Rachel Alexandra Stakes Grade 2
- His Glory – Graham/Amoss
- His Glory is one of the pace setters today in this short field battling for $300,000. She also gets the addition of blinkers for the first time which should help her with the post and with the early speed she usually shows. She can do the distance but I think she prefers more of a flat mile or even 7 ½ which is a lot harder to find on dirt. The speed figures do not necessarily show any type of above average numbers. I think the rail actually might help her but at the same time she has early speed to the outside of her which might keep her trapped into a more pressure based runstyle. I will look elsewhere for my top pick.
- Ursula- Murrill/Stidham
- Ursula is a little bit more intriguing when it comes to trying to find a pace play in this race. She can sit off the pace if needed but I think she might actually get the jump on the 1 since she has a little bit more of an attractive post position. Her last race she showed just how game she is and just lost to Finite. Hopefully Mitchell Murrill can let her get comfortable and gain some confidence during the race.
- Swiss Skydiver- Hernandez Jr./McPeek
- Swiss Skydiver is very interesting in this field due to his closing/off pace runstyle ability. She is shipping in from Gulfstream for this race and gets McPeek’s more reliable jockey aboard. The worktab is almost ideal for her right now which is probably why McPeek is content with shipping in for this spot. I like her to pick up the pieces when the pace falls apart possibly today.
- Impeccable Style- Lanerie/McPeek
- Impeccable Style is McPeek’s other horse in this race. She is lightly raced and also low on the class aspect of this race. She might actually set up as a rabbit of some sort for Swiss Skydiver. She has been on the shelf since the early fall which means she might be not 100% fit right now. I expect her to actually go and duel with the early leaders setting this race up even more for Swiss Skydiver.
- Tempers Rising- Leparoux/Stewart
- Tempers Rising is the biggest closer in the field and is more of a one pace closer. Usually closers can close into a lot of different scenarios, yet this filly seems to hang instead of completely going by the leaders unless the pace completely falls apart. She usually gets wide trips due to this as well which end up tiring her out down the stretch. The only way I see this filly running a big race is if Leparoux actually rides a smart race which he seems to rarely do with this filly.
- British Idiom- Castellano/Cox
- British Idiom is going to be the favorite today and rightfully so. However, she might lose today if the pace sets up more for closers. I think regardless she will have the race set up perfectly for her. She likes to sit right off the pace, so she should get the first jump on the closers today as well. The class edge alone shows how good she is and she looks to be undefeated again after today.
- Finite- Santana Jr./Asmussen
- Finite gets the ultimate edge today as she should be right off the pace and maybe even more forwardly placed than British Idiom. I think she might be more attractive here than British Idiom as well. These connections romp in these type of races in this circuit as well. If she can beat British Idiom to the spot on the backstretch that they both should be aiming for, I think Santana Jr, will be able to get the jump on everyone down the stretch too. She is my top pick.
TOP PICKS
#7 Finite
#6 British Idiom
#3 Swiss Skydiver