie M’lady matched it beating open company on turf in the Aug. 10 Romacaca, which she won by more than four lengths.
Thursday, Katie M’lady concedes between seven and 12 pounds to her rivals, consequential, especially since the mare returns to action just three weeks after posting a second straight peak performance. Listed at 4-5 on the track’s morning line, Katie M’lady, under regular rider Julio Felix, should go to the front from post 2.
Boyce, who is part of the ownership group that bred Katie M’lady, surely won’t compromise herself in the Peach of It, but Journeyist does have a front-running style like Katie M’lady’s.
Journeyist, a 4-year-old S. D. Brilie homebred by Tourist, has come steadily forward since being stretched out from sprints to routes this past spring. She also raced Aug. 10, turning in career-best showing, whipping second-level allowance foes and $40,000 claimers by seven lengths in a two-turn dirt race. While Journeyist led a very, very slow tempo that day, her TimeformUS early pace number, 102, is slightly higher than Katie M’lady’s 99. Those numbers aside, Katie M’lady appears to be the quicker horse and seems likely to lead the Peach of It.
The field thins out quickly after the Boyce pair. Katie M’lady has easily beaten the other four horses – Summer Day, Quilting Party, Beyond Proper, and White Lies – at least once in the last year. And even giving them weight, she’s likely to beat them again Thursday.
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