Pedigrees could be key in Cincinnatian

The $75,000 Cincinnatian Stakes for Ohio-accredited 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the turf at Belterra Park on Friday appears to be a wide-open affair. The race has drawn 10 entrants, none of whom have ever raced on turf; only a handful have raced at a mile or longer. With a lineup such as this, pedigree clues can provide valuable handicapping intel.

The lightly raced Green Lady, a Maccabee Farm homebred trained by Tom Drury Jr., was second on debut before notching an impressive maiden win going six furlongs on dirt against older runners. She pressed the pace before drawing off to win by 5 1/4 lengths but will need to improve from a speed figure standpoint in her stakes debut, and there does appear to be plenty of speed in this race.

Green Lady is by Tough It Up, who is in turn by the good turf sire Lemon Drop Kid. Tough It Up was a winner beyond a mile, and was stakes placed going two turns on turf. Green Lady’s dam, Cape Verde, by turf champion Cape Blanco, was also a winner at a mile. She is a half-sister to a turf stakes winner.

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Lipstick N Lashes, who bested Green Lady in that one’s debut, owns the top Beyer Speed Figure in the field for trainer Barbara Riley. She posted a 70 with an allowance victory against older horses last time out, pulling clear from a pressured pace to win by 7 3/4 lengths going 6 1/2 furlongs. The next-best number in the field is a 62 that Miz Keeta posted winning a claiming race last out. Lipstick N Lashes is by Rivers Run Deep and has some synthetic-surface ability in her family.

Danzaniteaway is the rare runner in this field with good efforts at middle distances. She comes off an allowance win going a mile on dirt against older horses for Scott Barker. The filly is by Danza, who was among Ohio’s top five turf sires the past several seasons despite limited opportunities. Her dam Heronetta – by turf graded stakes winner Marchfield – was a multiple winner at a mile or longer, including on synthetic surfaces. Heronetta is a half-sister to Woodbourne, third in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile.

The partnership of trainer Tim Hamm’s Blazing Meadows Farm and WinStar Farm have the four-horse entry of Brief Encounter, Feeling Easy, National Diamond, and Tierney. All are by National Flag, as is Robert Gorham’s entrant, Miz Keeta. A promising young Ohio sire, National Flag has had limited starters on turf but is by the versatile Speightstown.

Feeling Easy was third in both the Emerald Necklace and Glacial Princess Stakes sprinting on dirt last year.

Historyinthemaking, a granddaughter of turf champion and leading sire Kitten’s Joy, and Pride and Attitude, a granddaughter of the French stallion Way West, complete the field.

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