Vous can give Hills a third Millions entry

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Vous will attempt to earn herself a spot in the Filly and Mare Turf as the favorite in Thursday's $35,000 second-level allowance feature at Gulfstream Park. The race will be run at 1 1/16 miles on the grass.

Vous could become the third member of trainer Tim Hills's barn to earn a spot in one of the eight stakes to be decided on Sunshine Millions Day, Jan. 29, at Gulfstream and Santa Anita. Stablemates Proud Roman (Turf) and Mooji Moo (Filly and Mare Sprint) have all but been confirmed as starters by Hills for the Sunshine Millions races.

kept a fairly steady diet of stakes company throughout most of her 3-year-old campaign, with her best performances a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Sands Point Stakes at Belmont and a second behind Hopelessly Devoted in the Calder Oaks. She finished second by a head here last winter, and fourth as the 9-5 favorite at Monmouth Park in her only two allowance appearances in 10 outings last season.

Vous paired up her career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 89 in each of her last two starts, an indication her best may be yet to come. Even if she can just repeat those performances, Vous would be extremely tough to beat. The only member of the field who has shown the capability of running that kind of number is Baxter Hall, who must draw in off the also-eligible list to start.

If she does get in, is the choice to spring the mild upset. The new Gulfstream turf course appeared to favor horses racing on the outside and rallying from off the pace during the opening week of the meeting, and Baxter Hall figures to get just such a trip from her outside post. She should also have the stamina to run down what figures to be an honest pace, since she is coming off a tough nose setback going 1 1/2 miles under similar allowance conditions at Keeneland in her 3-year-old finale.

The speed of the race figures to come from Thetactics Ofdance, Birthday Song, Evening Encore, Maren Approved, and Relaxed. may be the best of that group after dropping out of stakes company to finish a game second under second-level allowance conditions at Calder in her 2004 finale.