Youalmosthadme has been a good filly so far in 2024 – a good filly to play against.
A distant third as the even-money favorite in the Beaumont Stakes at Keeneland, her 3-year-old bow, Youalmosthadme in the Miss Preakness at Pimlico finished a solidly defeated second as the 2-1 favorite. For lack of obvious alternatives, and because Brad Cox trains her, Youalmosthadme could be favored again Saturday at Monmouth Park in the $100,000 Maryfield Stakes.
Churchill Downs’s closing weekend lies at hand, and it’s Los Alamitos Derby time, which means the coastal boutique meets must be right around the corner. For now, we make do with Louisville and Toronto.
Highlander
One finds all sorts of useful tidbits setting DRF Formulator to lifetime past performances and looking back through the entire career of an older horse like Oceanic.
The 7-year-old wasn’t useless when he began racing in 2020, but after four losses, he ran for a $50,000 maiden-claiming tag, and when that failed, for $30,000.
No trainer has more Fleur de Lis Stakes wins than Bill Mott, and nearly no one would be surprised if Mott notches his fifth Saturday with Scylla.
Mott’s Fleur de Lis victories span 35 years, from the 1984 renewal with John Franks’s Heatherten to 2019 with Elate.
But too many bettors will pour win money in on Scylla, and if her 6-5 morning line holds, it’s hard to bet on Mott, even if he stands a strong chance of winning again.
Quint’s Brew gets his biggest test to date on Saturday in Laurel’s $75,000 Star de Naskra for Maryland-bred or -sired 3-year-olds at seven furlongs.
Quint’s Brew overcame pace pressure to win his debut at six furlongs over sloppy going March 2, then earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure capturing a first-level allowance around a one-turn mile April 5.
In the latter race, Quint’s Brew swerved inward while leading in the stretch. Once straightened by jockey Raul Mena, he prevailed at odds-on.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has some big shoes to fill in his barn in the filly and mare sprint division. That would be Three Witches, who captured the Grade 3 Princess Rooney Stakes and then was sold just days after her third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
The lengthy stretch at Los Alamitos, more than a quarter-mile long, will pose a stamina test for Tapalo in Saturday’s $100,000 Los Alamitos Derby at 1 1/8 miles.
A two-time sprint winner, Tapalo is winless in three starts around two turns since last fall.
At shorter distances, he has been outstanding. Tapalo was a seven-length winner of the Lazaro Barrera Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs on May 12 at Santa Anita, leading throughout to record his first stakes win.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Reigning Canadian Horse of the Year Fev Rover will try to win the Grade 2, $175,000 Nassau for the second year in a row under Patrick Husbands on an excellent five-stakes card Saturday at Woodbine.
Fev Rover was razor sharp in her come-from-behind score over Moira on a rain-softened main turf in the one-mile event last year. She subsequently won a pair of Grade 1 stakes, the Beverly D. and E.P. Taylor, before capping her season with an 11th-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita.
The 5-year-old horse Skippylongstocking won the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on April 20 with a 107 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest dirt-route stakes figure so far in 2024. Two lengths behind him in second came Highland Falls, a Godolphin homebred trained by Brad Cox. Saturday, in the Grade 1, $1 million Stephen Foster Stakes, Skippylongstocking faces another Godolphin homebred trained by Cox, but First Mission is a horse of a different color, and not merely because he is bay and Highland Falls chestnut.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Piper’s Factor got back on the beam in his last breakout race and will take another step toward the Aug. 17 King’s Plate in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Marine for 3-year-olds at Woodbine.
