Oaklawn: Rainbow Miss contender Ile St. Molly can set pace or stalk

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Ile St. Molly should be able to adapt to whatever pace scenario unfolds on Friday when she seeks the second stakes win of her career in the $60,000 Rainbow Miss at Oaklawn.

Ile St. Molly has the speed to set the tempo in the six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies bred in Arkansas, but could also stalk the pace under jockey Robby Albarado.

“There is some speed in the race,” said Kenny Smith, who trains Ile St Molly. “I took the blinkers off of her [last time], and she can come from off of it. We’ve been breezing her with horses in front of her. So, what happens early, I’m not really worried about that. I believe she should [handle] it either way. I’ll let Robby ride her, and I’ll train her.”

Ile St. Molly established her class in her career debut last fall at Louisiana Downs, when she won the $50,000 Lady Razorback Futurity for 2-year-old fillies bred in Arkansas. She wired the field by seven lengths, and put up a strong Beyer Speed Figure of 87. The Rainbow Miss is a rare Arkansas-bred stakes offering for her division and has long been her goal.

Ile St. Molly is part of an 11-horse field and she could go favored over Sashabye, the runner-up in last year’s Lady Razorback who was a three-length maiden special weight winner last out at Oaklawn. Ile St. Molly, meanwhile, comes off a fifth-place finish in a first-level allowance for Arkansas-bred fillies and mares Feb. 14. Following the race, she was found to have a lung infection, according to Smith.

“We got all that cleared up,” he said. “We look for a good race out of her.”

Ile St. Molly is owned by her breeder, James H. Glover.

Sashabye earned a career-high Beyer Figure of 72 for her maiden special weight win Feb. 28. The number is the best last-race Beyer in the Rainbow Miss and since the race two of the horses Sashabye defeated have returned to win maiden races at Oaklawn. Alex Birzer has the mount.

Others making up the field include Crafty Skill, a full sister to two-time Arkansas-bred stakes winner Stormy But Crafty, and Pistolpackinpenny, who started her career at Churchill Downs.

◗ Following the races Friday night the Arkansas Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Horsemen’s Association will hold its annual banquet at the Clarion on the Lake in Hot Springs.