Valley View

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Friday's $150,000 Valley View S. (G3) came up tough. A full field of 12

three-year-old fillies will contest the 1 1/16-mile affair over Keeneland's

turf, and we'll give a slight edge to TIGHT PRECISION (Pure Precision), who has

improved nicely since switching surfaces two starts back.

Trained by Tom Proctor, Tight Precision was multiple stakes-placed on dirt

and Polytrack earlier this season. She made her turf bow in the Hatoof S. two

starts back, rallying strongly from far off the pace to finish second while

registering a 101 BRIS Late Pace rating, and she ran a good race last time in

the Pucker Up S. (G3) at Arlington Park. The Florida-bred caught soft turf last

time and left herself too much to do in the stretch, but she really kicked it in

late, making up more than seven lengths in the lane to check in fourth, beaten 2

1/4 lengths. That effort puts her right in the mix here, and we expect to see

Tight Precision keep progressing on sod with her first stakes victory.

MUCH OBLIGED (Kingmambo) exits a fifth in the Pucker Up, and we give her a

solid chance in this spot. Conditioned by Malcolm Pierce, the Pin Oak Stable

homebred is a stakes winner on turf, capturing the inaugural running of the

American One Thousand Guineas at Arlington Park this summer, and just missed in

the Boiling Springs S. (G3) three starts back. She hasn't run as well in her

last couple of outings, but Much Obliged is a strong finisher (113 Late Pace

rating in the Boiling Springs) who must be respected.

CLEAR POND (Dynaformer) finished third when making her stakes debut in the

Pucker Up, and the Rusty Arnold-trained lass must be considered dangerous in her

second start versus stakes rivals. The dark bay registered a 102 Late Pace

number for her effort last time, and she owns a commendable 4-2-0-1 mark on the

turf. The improving filly is another closer to fear.

ACOMA (Empire Maker) owns the dirt class to challenge, finishing second in

the Monmouth Oaks (G3) most recently, but she's never started on turf. The Grade

3 winner owns the pedigree to handle the weeds, but the David Carroll trainee

drew a tough outside post here and will be returning from a 69-day freshening.

She still rates as a serious top-three candidate.

JULIA TUTTLE (Giant's Causeway) will take the field as far as she can from

the rail and should offer plenty of value (15-1 morning line). She doesn't own

the preferred running style for Keeneland, but the Ferris Allen pupil did hold

for third in the Virginia Oaks (G3) this summer and captured a listed stakes at

Monmouth Park two starts back. She's eligible to stick around for a minor award

here. French invader GRENADIA (Thunder Gulch) will be making her U.S. debut and

merits consideration for the exotics. We respect the connections and her

overseas form, but this will be her first attempt at the graded/group level.

Your call.

MISS CHALLENGE (More Than Ready) will bring a two-race win streak into the

Valley View and is eligible to outperform our expectations, but we'll give the

New York shipper at least one start at the graded level before recommending her

chances. FOREST TRAIL (Forest Wildcat) has shown some promise this season for

Shug McGaughey and just missed last time to Miss Challenge. We won't use her,

however, from post 11.

SCOLARA (Quiet American) finished second when making her stakes debut in the

American One Thousand Guineas but hasn't started in 146 days since then. We'll

give her a race off the bench. DREAMING OF LIZ (El Prado [Ire]) didn't fire in

the Pucker Up, but the Grade 3-winning miss hails from strong connections and

has been training forwardly in preparation for this start. The big strike

against her is the fact that she's unplaced in two previous turf starts.

STEALIN' KISSES (Sky Mesa) could add to the pace, but she's not likely to

sustain her speed. ABSOLUTELY SMART (Vindication) broke her maiden two starts

back and finished second against allowance rivals last time. This is an

ambitious class hike. ABSOLUTELY CINDY (Arch) will need to draw in from the

also-eligibles list and hasn't started since a last-place finish in the Kentucky

Oaks (G1).