BALTIMORE, 05-13-08---For one of the few times in recent memory, a Maryland-based horse figures to be the bettors' choice in the 84th running of the Grade II, $200,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, the fillies' equivalent of the Preakness. The Black-Eyed Susan is the co-headline event on Friday’s 13-race card at Pimlico Race Course, along with the Grade I, $250,000 Maryland Lottery Pimlico Special, and will be televised live on ESPN 2 at 5:45 p.m.
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Bsharpsonata
Photo Credit: Jim McCue/MJC
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Listed as the 9-5 favorite on the overnight line, Bsharpsonata will be tested by eight other females in the mile and an eighth race on the dirt and will be running with only a two-week break after a respectable fifth against top-flight competition in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.
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Eric Camacho
Photo Credit: Jim McCue/MJC
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Neither trainer Tim Salzman nor jockey Eric Camacho expressed concern about the quick turnaround after Bsharpsonata raised her lifetime earnings to nearly $500,000 in the Oaks, which was contested over a sloppy track.
"That's not even an issue," said Salzman. "In the Oaks, she broke from the 10 hole, so you have to get up and get over. She did it easy and without much speed, we just inherited the lead. In the Ashland (a second by a neck in her previous Grade I start), Little Belle got the lead on that poly surface and we let her get away with such easy fractions and I think that got us beat. In the Oaks, Proud Spell was just a better horse."
"I was trying to save as much ground as I could and nobody went out, so we ended up with the lead," said Camacho of the Oaks. "I was happy with the way she was traveling. She kicked well until the last part and I think she got tired on that heavy track. That track just didn't favor her that day."
It was also Bsharpsonata's first effort at 1 1/8 miles, but Salzman doesn't think the extra ground will be a factor. "Her mother (Apasionata Sonata) won a stake going a mile and a half," he said. "Of course, you're going to get some sort of criticism and we're about expected to win. But I feel comfortable that she is ready to run."
"She bounces back quick," added Camacho. "Eats the bottom out of the bucket and tears off on all fours. She's loving it and itching to go."
The field is not as strong as the last several Bsharpsonata has faced although Shes All Eltish (5-2 overnight) and Highest Class (7-2) look like solid contenders.
Shes All Eltish, trained by Marty Wolfson, boasts an impressive Grade II victory over Highest Class when she transferred from the turf in her previous race back to the main surface. On the grass last time, she finished fourth in the ungraded Calder Oaks at 1 1/8 miles.
"Her turf-back-to-dirt races are really strong," said Wolfson. "That will help her. Plus, the distance doesn't concern me like it would if I were some of those fellows in there. I'm not so sure 1 1/8 is right for that filly (Bsharpsonata)."
Wolfson won the Dixie Stakes in 1995 with The Vid, said his filly "seems to be able to handle anything, but seems to be better on dirt."
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Highest Class
Photo Credit: Jim McCue/MJC
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Highest Class ran third to Shes All Eltish after being steadied twice and "came back after being shuffled back a little," according to trainer Neil Howard. "She's a filly we always thought would find herself a little later on and we thought this race would be better because it's not quite as tough as the Kentucky Oaks. We thought we'd have a better chance in the Black-Eyed Susan."
Her sire was Mineshaft, who won the Pimlico Special under Howard's guidance.
Sherine won the Grade II Comely at Aqueduct on April 12 and comes to Pimlico for trainer Tony Dutrow, brother of Preakness favorite Big Brown's conditioner, Rick. Lightly raced Pious Ashley broke her maiden in her second start at Churchill Downs on Derby Day and will have Kent Desormeaux riding. Both fillies are owned by Zayat Stables and will run as an entry and are listed at 8-1 odds on the morning line.
New York invader Sweet Vendetta is also listed at 8-1.
Rounding out the field are Seattle Smooth (10-1), Maren's Meadow (15-1), who scored a Grade III win in her latest, and One Step Ahead (30-1), a victor in three of her last four but untried in stakes company.
A local horse has not won the Black-Eyed Susan since the late Buddy Delp trained Calipha to prevail in 1994. Salzman said "it would be a dream to win this kind of race in your hometown."
$200,000 BLACK-EYED SUSAN STAKES (GRADE II)
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NO. |
HORSE |
TRAINER |
JOCKEY |
ML ODDS |
| 1 |
Sherine |
Tony Dutrow |
Alan Garcia |
8-1 |
| 1A |
Pious Ashley |
Dale Romans |
Kent Desormeaux |
8-1 |
| 2 |
Sweet Vendetta |
Gary Contessa |
Channing Hill |
8-1 |
| 3 |
Maren's Meadow |
Larry Jones |
Gabriel Saez |
15-1 |
| 4 |
Highest Class |
Neil Howard |
Robby Albarado |
7-2 |
| 5 |
Bsharpsonata |
Tim Salzman |
Eric Camacho |
9-5 |
| 6 |
Seattle Smooth |
Julio Canani |
Edgar Prado |
10-1 |
| 7 |
One Step Ahead |
Jennifer Bramblett |
Pablo Morales |
30-1 |
| 8 |
Shes All Eltish |
Marty Wolfson |
Garrett Gomez |
5-2 |