Filly & Mare Turf Diary

FILLY & MARE TURF DIARY

MARCH 17, 2005

by Jennifer Caldwell

This weekend should prove very exciting as three graded

turf races have been carded on the turf for fillies and mares, and a

major player is set to make her 2005 bow on Sunday in the Santa Ana H. (G2) at

Santa Anita. MEGAHERTZ (GB) (Pivotal) ended last year with a close head decision

in the Hollywood Turf Cup (G1) while taking on the boys. The Bobby Frankel

charge really came on at this time last year, starting off the season with a win in the San Gorgonio H. (G2)

and finishing first

in the 2004 edition of the Santa Ana before being disqualified to seventh. After a win in the Santa Barbara H. (G2)

and a runner-up placing in the Gamely Breeders' Cup H. (G1), the six-year-old

took the summer off and then returned in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare

Turf (G1), where she finished 11th.

Another Santa Ana contender, MOSCOW BURNING (Moscow Ballet), did

much better in the Breeders' Cup, running fourth, and also tried her luck

against the boys in the Hollywood Turf Cup. She finished fourth in that one as

well and made her five-year-old debut a close fifth-place finish in the Sunshine

Millions Filly & Mare Turf last out. Watching these two go at it again should

make for some excellent racing.

The Herecomesthebride S. (G3) at Gulfstream on Saturday features

Gaily Gaily S. winner CAPE HOPE (Cape Town), who has captured all three of her

starts so far on the green by a combined 14 1/4 lengths. The runner-up from the

Gaily Gaily, DYNAMITE LASS (Dynaformer), will also return in the

Herecomesthebride. That dark bay sophomore started off her 2005 campaign with a

neck second in the Tropical Park Oaks on New Year's Day. Also scheduled for

Saturday is the Hillsborough S. (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs.

Looking back over the past two weeks, five performances stood

out in the filly and mare turf division. HONEY RYDER (Lasting Approval) will

start off this week's Diary after taking The Very One H. (G3) at Gulfstream Park

by a neck. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the gray miss saved ground before moving

outside of the leaders and rallying to be up at the wire in that March 6 event.

She earned a career-best 106 BRIS Speed rating for the game effort, and is likely

headed to the Orchid H. (G2) on April 2, according to Pletcher. Honey Ryder

completed that 1 3/8-mile firm grass test in a course record 2:11 3/5.

SHINING ENERGY (Rahy) made her U.S. debut a winning one when

taking on eight rivals in the La Habra S. on 3/6 at Santa Anita. Racing near

the back, she angled in coming down the hill but moved back out when entering

the stretch, bumping with Coastal Strike (Smart Strike) in the process, before

posting an easy 2 3/4-length score. Making her first start for Julio Canani, the

chestnut was the 9-5 favorite in the about 6 1/2-furlong firm turf affair.

Earlier in the week, on 3/2, PATH OF THUNDER (Thunder Gulch) earned her

spot in the Diary after taking a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance at Gulfstream by 1

1/4 lengths. That was the Pletcher charge's second straight victory but her

first on the green. She had previously run second by a neck in the grassy

Princess Mora S. at Calder last season and defeated the likes of Grade 3 winner

Shaconage (El Prado [Ire]) in that Gulfstream allowance.

On Sunday, SAND SPRINGS (Dynaformer) proved she hasn't lost a

step when scoring a front-running nose win in the Honey Fox H. (G3) at

Gulfstream. She was making only her second start for conditioner Bill Mott in

that 8 1/2-furlong race after spending her other 19 lifetime starts under the

tutelage of trainer Tony Reinstedler. During that time, she captured the Regret

S. (G3) and Lake Placid H. (G2), and placed in numerous other black-type events,

including the inaugural running of the American Invitational Oaks. Now a

five-year-old, the dark bay mare is likely to move forward off this performance.

WARNING ZONE (SAf) (Elliodor) won her stateside bow in fine

fashion on Saturday, scoring by a length for Pletcher in the about 7 1/2-furlong

Marie G. Krantz Memorial H. at Fair Grounds. The dark bay five-year-old is a

candidate to regress off that one, but I'm going to look for bigger, better and longer races

down the road for her.