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FILLY & MARE TURF DIARY APRIL 17, 2007 by Kellie Reilly Last Saturday's Jenny Wiley S. (G2) was supposed to provide informative clues, but once the rains came and Keeneland's management decided to take the contest off the turf, it ended up losing much of its meaning as a winnower of turf distaffers. Although all of the original entrants still lined up on the Polytrack, it soon became evident that the race would be an upside-down affair. The normally late-running MAURALAKANA (Fr) (Muhtathir [GB]) carved out the pace, such as it was, through the first six furlongs, and champion WAIT A WHILE (Maria's Mon) languished uncharacteristically at the tail of the field. In contrast, the Bill Mott-trained MY TYPHOON (Ire) (Giant's Causeway) was unfazed by the surface switch and employed her usual stalking style in her Polytrack debut. She had to work in the stretch to reel in a game PRECIOUS KITTEN (Catienus) by a neck, but My Typhoon was able to assert her class in the waning yards. Note that she was also receiving four pounds from the runner-up. Precious Kitten was already a proven performer on this surface, having finished a close second in the off-the-turf Valley View S. (G3) last October. Wait a While, who had authoritatively defeated Precious Kitten in the March 4 Honey Fox H. (G3) last time out, telegraphed her discontent from the start. After hopping at the break, she trailed through the first half-mile. That was a glaringly negative sign from a filly who is usually enthusiastic in the early going and can often be found attending the pace. The gray made a slightly encouraging move while wide on the far turn, but she never got into the hunt, and Garrett Gomez wisely took care of her in the stretch en route to her fifth-place finish. Trainer Todd Pletcher promptly blamed himself, saying that he "made a bad decision" by not scratching her and shipping her to California for a firm-turf target. For whatever it's worth, she had turned in a bullet half-mile in :46 on the Polytrack on April 8, so it wasn't immediately obvious that she would fail to cope in the race itself. Interestingly, in England, it's been noted that horses who like soft turf tend to do well on the all-weather tracks. It's far too early to make any sort of pronouncements in terms of synthetic surfaces here in America, but Wait a While's undoing offers food for thought. Could horses who absolutely require hard, firm turf be vulnerable on a synthetic surface? This bears watching. Alternatively, another point to consider is how the race may have panned out had it remained on the rain-softened turf. Considering that Wait a While was definitely going to scratch if the turf came up soft, and that Mott felt "real soft turf" might have been a concern for My Typhoon, the one most compromised by the whole surface switch was arguably Mauralakana. She had handled soft going in France, where conditions can be a fair bit softer than those labeled as such here. Like Wait a While, Mauralakana had also trained sharply on the Polytrack, but did not fare as well racing on it. After her adventures as a front runner in the Jenny Wiley, Mauralakana retreated to fourth. On the turf, she may well have adopted her normal, off-the-pace tactics and given a truer account of herself. After the Jenny Wiley muddle, Sunday's Las Cienegas H. (G3) at Santa Anita was a much more straightforward affair. RIVER'S PRAYER (Devon Lane) stamped herself as the new queen of the downhill turf, with a perfect three-for-three mark over the course. She is a California-bred gray, like the previous incumbent, Cambiocorsa, whom she dethroned last fall in the California Cup Distaff H. River's Prayer is speedy and classy enough to be a force in the distaff turf mile events on the West Coast. As far as possible Breeders' Cup aspirations are concerned, though, the newly minted Filly & Mare Sprint on the main track would fit her better than any of her turf options. The same remark applies to Las Cienegas runner-up INDIAN FLARE (Cherokee Run). The Dahlia S. at Laurel Park on Saturday, however, unveiled a fascinating type in GRIGORIEVA (Ire) (Woodman). A half-sister to ill-fated multiple Group 1 hero Electrocutionist (Red Ransom), the four-year-old chestnut was making her U.S. debut for Graham Motion. She was caught napping at the break and strode out of the gate dead last, but she advanced smartly between rivals turning for home. After shifting about briefly at the top of the stretch, Grigorieva straightened herself and took off. Fully six lengths behind the loose-on-the-lead HIGH MOMENT (High Yield) in midstretch, she rapidly reduced that deficit to just three-quarters of a length at the line. This was a seriously good performance, albeit in defeat. Last year, Motion used the Dahlia as the starting point for Grade 1 heroine Sweet Talker (Stormin Fever), a notable player in the division throughout last summer. It's not hard to envision a similar program for Grigorieva, who had kept excellent company in France last season. After capturing a listed event for Andre Fabre, she chased the brilliant Mandesha (Desert Style) on a couple of occasions. Mandesha, subsequently honored as European champion three-year-old filly on the heels of three Group 1 scores, is set to take on males this year, with her ultimate target being the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1). With form lines like these, Grigorieva rates as a definite one to note. There will be plenty of action on tap in the division in the coming weeks -- Saturday's Santa Barbara H. (G2) at Santa Anita, the April 25 Bewitch S. (G3) at Keeneland and Wilshire H. (G3) at Hollywood Park, the April 28 Beaugay H. (G3) at Aqueduct and the May 5 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. (G3) on Kentucky Derby Day. Our next installment will take stock of these developments.
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