Some of
the best female three year olds in the country take
to the Polytrack at
Arlington on Saturday for the Grade 3 $150,000
Arlington Oaks! This race shaped up to be a pretty good field as 8 head postward in this
9 furlong battle. Let’s
analyze this race…
(Feel the Thunder! by Marcy Leonard!)
James Graham retains the mount on local runner Lady Candidate who is a perfect 2-for-2 on the Arlington main track. This horse can
definitely show some speed but I wonder if it will be enough to catch
blistering pace setter La Tia.
La Tia has had a perfect 2012 campaign thus far and it seems
she has just figured out how to win. Her last two starts were against state-bred
competition as she broke her maiden by 9 lengths then
destroyed the field in
the Purple Violet Stakes by over 8 lengths. Not bad so far, right? She makes
her first trip around two turns but with grandfathers like Storm Cat and Sky
Classic, I think she should be able to handle the distance just fine. If she
can get loose on the lead and slow down the pace, she might be able to take
this one.
The morning line favorite
Treasured Up, son of Medaglia D’oro,
didn’t miss by much in the
Grade 3 Regret at Churchill Downs back on June 16
th.
She is rested and has posted some good work outs for trainer
Al Stall. Miguel
Mena gets the mount and wins 25% of his races for conditioner Stall. So
obviously this horse is the class of the field, right? She definitely seems to
be improving and at the right time as well. We’ll see how her recent turf form
translates back over to the Polytrack.
Breeders’ Cup hopeful from last season,
Ann of the Dance,
has had trouble winning since her allowance victory at Arlington last summer. However
she now shows a pattern I like, and that’s a three year old improving each
start off of the break. If she improves in this race, she could win and likely
at a nice price for trainer
Wayne Catalano.
The final horse I’m taking a look at here is
Sky Dreamer
(out of a Monarchos mare). While she hasn’t faced the stiffest of competition
she really seemed to like the two turns on Polytrack at Woodbine. Trainer Mark
Casse must think she has a great shot to win as he is sending her here all the
way from the
Great White North!
I’m excited to see how this one turns out! My heart is
pulling for the Illinois-bred La Tia so I hope she represents Chicago well on
the lead and into the winners circle!
Who do you like in this race?
**CHECK THIS OUT**
Awesome! The latest in the “Behind the Silks” series is out
on Arlington’s Website. Check out the latest video below!