Prioress

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Only eight will contest the six-furlong, $250,000 Prioress S. (G1) at Belmont
Park this Saturday, including an entry of graded stakes winners, but we’ll go
with the Nick Zito-trained BURNISH (Menifee). The bay sophomore owns a
remarkable closing ability, which should give her an edge over this early
speed-laden field. Having missed the board only once in her career, Burnish
looks to relish an off track, recording huge BRIS Speed figures of 104 and 108
when annexing her last two starts, both over the sloppy going. With the marshy
conditions at Belmont on Friday and more rain forecasted for Friday night and
Saturday, it appears the Miss Preakness S. (G3) winner should get her surface of
choice and the victory with the right ride from Rafael Bejarano, who was aboard
for the last two.

The Todd Pletcher-conditioned TALENTED (Fusaichi Pegasus), a $700,000 Fasig-Tipton
Saratoga purchase, enters off a win over this distance and surface when taking
the Twist Afleet S. after a brutal trip. Under Javier Castellano, the bay will
be part of the contested early pace, and we think she has the best chance to
steal it on the front end.

The undefeated CONTRAST (Unbridled) will try the stakes waters for the first
time in the Prioress, but enters off a 5 1/2-length score in a six-furlong
allowance at Belmont Park. The bay broke her maiden at first asking, but both of
her career wins have come on the front end, where there promises to be a serious
battle in this contest. If she can get the lead from some of her more
experienced rivals, the Alan Goldberg trainee could make her initial stakes
foray a Grade 1 win. Out of champion sprinter Safely Kept (Horatius), Contrast is bred for
speed, and we’ll have her rounding out our trifectas.

ACEY DEUCEY (Abaginone) is a Grade 2 winner this year, coming in the
one-mile Comely S. at Aqueduct. She also won the Dearly Precious S. over the
inner dirt at the same track, and the John Morrison trainee broke her maiden
going seven furlongs over this surface. We’ll have her in the bottom of the
gimmicks.

Juan Rodriguez will saddle SLEW MOTION (Slew Gin Fizz), another good-use
underneath our top choice in the exotics. Two back, the dark bay won the Dancin
Renee S. over this track, and the Grade 2-placed filly could get up for part.

SENSE OF STYLE (Thunder Gulch) is easily the class of the field, but appears
to enjoy longer distances and we’ll have to let the coupled Patrick Biancone
trainee beat us. MADDALENA’s (Good and Tough) form was impressive early this
year but we’ll go against the other half of the entry as her recent efforts have
not seemed to come from the same filly.

California invader R FAST LADY (Artax) has won her last two, the Stonerside
S. and the Winner’s Foundation Sprint S., but her Speed figures are not
competitive enough against this group and we’ll have to go against.