The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies should be a wide-open betting race this year and features a couple different fillies who could develop into stars. Below is my analysis and betting strategies for the Grade 1 affair at Santa Anita Park.
1. Donna Veloce: She is being asked to do one of the toughest tasks in racing, facing winners for the first time in the Breeders’ Cup, but she appears talented enough to pull it off. There was buzz surrounding this filly for months before her debut and she did not disappoint with an effort that topped the field in Beyer Speed Figures and Sheet numbers. She could be a future superstar and if she is this will be the first and only chance to get a good price on her.
2. Wicked Whisper: This is the only filly that appears to offer comparable upside to Donna Veloce. She has won in hand in both starts and has the speed to sit a great trip. Like Donna Veloce, she will try two-turns for the first time, but appears to have the talent and breeding to overcome that obstacle.
3. K P Dreamin: She is a rapidly improving filly that looks like the perfect horse at a price to round out your exotic plays. She was second to last in the paceless Chandelier Stakes early on before making a premature middle move to try to get into contention. After spinning her wheels down the lane, she galloped out strongly past the leaders, leading me to believe that she will show a nice late kick in a race that should involve a hotter early pace.
4. British Idiom: This filly has done nothing wrong in two starts and owns an important win going two turns. The Alcibiades set up well for her however; and that did not appear to be the strongest field in the world. I like others better for the top slot, but she is another one who will be closing late to pick up some pieces.
5. Bast: She had to work awfully hard after sitting a great trip to put away Comical, who was coming off of two lousy races. I also do not like the way she has worked since that race. Consider her for the exotics, but she is a play against on top at a short price.
6. Perfect Alibi: She looks like the female version of Juvenile runner Scabbard. She is simply not fast enough to win a race like this, but she tries hard every time and her consistency could help her pick up a check in here.
7. Lazy Daisy: After being crushed by Bast in the Del Mar Debutante, she was able to parlay a perfect trip to a win in the weak Pocahontas Stakes. She will be part of a fast pace, but do not expect her to hang around late.
8. Comical: Ran great on paper in the Chandelier Stakes, but feel that was a product of making the lead on a biased track against a favorite who may not be as good as everyone thought. She will not be able to make the lead in this field and could find herself in a tough position trying to rate.
9. Two Sixty: She is another runner that likes to be involved early and after defeating a restricted stakes field at Gulfstream, she will be thrown in the deep end here.
$20 Betting Strategy
$2 Exacta Box: Donna Veloce and Wicked Whisper
$1 Exacta: Donna Veloce and Wicked Whisper with K P Dreamin and British Idiom
$0.50 Trifecta: Donna Veloce and Wicked Whisper with Donna Veloce, Wicked Whisper, KP Dremin and British Idiom with Donna Veloce, Wicked Whisper, KP Dremin, British Idiom, Bast and Perfect Alibi
-Padraic Manocchio
@xbtvpadraic
