The Very One

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

A field of 11 turf distaffers will travel 1 3/8 miles in the $100,000 The Very

One H. (G3) at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. The classy J'RAY (Distant View) has

yet to run this long for conditioner Todd Pletcher, but we feel that the in-form

mare will handle this trip with flying colors on this occasion. The chestnut

five-year-old had an excellent prep for this when third in the Suwannee River H.

(G3) last out and posted a pair of solid drills in the interim, so fitness

should not be an issue. We expect a stalk-and-pounce trip beneath Manoel

Cruz.

HOSTESS (Chester House) held her own against the top of her division during

much of last year and should have a fighting chance in this one. The James Bond

trainee placed in a pair of graded events in 2007 and finished a close fourth in

the Flower Bowl Invitational S. (G1) two back, and nothing in this field could

match the top trio in that one. The dark bay has won and placed in two tries

over this oval, and runs well fresh, evidenced by her tally off the shelf at this

venue last spring. John Velazquez has the call.

Christophe Clement has a duo in this race, led by Grade 3 queen MAURALAKANA

(Fr) (Muhtathir [GB]). The five-year-old bay ran arguably her best race two back

when a close second in the Glens Falls H. (G3) at this distance, and a repeat

of that effort would put her in the mix on this day. Clement is 22 percent off

the layoff and in the first start with trainer category, so we'll include the

miss in all of our exotics.

DUCHESS ROYALE (Ire) (Danehill), the second of the Clement duo, is a wildcard

in here as she'll be making her U.S. debut in this spot. The well-bred bay is

yet to be unplaced from six lifetime tries but has yet to face graded foes, so

it's hard to gauge her talent level. We trust Clement, so we will use the

four-year-old in our gimmicks at an expected big price.

The dark bay HERBORISTE (GB) (Hernando) ran a nice fifth in the La Prevoyante

H. (G2) at 1 1/2 miles two back and would be very competitive in this field with

a repeat of that effort for conditioner Michael Matz. The five-year-old stayer

earned a strong 108 BRIS Late Pace figure in her tune-up for this affair and should

be stronger with the added ground on this day. We're not sure if the mare could

win, but she has a big chance at a top three finish with her best. Jorge Chavez

has the call.

ARCHSTONE (Arch) is clearly better at marathon trips and could use the rail

draw to her advantage in here. The bay mare won at 12 furlongs over this course

last year, albeit versus cheaper, and she could find her way into the superfecta

with a ground-saving trip. CLIFFROSE (Ger) (Monsun) was a fast-closing second in

an allowance prep for this race and could improve in her second try of the year

for Jonathan Sheppard. The dark bay had failed to impress in her two starts in

2007, but we love Sheppard and will throw this one in our vertical plays at a

boxcar number.

TEJIDA (Rahy) could be the speed of the race and exits a second on this

course last out for Matz. The well-bred five-year-old has yet to run past nine

furlongs and she's facing a deeper field than she's ever encountered previously,

so we'll take a stand against the speedster.

ECLISSE (Fr) (Ski Chief) lacks the accomplishments and BRIS Speed numbers to

impact this group at this stage of her career. WINE AND DYNE (Dynaformer) has

never won on the turf and is still eligible for a first-level allowance race, so

we'll look elsewhere. LADY TROPICANA (Cloud Hopping) looks completely

overmatched.