WEEKEND STAKES: WHERE TO WATCH brought to you by KBC Horse Supplies
In anticipation of a huge Memorial Day weekend—18 graded stakes!—there will be only three graded stakes races presented this weekend, all on Saturday. Belmont has the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay, a 1 3/8-mile turf marathon for fillies and mares, three and up. Christophe Clement has an uncoupled entry of The Gaillimh Girl and Tarrip, and though both fillies are making their stakes debut win two wins from three starts, The Gaillimh Girl (had to look up this one—English translation: Galway) appears to be stronger of the two and has been given morning-line favorite status at 5/2. Bubbly Jane, at 4/1, makes her 2010 debut here. She has been rested over the winter since finishing third in the Long Island Handicap last November.
At Churchill Downs, a field of 11 will go postward in the G3 Louisville Handicap. The 1 ½-mile grass fixture has attracted defending champ Brass Hat, who has been high-weighted with 119 lbs. and is the morning-line favorite at 3-1. The venerable 9-year-old’s last outing was in G2 Elkhorn on closing day at Keeneland where he had his usual stretch-running punch but came up short to Musketier by less than two lengths. Speaking of venerable, 10-year-old Silverfoot is also entered; the white gelding won three straight editions of the Louisville from 2004-2006. Another one to watch is Telling, who should improve off his fourth-place finish when returning from a lay-off at a shorter distance.
Preakness winning combination of trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Martin Garcia will team up again with Concord Point in the G3 Laz Barrera Memorial at Hollywood Park. Baffert also will be saddling Macias, the only stakes winner in the seven-furlong Laz Barrera; he won two minor stakes at Santa Anita and most recently was sixth in the G3 Transylvania (on turf) at Keeneland. Also making the switch from turf to main is Smiling Tiger, whose most recent effort was a third-place finish in the Harry Henson in April where trainer Jeff Bonde said he has some trouble. Smiling Tiger bumped up against some tough competition last summer when finishing third in both the Best Pal and Del Mar Futurity. The winner of those races? Lookin At Lucky.
Tags: belmont, Bob Baffert, Brass Hat, Bubbly Jane, Christophe Clement, Concord Point, Gaillimh Girl, Galway, Hollywood Park, KBC Horse Supplies, Laz Barrera Memorial, Long Island Handicap, lookin at lucky, Louisville Handicap, Martin Garcia, Memorial Day, Sheepshead Bay, Silverfoot, Smiling Tiger, Tarrip, Telling, Weekend Stakes: Where to Watch