Silverbulletday a prelude to bigger things to come at meet
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NEW ORLEANS – The top four finishers in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies have been or are expected to be stabled at Fair Grounds this winter. It’s just that none of them – Echo Zulu, Juju’s Map, Tarabi, and Hidden Connection – races Saturday in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes.
That leaves six relatively unproven fillies for a mile and 70-yard contest that leads to the Rachel Alexandra and the Fair Grounds Oaks.
The Silverbulletday’s strongest form lines belong to Fannie and Freddie, second by a neck in the Untapable Stakes, and Sweet as Pie, a decent fourth in a solid renewal of the Tempted at Belmont Park. Last-start maiden winners Bernabreezy and La Crete probably aren’t overmatched; Miss Chamita and Candy Raid probably are.
Florida shipper Sweet as Pie’s 6 1/2-furlong debut win at Belmont looked more solid than spectacular, though she did overcome post 1 and showed competitive spirit stalking, pouncing, and drawing away to a 1 1/4-length victory over Mischievous Diane, who won a Dec. 11 Aqueduct maiden race with a good 81 Beyer Speed Figure.
Sweet as Pie didn’t take a huge forward step in the Tempted, a one-turn mile, but improved modestly. Breaking from post 1 as the 2-1 second choice, she raced from well off the pace and finished by herself, four lengths behind third-place Nest and far in front of the last three home. Gerrymander, Magic Circle, and Nest, the Tempted top three, are better horses than anyone else in the Silverbulletday has faced.
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“Hopefully stretching out helps,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I think she’ll appreciate added distance.”
Sweet as Pie has matured physically since the Tempted while working encouragingly at Palm Beach Downs. She should stick closer to the lead than in the Tempted.
Fannie and Freddie didn’t click until trainer Al Stall Jr. stretched her to two turns Nov. 26 in a Fair Grounds maiden, and even there, Fannie and Freddie beat only three overmatched foes. It’s her Untapable performance that makes her look competitive. Chasing a faster pace than in the maiden race, Fannie and Freddie made the lead in upper stretch before getting run down by North County, earning a personal best 78 Beyer Speed Figure. It’s worth noting that odds-on favorite Cocktail Moments suffered a lousy trip, and that North County, unbeaten now in three starts, brought Beyers of 56 and 67 to the Untapable.
Still, Fannie and Freddie’s arrow points up. Stall said jockey Colby Hernandez was enthused with the filly’s last major Silverbulletday work, and Hernandez might try for the lead from his rail draw.
Bernabreezy and La Crete defy easy interpretation. La Crete, a sister to Grade 1 winner Clairiere, debuted with an easy front-running maiden-route win Nov. 20. She beat up on soft competition and won in a time that yielded a modest 67 Beyer, though La Crete did gallop out strongly after Joel Rosario, who rides Saturday, geared her down the final half-furlong. Trainer Steve Asmussen entered La Crete in a Fair Grounds allowance race that didn’t fill.
Bernabreezy followed a troubled one-turn career debut at Churchill Downs with a smart Fair Grounds maiden-route win Dec. 20. Glass half-full, Bernabreezy made a strong, visually impressive run into a slow pace and won comfortably. Glass half-empty, the third- and fourth-place finishers returned Jan. 13 to get thumped here in a maiden race.
Duncan Kenner Stakes
Just Might’s not a mean horse but tie him to his stall wall and he’s liable to kick at you when you walk into or out of his domain. Out on the racetrack, Just Might has been kicking everyone’s butt.
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Just Might led North America with seven stakes wins during 2021 – three at Fair Grounds, two at Colonial Downs, two more at Churchill. The 6-year-old Justin Philip gelding capped his epic campaign with a dirt score here in the Thanksgiving Classic and a turf romp Dec. 26 in the Richard Scherer Memorial, and he’ll be favored to start 2022 winning another stakes, the $100,000 Duncan Kenner Memorial, a 5 1/2-furlong grass dash.
Making 32 starts over the last two years and winning seven stakes in a season seems merely to have brought Just Might to the peak of his powers.
“Look at him – he’s a beast,” Michelle Lovell proudly said, showing off a heavily muscled horse, coat glowing, in her Fair Grounds barn this week.
Lovell has a right to pride, not just for training and managing him through an amazing 2021, but as Just Might’s co-breeder and co-owner.
The temporary turf rail comes down Saturday and Just Might, a habitual front-runner, should fire to the lead and get onto the fresh part of the grass, the best spot on the course.
Just Might finished second in the 2021 Kenner, beaten by Manny Wah, who was second in the Scherer while making his first start in 10 months.
“We’re turning the tables!” trainer Wayne Catalano proclaimed this week. “That race will move him forward.”
Manny Wah will have to work out a trip from post 7, but Cowan, drawn inside, can get a good stalking run. Cowan returns to turf for the first time in America since he finished second to Golden Pal in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
Marie Krantz Memorial
Abscond can end an 11-race losing streak dating to the Grade 1 Natalma in September 2019 when she starts in the $100,000 Marie Krantz Memorial.
Abscond’s last six starts, five of them competitive, came in graded stakes, and she comes out of a close fourth-place finish Nov. 6 in the Grade 2 Goldikova at Del Mar. The three in front of her there – Going Global, Zofelle, and Princess Grace – would be strongly favored in a race like the 1 1/16-mile Krantz.
“She hasn’t regressed. She’s as good as she ever been, maybe better,” said trainer Eddie Kenneally. “I think she’ll run well off the layoff. She’s been very relaxed her last few races.”
Abscond has a sweet draw on the rail and with a decent break will pull a good trip stalking the pace under Adam Beschizza.
The race’s other obvious player is Summer in Saratoga, who could defect in favor of the $500,000 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf. Trainer Joe Sharp said Thursday a final call on race choice comes Friday.
Sharp’s second entrant is Catch a Bid, who has some merit, while Brad Cox sends out the first South American import of his training career, Janelle Monae. A bulky mare with mild tactical speed, Janelle Monae won all four starts in her native Brazil, but while three of those wins were Grade 1’s, Janelle Monae beat moderate competition and probably ultimately wants a longer distance than Saturday’s.