Y66-W11 AWR Grade 1 Round-up

Original article written by Evelyne Cergerac posted 2 months 2 weeks ago

Quite a bunch of G1 races to cover this week, starting with the All-Weather Router division. The Synthetic Oaks and Synthetic Derby were held at the Artificial Arena (IL). Both were restricted to 3 year olds and ran over the distance of 1 ¼ M (2000m).

Let’s get started with the Synthetic Oaks, which was restricted to fillies, and its half million cash prize. Ten fillies took part in the event which saw Wandering Star take the win. This Orio filly, a homebred for Maria Schreuder, has been on fire since the end of the previous season and has now scored 6 wins in a row, including 2 G1 and 2 G2. She spent most of her race in a no man’s land in second position, waiting for the right time to accelerate. She closed on the leader in the last furlongs to cross the finish line with just a length margin.
In second position comes I Wanda Z, a Franzia filly bred and owned by Flizan Hambletonian. It is worth noting that she did not race as a 2 year-old. After a couple of attempts in stakes races early in the season, the filly was downgraded to NW type of races to, I assume, build up some experience and/or confidence. It seems to have worked (or maybe she has improved during festivus) as I Wanda Z took the lead right out the gates and managed to open a 5-length gap. Had she not crossed paths with the freaky Wandering Star, it is likely she would have won this one.
To complete the podium, Raspberry Parade finished in third place. The Avacas filly is a homebred for Kent Saunders. While she has been having mostly good results in multiple non-graded stakes, she hasn’t been able to win since the end of the previous season. Much like the rest of the field, Raspberry Parade dropped far back in the early running, at some point running over 10 lengths behind the leader. She was however able to recover much of the lost ground to finish just a length and a half behind at the wire.

Now to the second race, the Synthetic Derby with a $600,000 purse. Eighth horses were entered in this race which was ultimately won by Infringement. The Marque colt, bred and owned by Madelene Gilbert, is still undefeated this year with 5 wins to his name, including 2 G1 and 2 G2. As is his custom, Infringement dictated the pace from start to finish, leaving no room for his rival to threaten him. With this 6th career win, he is now the sole millionaire for his sire.
A length and a half behind Infringement on the finish line comes Positive Thinking, the only filly who dared to face the males. She’s a homebred Positive Vibes filly for Laura Ferguson. Positive Thinking had a brilliant start of the season with a win in the Winter Derby but had a slight dip in performance in the following races, finishing outside the top 3 in graded stakes races. Though, she is now back at the forefront and once again displayed incredible speed in the late stage of the race, launching her charge from 6th position, over 10 lengths behind the leader, to finish in second place. In a way, she reminds me of I Wanda Z in the Oaks as in it is very likely she would have won had Infringement not been there.
In third place comes Horn of Plenty, an Avacas colt bred and owned by Kent Saunders. He has won only one listed stakes race so far and has been pushed in graded stakes with more distance lately, quite successfully I may add. In the Synthetic Derby, Horn of Plenty raced alongside Positive Thinking, first waiting patiently at the back of the field in 7th position before he made his move in the stretch. While his rivals faltered, he kept up with Positive Vibes until the end.

Race Results:

Synthetic Oaks - Purse $500,000 - 1 ¼ M - 3yo fillies
1. Wandering Star (f. 3yo) - Orio x Wanda Woman (Avacas)
2. I Wanda Z (f. 3yo) - Franzia x Ava Wanda Z (Avacas)
3. Raspberry Parade (f. 3yo) - Avacas x Simi Fit (Simi Valley)

Synthetic Derby - Purse $600,000 - 1 ¼ M - 3yo
1. Infringement (c. 3yo) - Marque x Similarity (Staphanos)
2. Positive Thinking (f. 3yo) - Positive Vibes x Admire My Tolerance (Franzia)
3. Horn of Plenty (c. 3yo) - Avacas x Money Well Spent (Benjamin)

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