AMERICAN
GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS
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FANTASY S. (G2), 10TH-OP, $300,000, 3YO, F, 1 1/16M, 5:47 P.M. CDT, 4-2 |
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| 1 |
ALL DUE RESPECT, 3, f, by Value PlusAunt Due, by Devil His Due O-Al & Saundra S. Kirkwood; B-Lau-Mor Farms (Fl) |
| 2 |
NO SUCH WORD, 3, f, by Canadian FrontierMuskoka Ice, by It’s Freezing O-Brereton C. Jones; B-Jones Brereton C. (Ky) |
| 3 |
TIDAL POOL, 3, f, by Yankee GentlemanSea Rhythm, by Deputy Minister O-Westrock Stables LLC; B-David Garvin (Ky) |
| 4 |
BLIND LUCK, 3, f, by Pollard’s VisionLucky One, by Best of Luck O-Mark Dedomenico LLC, John Carver, Peter; B-Fairlawn Farm (Ky) |
Friday’s $300,000 Fantasy S. (G2) kicks off Oaklawn Park’s Racing Festival of
the South and BLIND LUCK (Pollard’s Vision) appears to have scared away the
competition in the 1 1/16-mile event. However, the dynamic late runner is
potentially vulnerable in a small but quality-laden field, and we’ll tab fellow
California invader ALL DUE RESPECT (Value Plus) for a wire-to-wire upset.
A close third as a maiden in the Pocahontas S. (G3) last November, All Due
Respect was sold and transferred to Kathy Walsh following a 7 1/2-length maiden
score at Fair Grounds in late January. The Florida-bred stepped back up to
stakes company in the March 6 Santa Anita Oaks (G1) and nearly stole the race on
the front end, finishing second by a neck. We’ll look for her to keep improving
off that effort while returning to dirt on Friday. After working bullets at
Hollywood Park in preparation for her last start, the dark bay lass returned to
the worktab with a flourish, posting a six-furlong bullet move in 1:11 4/5 on
March 20, and she drilled five furlongs last Saturday in advance of the Fantasy.
Garrett Gomez will be in for the ride aboard the front runner, who should be
able to dictate the pace before being asked for run.
Blind Luck broke her maiden by 13 1/4 lengths at Calder and appears to be
training well over the dirt training track at Santa Anita in preparation for
this start. A three-time Grade 1 vixen, the Jerry Hollendorfer trainee could
wind up proving too good for these rivals, but she left herself too much to do
in the stretch last time and hasn’t cornered well in either start this season.
Jockey Rafael Bejarano took the blame for her third in the Santa Anita Oaks,
guiding her up the rail instead of around horses, but Blind Luck hasn’t been the
same dominant performer that she was at two. We’ll try to beat her in a
potentially paceless race.
NO SUCH WORD (Canadian Frontier) rallied to a good-looking, 2 1/2-length
decision when making her stakes bow in the Honeybee (G3) last time and has won
two straight starts in Hot Springs, Arkansas, for trainer Cindy Jones. The bay
lass owns first-rate BRIS Speed and Late Pace numbers, but her late-running
style is a serious concern in this spot. The improving filly remains a threat
to keep her momentum rolling in this spot.
TIDAL POOL (Yankee Gentleman) will enter on the upswing for D. Wayne Lukas,
registering a career-best 101 BRIS Speed rating for her eight-length romp over
allowance/optional claiming rivals at Oaklawn last time, but she didn’t beat
much and has mostly struggled against stakes rivals in the past. The
stalker could show some speed under new jockey Calvin Borel and hold for a minor
award, but we’ll have to rank her fourth.