Zasha, Desert Stepper give Marr solid duo for Peppers Pride

Uncoupled stablemates Zasha and Desert Stepper both look appealing in Sunday’s $85,000 Peppers Pride Handicap for New Mexico-bred fillies and mares at Sunland Park.

As a 12-1 outsider in last year’s running of the one-mile Peppers Pride, Zasha outfinished 9-5 favorite Desert Stepper by a head. Both mares are trained by Joel Marr.

A four-time stakes winner, the 6-year-old Zasha will be making her first start since crushing open allowance company and earning a career-best 83 Beyer Speed Figure on Dec. 1. She was ninth as the 2-1 favorite in the 2015 Peppers Pride.

The 5-year-old Desert Stepper, still seeking her first stakes win, will be adding blinkers after finishing a distant fourth as the 3-5 favorite in the local prep for the Peppers Pride on Jan. 13.

The eight-horse field also includes My Bikini Fell Off, winless in nine starts since taking a six-furlong stakes at Sunland in December 2015, and Tylers Dixie Chick, the runner-up to Zasha, beaten just a length, when they met going a mile at Zia Park in late October.

◗ In the $85,000 New Mexico Horse Breeders Association Stakes, the card’s co-feature for 3-year-old Quarter Horses going 400 yards, the filly Running Dragon looks difficult to deny. She is 8 for 10 lifetime and 4 for 4 at Sunland, including the Grade 2 Shue Fly in her most recent start a month ago.

Peppers Pride, Race 9
Zasha, by Desert God

Last 3 Beyers: 83-72-47

◗ She is 5 for 9 going a mile, including back-to-back daylight victories in her two most recent outings.

Desert Stepper, by Desert God
Last 3 Beyers: 56-74-69

◗ The last time blinkers were added to her equipment, Desert Stepper romped by 12 3/4 lengths going a mile in a maiden special weight event in December 2015.

My Bikini Fell Off, by Elusive Jazz
Last 3 Beyers: 65-70-61

◗ She was the 2-1 second choice in this race last year, but after finishing fourth while enduring an extremely wide trip around both turns, she was disqualified and placed eighth for causing another horse to clip heels on the first turn. Her only stakes win came going six furlongs, but she did win last month’s local prep in just her second attempt at a mile.

Tylers Dixie Chick, by Dixieland Cash
Last 3 Beyers: 58-56-61

◗ This 6-year-old has lost 11 straight since July 2015, but since being claimed for $15,000 in August, she has placed in four of five starts, including a career-best 70 Beyer for her runner-up performance in the Peppers Pride New Mexico Classic Championship at Zia.