The FL Oaks

                         2/4/12 at Tampa Bay Downs

                              Three-Year-Old Fillies

                                 1 1/16th Over Turf

                                   Purse: $150.000

A field of nine three-year-old fillies are all hoping to leave Tampa on

Saturday with their first career stakes win in $150.000 The FL Oaks.

The 1 1/16 race over the turf should be an interesting one, as there

are some very lightly raced fillies in the field, several of whom have

never even run over the turf, and others who will be make their stakes

debut in this race.

Queen Of The Peter, sent out by 5 A Racing is one with a good

shot here as she makes her 4th stakes start. This daughter of Sir

Peter Teazle has finished in the money in all three of her previous

stakes races, which were all on dirt, and this will be her first stakes

race on turf. She does have an allowance win on the grass at this

1 1/16 distance, which came in her last start, here at Tampa on

1/14/12, where she went wire to wire and won by one length.

Another filly who looks good here, is Dam Shes Noisy, trained by

Eastern Equine. The daughter of Dam That Fusion will make her

2nd stakes start here, and just her 6th career start. She has never

run longer than one mile on the turf, but is coming off of a win in a

$49.000 Allowance race at the Fair Grounds on 12/17/11, and in

that one mile race on the turf, she closed well to win by a neck,

so the added distance in The FL Oaks, should suit her very well.

Blu Crown will be making just her 2nd start for trainer Kopites,

who purchased the daughter of King Of Nebraska privately on

12/10/11 for $90.000 from Running Farms. In her first race for

her new trainer at GP on 12/31/11, she finished 2nd, just a head

behind the winner, in a $64.000 Allowance run at one mile over

turf. In the race, she fought hard down the stretch, and so the

added distance here should not be a problem.

With all nine of these girls seeking their first ever stakes win, any

one of the fillies could come home the winner. It looks like it will

be an all out war between these three-year-olds, so get ready for

a wild ride Saturday at Tampa, in the $150.000 The FL Oaks!

The Field:

1   Paris Man: Trained by Greyfriars Stable, this filly by The

     Marlboro Man will make her 6th stakes start, and looks

     for her first stakes win. Don't let her name fool you, as

     she is all girl, and The FL Oaks will be just her 3rd race

     over the turf.

     Last ran on 1/7/12 in the $100.000 Busanda Stakes, at

     AQU, where Paris Man finished 4th, three lengths from

     the winner in the one mile and seventy yard dirt race.

     Prior to that, she ran in three graded stakes, where she

     was 4th in all three. One of those, the Grade III Jessamine

     was at this 1 1/16 distance on turf. Her only win was a

     $16.700 MSW on 8/6/11, run at one mile over the dirt at

     Suffolk.

    -Just don't think Paris Man is ready for stakes races. She

     has only finished in the money in two of her seven lifetime

     starts, and her only win came in a low level MSW. Worked

     one mile over the CD turf on 12/17/11 in 1:37 and 1, going

     handily, which is on the slow side for stakes runners. She

     looks like she needs to get some allowance wins, and get

     a bit faster, and could be in a tough spot here, especially

     breaking from post 1 on the rail.

2   Dazzling Di: Trained by Dynark Stables, this filly by Colins

     Cat is making her very first start on turf here. This will be her

     2nd stakes race, and her stakes debut came in her last race.

     Last ran in the $100.000 CA Breeders Championship Fillies

     Stakes, where Dazzling Di finished 5th in the 7 furlong race

     on dirt for CA Bred fillies on 12/26/11. Prior to that, she won

     a $25.000 Claiming race run 11/20/11 over a muddy track at

     Churchill, where she was claimed out of the 1 1/16 race from

     Barcelona Farms. Her other career win, came at LS on 7/18/11,

     in a 5 1/2 furlong dirt $23.000 MSW.

    -A bit of a wildcard here, since she has never raced on turf.

     Stakes level may be a tough spot for her to make her turf 

     debut, however she did post a nice one mile work over the

     GP turf on 1/13/11, covering the distance in 1:35.65. If she 

     can avoid getting pinned on the inside since she breaks in

     post number 2, she may run well.

3   Royal Empress:  The first of two fillies in this field for Pan

     Farms, this daughter of Royal Emperor will make her stakes

     debut here, and just her 5th career start.

     Coming off of a 2nd place finish on 12/9/11 at Hollywood in a

     one mile turf, $52.000 Allowance. She finished 3/4 of a length

     back in that race and was losing ground before the wire. Prior

     to that however, she won at a mile on turf, but against a softer

     field, in a $25.000 Optional Claiming race for CA Breds, and

     he other win came when she broke her maiden on 10/2/11 at

     Santa Anita in a $54.000 MSW, also at a mile on turf.

    -Being lightly raced, with just a state bred optional claiming win,

     and a MSW, Royal Empress doesn't looks like she is quite at

     the point she is ready for stakes level races. In her last race,

     which was the biggest of her career, she was tiring before the

     end of the one mile race, so the added distance could be more

     than she wants to go here. She has run well in her last three

     races, but may need some more experience.

4   Blu Crown: Trained by Kopites, this filly by King Of Nebraska

     will be making her 3rd stakes start Saturday, and looking for

     her first stakes win. She finished 6th in last November's BC

     Juvenile Fillies Turf race, run at one mile on turf, and closed

     very well in the race to be just two lengths back.

