Chicago H. J

AMERICAN
GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS

A big field of 11 fillies and mares will travel seven furlongs on the
Arlington Polytrack in the $150,000 Chicago H. (G3) on Saturday. INDESCRIBABLE (Pleasant Tap)
captured the Arlington Matron H. (G3) over this oval last out and has three wins
from six outings on synthetic ovals, so we’ll side with the chestnut. Now in the
barn of Bill Mott after spending the first 12 starts of her career with Graham
Motion, the Kentucky-bred really turned the corner when blinkers were added, as
she’s won four of her six tries with the shades while posting BRIS Speed figures of
96 or better in four of those six. The lass will break from the widest post but that
should not hinder her beneath James Graham.

TEQUILAS DAYJUR (Dayjur) has been an impressive allowance winner versus solid
fields at Churchill in her last pair and earns a well-deserved chance at graded
glory in this test. Now in the hands of trainer James Jackson, the Kentucky-bred
has lost just once in five career outings, that coming in the two-turn Pocahontas S. (G3) as
a juvenile miss, and smoked a bullet five-eighths in anticipation of this one.
We expect the sophomore to give a very good account of herself in here and
challenge for the win with her best beneath Tracy Hebert.

Grade 2 queen MINI SERMON (Pulpit) was an even third in the Fit For a Queen
S. in preparation for this but should improve a good deal in here for
Todd Pletcher. The well-bred gray took last year’s Sweetest Chant S. over this
oval and could show good improvement in her second try off the short layoff. The
tactical filly might be better at a distance slightly longer than this and she
may be heavily backed at the windows, so we’ll use her to finish off the
trifecta under Jose Velez Jr.

DHANYATA (Ire) (Danetime) won a Group 3 at Kempton over Polytrack last year
and enters this off a close second-place finish in the Satin and Lace S. on
synthetic going, so we can’t ignore the Eddie Kenneally trainee in this spot.
The Group 1-placed four-year-old has shown excellent early speed in her three
North American outings and should be prominent against this group from the
outset. LEAH’S SECRET (Tiger Ridge) finished a strong second in the Arlington Matron most
recently and has placed in four of five synthetic tries in her career, making
her a logical exotics threat. The dark bay mare finished a solid second in the
Louisville S. (G2) two prior and has trained well in advance of this, but she
hasn’t crossed the wire in first since 2006 and we can’t endorse her because of
that statistic.

The consistent AKRONISM (Not For Love) comes off a game win in the Skipat S.
at Delaware Park and ships in for conditioner Tim Ritchey. The four-year-old filly
has good positional speed and almost always fires some in the lane, so she’s the
type who could find her way into the trifecta with something resembling her
best. We’re taking a cautiously optimistic approach to the Kentucky-bred in her
first Polytrack try under Pablo Morales.

We’ve always been a fan of FEATHERBED (Smart Strike) from the Pletcher barn,
and the four-year-old had a nice prep when second in the Fit For a Queen over
this strip. The fleet filly is almost always on the lead at the first call and
will probably be the one to catch turning for home under Jesse Campbell. We
don’t think that the Kentucky-bred is quite as good on this oval as she is on
the dirt, so we’ll just use her in the lower rungs of the exotics in this
affair.

SWEET AMBITION (Menifee) is winless in four career synthetic starts and can’t
be endorsed for the win against these. The Steve Asmussen trainee is a pretty
solid performer who has won or placed in 19 of 34 career outings, but we will
look elsewhere in here. STARRY PIE (Pioneering) finished a close fifth in the
2006 Raven Run S. (G2) in her lone Polytrack try, but the five-year-old has
raced just four times since and would be a big surprise on this occasion.

ACADIA BREEZE (Royal Academy) will make her second start for trainer Rusty
Arnold here and drew the rail in this test. The bay miss ran one of the better races
of her career when dusting a solid group over Keeneland’s Polytrack last spring,
but she’s raced just once since September and it’s hard to back her due to her
lack of recent fitness. PRO PINK (Touch Gold) has won two straight on the main
oval but has yet to hit the board in a pair of synthetic starts, leading us to
believe that she’ll be up against it versus this bunch. The McLean
Robertson-trained four-year-old has good early speed but is stuck in a group
with plenty of it, so we’ll tab her for another spot.