The Grade 2, $250,000 Mom Goose Stakes is Saturday’s featured race at Belmont on the Massive A that includes a discipline of eight 3-year-old fillies racing 1 1/8 miles.
The sector for the Mom Goose consists of Gun Tune and Tarifa, the second and third finishers within the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes 5 weeks in the past. Previous to that, Gun Tune gained the Cathryn Sophia Stakes whereas Tarifa was beforehand seen profitable the Grade 2 Honest Grounds Oaks offered by Fasig-Tipton again in March. Life Discuss gained the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes final fall on the distance of the Mom Goose and enters the race off a runner-up effort within the Seneca Stakes. The one different stakes winner within the discipline is Name One other Play, who gained the Weber Metropolis Miss Stakes in April. Dorothy’s Desires enters the race off a pair of wins in allowance firm and runs in a stakes race round two turns for the primary time. Simply Music brings a 2-for-15 report into the Mom Goose and runs in a stakes race for the primary time. Fairly Ana has one win in seven begins and in addition runs in a stakes for the primary time in her profession. Headline Numbers is attempting stakes competitors for the primary time however gained her debut in July after which was positioned first through disqualification in her solely different race.
Foremost win contenders:
Till final yr, the Mom Goose Stakes was run in June, and the change to the autumn created a brand new graded stakes for 3-year-old fillies presently of yr and a brand new race the place trainers may level their horses. With that in thoughts we glance to the ultimate prep race that final yr’s Mom Goose winner, Xigera, used as a springboard to victory, which was the Seneca Stakes at Churchill Downs about 5 weeks earlier. The one horse on this yr’s discipline popping out of the Seneca Stakes is Life Discuss, who closed strongly to be crushed a half a size on the wire and might need gained with only a couple extra yards to run. Now stretching out from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/8 miles, Life Discuss may be very doubtless to enhance off the career-best 93 Equibase Pace Determine earned in that race, notably as she is now making her second begin since coming back from greater than 5 months off. Higher nonetheless, final December Life Discuss gained the Demoiselle Stakes on the distance of the Mom Goose, right here at Aqueduct, additionally when stretching out from 1 1/6 miles to 1 1/8 miles. The Seneca was additionally the second race since coach Todd Pletcher put blinkers on Life Discuss. As such, Life Discuss may enhance off her Seneca effort and win this race.
Gun Tune will doubtless be the betting favourite on this race by advantage of her neck defeat by the hands of division chief Thorpedo Anna within the Cotillion Stakes 5 weeks in the past. In that race Gun Tune pressed the early chief in second for about three quarters of a mile then took over by a half a size earlier than Thorpedo Anna kicked into excessive gear. However, Gun Tune was very sport all the way down to the wire. She was disregarded by bettors within the race at 44.80-1 odds regardless that she had gained the Cathryn Sophia Stakes 4 weeks earlier and completed second within the Monmouth Oaks previous to that. Just like Life Discuss, Gun Tune additionally possesses a win at this 1 1/8-mile distance, having gained the George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes in Could. That effort earned a 95 determine, which she duplicated within the Monmouth Oaks. Gun Tune earned a a lot stronger 112 determine within the Cotillion, however that is likely to be taken with a grain of salt right here as a result of it was a lot increased than her earlier greatest efforts. Due to this fact, evaluating her pair of 95 determine efforts within the Monmouth Oaks and Black Eyed Susan to the 93 and 91 figures Life Discuss earned within the Seneca Stakes and Demoiselle Stakes, Gun Tune could also be as quick as Life Discuss and positively can win, however isn’t any standout.
Headline Numbers is a really attention-grabbing filly, and never simply because she’s skilled by Chad Brown (who additionally saddles Fairly Ana). Headline Numbers made her profession debut in July, effectively after the prep races for the Kentucky Oaks and the Oaks itself, which I’m certain was disappointing for the connections as she gained by practically 12 lengths with pace to spare. Stretching out to the gap of the Mom Goose for her second profession begin in August, Headline Numbers stalked in second within the early levels, received the lead within the stretch, then got here up a half-length quick on the wire. Nevertheless, when the winner was disqualified, Headline Numbers inherited the win. As a daughter of Gun Runner (the identical sire as each Gun Tune and Life Discuss), this filly has a promising profession forward of her. She improved from an 88 determine in her debut to 91 and is probably going to enhance once more, Headline Numbers has a shot to publish the upset on this race.
The remainder of the sector, with their greatest Equibase Pace Figures, is Name One other Play (90), Dorothy’s Desires (92), Simply Music (96), Fairly Ana (90) and Tarifa (106).
Win Contenders, in desire order:
Life Discuss
Gun Tune
Headline Numbers