     Coming off of a 2nd place finish on 12/31/11, in a one mile

     turf $64.000 Allowance at GP, where she was just a head

     behind the winner. Prior to the run in her BC race, mentioned

     above, Blu Crown made her stakes debut on 10/13/11 at KEE,

     where she closed well to finish 2nd in the Grade III Jessamine,

     run at this 1 1/16 distance on turf.

    -Just missed the win in graded stakes company at this distance

     and in five career starts on turf, the only time she finished off

     the board was in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf race. Think that

     she could have a great shot at the win in The FL Oaks.

5   Dirty Bomb: Trained by Threshold, this filly by Wilbur Force

     is making her stakes debut in The FL Oaks, and just her 3rd

     career start. Just broke her maiden last time out on 11/10/11.

     Comes into the race after breaking her maiden at HAW on

     11/10/11, at this 1 1/16 distance on turf in a $32.000 MSW

     race. Her only other career start came at the free level, at

     MNR on 10/4/11, where she finished 4th in her race debut,

     which was a 7 1/2 furlong turf MSW.

    -Think Dirty Bomb could be in way over her head here. She

     has a win at this distance on turf, but it is her only win, and

     just came in her last start. Just doesn't look ready for stakes

     with just two prior starts and her recent 6 furlong work over

     turf was on the slow side. Stranger things have happened, but

     think this could be a very tough spot for her.

6   Queen Of The Peter: Trained by 5 A Racing, this filly by Sir

     Peter Teazle is starting in her 4th stakes race, and looks for

     her first stakes win on Saturday. Only off the board in one of

     her six career starts, this will be her first stakes on turf.

     Last ran three weeks ago on 1/14/12, where she won at this

     1 1/16 distance in a $24.500 Allowance race here at TAM.

     Prior to that, she ran in the $100.000 IL Debutante at HAW

     on 12/3/11, where she just missed the win, and finished 2nd

     a nose behind the winner in the 1 1/16 race run over a muddy

     track. Three starts back was her only off the board finish, when

     she was 4th after closing from far off the pace in the one mile

     dirt, Grade II Pocahontas on 10/30/11.

    -Coming off of a win at this distance on turf, and both of her

     career wins were over the grass. Has finished very well in her

     previous stakes races, which were all on the dirt, and think she

     could do really well in her first stakes race on turf. She is a

     very consistent filly, so watch her closely Saturday.

7   Dam Shes Noisy: Trained by Eastern Equine, this filly by 

     Dam That Fusion will be making just her 6th career start,

     and her 2nd stakes start on Saturday.

    Coming off of a win on 12/17/11 at The Fair Grounds, where

    she won a one mile turf $49.000 Allownace race. She ran in

    2nd for much of the race, then closed nicely to win by a neck,

    so the extra 1/16 of a mile could be perfect for her. Her stakes

    debut came three starts back on 9/10/11, at LAD, in the one

    mile turf $100.000 Happy Ticket, where she finished 5th.

   -Has never run further than one mile on turf, but if she runs

    like she did in her last race at a mile, where she won by a

    neck, the added distance here could benefit her. Only off the

    board in on of her 5 career races, which was in her stakes

    debut last September, and since then she has been running

    very well. Think she could win here, and is one to watch.

8   Jetties: Trained by Four Winds Racing, this filly by Jet Black

     will be making just her 5th lifetime start, and her 2nd stakes

     start, and looks for her first stakes win. Has never raced on

     turf, so she makes her turf debut Saturday.

     Last start on 1/7/12 was her stakes debut, in the $100.000

     Busanda at AQU, run at one mile and seventy yards on the

     dirt, where she finished 5th, four lengths behind the leader

     after tiring. Prior to that, on 12/12/11, she won a $47.000

     Allowance at PHA, also run at one mile and seventy yards

     on dirt. She broke her maiden three races back on also at

     PHA at one mile and seventy yards in a $45.000 MSW.

    -Has run well in several of her recent races, with her only

     off the board finish coming in her last race, which was her

     stakes debut. A bit of a wildcard for Saturday, since she

     has never run on turf before, but she has some very nice

     one mile turf works. Don't think she is quite ready for the

     stakes level races, but after her sharp turf work, she may

     put forth a big effort in The FL Oaks.

9   Over The Limit: The 2nd of two entries in the race for Pan

     Farms, this filly by Laffin Policeman will be making just her

     5th career start and her 3rd stakes start Saturday, and she

     looks for her first stakes win. Has never raced on turf before.

     Last ran in the Grade III DED Princess at DED, on 11/19/11,

     where Over The Limit finished 6th, four lengths back in the

     one mile race over the dirt. Prior, was her stakes debut in

     the Grade I Frizette, where she ran well in 2nd early, then

     tired to finish 4th on the one mile dirt race. Her only win was

     when she broke her maiden on 9/10/11 in a $55.900 MSW

     run at 7 furlongs over the Woodbine dirt, and that was also

     her only in the money finish in her four career starts.

    -Think Over The Limit could be in Over her head here. Has

     never raced on turf, and doesn't have any posted works on

     turf, so we have no idea how she will handle the surface

     switch Saturday. She just doesn't quite look ready to run

     in stakes races with just a MSW win that was also the

     only time in four starts she has hit the board.

                           Cyn's Picks: 6 - 7 - 4