Posted on 2/8/2008 6:56:59 PM

Horse Racing Action - Las Virgennes and Risen Star Stakes

By D. S. Williamson

The 3-year old colts and fillies are on display this weekend in the Grade I Las Virgennes and the Grade III Risen Star Stakes. For those of you interested in thoroughbred history, the Risen Star Stakes is named after the only colt out of Secretariat to ever win a Triple Crown race. Risen Star won both the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes in the 1980’s. Will a Triple Crown race winner come out of the race named after Risen Star this weekend? Maybe.

Grade III Risen Star Stakes

Fairgrounds – New Orleans, LA

It’s all about Pyro in this race. Pyro finished second to War Pass in his last two races, the Grade I Champagne and the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. That will make Pyro a very, very short price in this race. That means I can’t pick him on top. Why? Because trainer Steve Asmussen won’t have Pyro turned up for this one. Sure, Pyro can still win on guts and talent alone, but I’d rather take a price horse for all of the marbles. That price horse is the other Asmussen trained runner, Z Fortune. Z Fortune got a terrible post, but he gets the best jockey in the country in Garret Gomez to take the call. He also is improving and could improve just enough to take this tough race at the Fairgrounds. Pyro should finish no worse then second. So, it’s up to us to find a price-horse for the third spot. That horse could be Prince Cortez. Out of the Tom Amoss barn, Prince Cortez is a Repent colt out of Relaunch mare. That makes him able to run all day. He’s undefeated but the Beyer figures are very, very low. He’s also coming out of the 12 hole. That will make him a long-shot in this race and the perfect horse to finish up the trifecta.

1. Z Fortune

2. Pyro

3. Prince Cortez

Grade I Las Virgennes Stakes

Santa Anita Park - - Arcadia, CA

Even though this is a Grade I, there isn’t a single horse in this bunch that I think will challenge either Country Star or Zayatta in the Kenucky Oaks come May. But because the talent level appears so even among the contestants, this is a fantastic betting race. It took me some time, but I finally settled on Bobby Frankel’s trained Lovely Isle. Lovely Isle has gone from trainers Kim Jackson, to Gary Contessa, to Richard Dutrow, and finally to Bobby Frankel for this Grade I in California. She won a $50,000 state bred allowance by 16 ½ lengths before throwing in the towel in her last, the Grade II Old Hat. In that race she lost by 18 ¾ lengths. I think a lot of non BetUS horseplayers will only look at that last race and discount how good this gal could actually be. I see a 44 ½ half-mile tomorrow with her on the lead all by herself. Nobody should catch her. For second place, I’m going to throw Golden Doc A into the mix. Golden Doc A will keep her odds, always puts in a decent run, and has Rafael Bejerano on her back. Third goes to Grace Anatomy who might go off the favorite in this race. Grace Anatomy has been running against the best of the best at all of the SoCal tracks. I don’t like her too much, but her class could take her far in this one.

1. Lovely Isle

2. Golden Doc A

3. Grace Anatomy

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