Our Lyla Grace must navigate large lineup in comeback race
When trainer Candi Cryderman took a look at the list of entries for Saturday’s seventh race at Emerald Downs, she was, as she put it, “a little shocked.”
Shocked because the 5 1/2-furlong optional-claiming race her 7-year-old horse, Our Lyla Grace, is in will be contested by 11 fillies and mares. That’s an enormous field for this time of year – or any time, really – at the workaday Auburn, Wash., track.
“That is crazy, isn’t it?” Cryderman said when asked about the field’s size. “Quite a few of them are layoffs like me who take the winter off, but quite a few of them are horses that were running in Northern Cal or moved to Turf [Paradise] for a little bit. It’s a big, nice field.”
Our Lyla Grace and four of her local rivals haven’t raced since last summer at Emerald, while the rest of the field has current form. But while Cryderman acknowledged that lack of recency is always a concern, she accurately noted that Our Lyla Grace has “run fresh really well before.”
Indeed, in three starts coming off comparable layoffs, Our Lyla Grace has won twice and finished second once. She’s posted an identical record in 5 1/2-furlong sprints and has won seven of her 20 races in a career spent at Emerald.
The field for race 7 is well-matched, but if there’s a horse who might be a touch classier, it’s Blaine Wright’s 4-year-old filly Attracted, a lightly raced California shipper. With two wins in three starts at Pleasanton and Santa Anita, she boasts both the best last-out and career Beyer Speed Figures – 72 and 82, respectively.
“Blaine’s horse, on paper, that’s definitely the horse to beat,” said Cryderman, who trains Our Lyla Grace for John Parker. “It looks like she runs like my mare. She kind of stalks a bit and then comes running. She doesn’t have to come from way back.”
A horse who might surprise is the 5-year-old Rigoberto Velasquez trainee Miss Dynamic. Cryderman calls her “a little speed burner” who is almost certain to be among the front-runners vying for the early lead.
“There’s quite a bit of speed in here, so I’m hoping somebody goes with her,” Cryderman said. “But if nobody goes with her, she could steal this.”
Still, Cryderman likes her chances with Our Lyla Grace, who will be ridden by Javier Matias.
“I think the race kind of sets up for her if she doesn’t get stuck in traffic,” Cryderman said. “She’s a little bit of a stalker, so I’m hoping a bunch of speed can go out there and she can come running.”
Post time for race 7 is scheduled for 5:14 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.
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