The Falls City Handicap
Grade II – Purse $175.000 for fillies and mares three years and up over 1 mile and an eighth on the dirt.
1 Diamond Success, trained by Chilli King Stable
A winner of four from fifteen this three year old filly has changed hands twice in her last two runs and both have been pretty disappointing. She was bought at the summer auction for a hundred and one dollars after some good early season form but immediately disappointed by finishing well beaten ninth and was quickly unloaded for eight five dollars to her present owner. She took on a grade three in her very next race and was again well beaten this time finishing fifth of the six runners. I am pretty convinced that that is not her true form and she may have been unsettled by her moves but she may turn out to be a Spring filly and if that was the case we may not see her vying for the win here. Arguably her best run came in a grade two event, The Black Eyed Susan Stakes over this trip when she was third only beaten a length back in May but that seems a long time ago now.
2 Princess Baodicea, trained by Mwn Racing.
This five year old gets in here with a very competitive weight and has been working well enough on the dirt to suggest she can run a big race despite gaining all of her wins on the turf. A front running mare she was bought for a hundred dollars in the summer auction and after a three month layoff ran a decent second in the Dowager over a marathon trip of a mile and a half. She is going to find it tough again to make all here but she certainly has the exposed form to run well and will give good sight off her lightweight. She ran a head second in last years race off of a couple of pounds less and could be expected to match or better that performance today.
3 Miss Rainbow, trained by Barcelona Farms
Another big auction purchase she cost three hundred dollars back in the summer but unlike her rivals has remained unbeaten since then winning four from four. This four year old has now won ten from fourteen lifetime and whilst she has been well placed for most of those she has two grade three wins to her name so far this year. She recorded triple digit speed figures when winning the Turn Back The Alarm Handicap last time out and finished so strongly that it looks like this trip will be perfect for her. I think she may well win today despite a big weight to shoulder and I can see her trailing early and swooping late to pip the front runners.
4 Guided By Angels, trained by Dynark Stables.
Clearly the class of the race she gets a few pounds from Miss Rainbow which may help her recover her recent down turn in form. Well beaten in The BC Ladies Classic last time she had previously won the grade one Spinster beating the great Mrs Bombastic by a head. With over eighteen hundred dollars in prize money and a fair weight she will be short odds to win today and it would be easy to pick her as the winner. My one nagging doubt is the time since that very hot Ladies Classic and the fact that she has struggled a little on this course in the past, it may not stop her winning but it does cats a doubt over betting on her at what will probably be very short odds.
Summary
A disappointing size field for this nice prize all fingers point to Guided by Angels winning from Miss Rainbow and Princess Boadicea. I would fully expect that to be the one two three but for value I may go for Miss Rainbow stretching her senior rival and maybe just beating her for the main prize.
