Tiffany Case puts unbeaten mark on the line in Austintown Filly Sprint
Tiffany Case, a dominant winner in Texas of her two races, steps up to stakes company Saturday in the $75,000 Austintown Filly Sprint at Mahoning Valley Race Course.
The Austintown Sprint, a six-furlong dash for 3-year-old fillies, is the co-feature with the $75,000 Howard Noonan Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for Ohio-bred 3-year-olds that drew 2015 statebred 2-year-old filly champion School Board Prez and champion Ohio-bred 2-year-old male My Pardner Cal.
Tiffany Case, who has been training at Keeneland since late March with trainer Eric Reed, will be making her first start since winning back-to-back sprints at Sam Houston by a combined 13 lengths.
Her competition includes Lovable Lyss, who cuts back to a sprint for the first time since winning her maiden last November at Fair Grounds, and stakes winners Social Butterfly and Absatootly.
In the Noonan, School Board Prez makes her first start since November after winning three stakes. My Pardner Cal is a two-time stakes winner at 2 who won his 3-year-old debut on March 30.
KEY CONTENDERS
Austintown Filly Sprint, Race 7
Tiffany Case, by Uncle Mo
Beyers: 78-76
◗ The two fillies who finished behind her last time out both came back to win their next start.
◗ She was a $34,000 purchase at the Keeneland November sale.
Lovable Lyss, by Big Brown
Last 3 Beyers: 64-72-80
◗ She gets class relief after finishing sixth in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds in her most recent start.
◗ She set the early pace in that race, which favored closers, according to DRF’s Pace Ace.
◗ Worked a bullet five furlongs in 1:00 at Hawthorne in preparation for this spot.
Absatootly, by Mineshaft
Last 3 Beyers: 71-45-65
◗ This New York-bred is 3 for 5, including a win in a restricted stakes going two turns at Aqueduct in December.
◗ She won despite racing against the race flow in a first-level optional $50,000 claimer at Laurel last time out.
Social Butterfly, by Hold Me Back
Last 3 Beyers: 42-66-50
◗ Beat nine stakes opponents on a synthetic surface at the Ocala Training Center in January, then got used up in a speed duel in the Wide Country at Laurel.
◗ Breezed a bullet half-mile in 47.80 seconds last week at Delaware Park.
Howard Noonan, Race 6
My Pardner Cal, by Big Atlantic
Last 3 Beyers: 58-56-42
◗ He was a neck shy of being a three-time stakes winner at 2 and got up by a neck while making his first start since December less than three weeks ago.
School Board Prez, by Courageous Cat
Last 3 Beyers: 62-56-61
◗ She won all three starts of her starts against Ohio-breds – all in stakes – and finished fourth in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs.
◗ She tests males for the first time.
Intacto, by Tiz Wonderful
Beyers: 57-72
◗ Has yet to cross the finish line first but earned a field-best 72 Beyer Speed Figure when elevated from second to first in an open-company maiden race at Tampa Bay Downs and barely lost to My Pardner Cal in his local debut.
Riding in the Wind, by Tiz Wonderful
Last 3 Beyers: 64-48-67
◗ The 10-1 morning-line odds seem way too high for a horse who is 3 for 3 locally, including a 2 1/2-length allowance score last time out.
Bucket Beat, by Giant Oak
Last 3 Beyers: 63-30-19
◗ Comes back 12 days after beating open maiden special weight runners. Chances seem far better than the 20-1 morning-line odds suggest.