2013 Rodeo Drive Stakes; Lady of Shamrock Hoping To Find Her Four-Leaf Clover

2013 (GI) Rodeo Drive Stakes; Lady of Shamrock Hoping To Find Her Four-Leaf Clover

The 2013 Rodeo Drive Stakes is run at Santa Anita Park in balmy Arcadia, California this Saturday, September 28th and is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, “Win and You’re In”. The winner will qualify for an expense paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf in November. This race is for 3 year-old and up fillies and mares with a purse of $250,000 and run on the grass at 1 ¼ miles (10F).

This Friday’s opening day at Santa Anita kicks off the 24 day fall meet with five “Win and You’re In” races slated for this weekend for spots in the 14 Breeder’s Cup Championship Series races on November 1 & 2, 2013.

The Rodeo Drive Stakes was formerly known as the Yellow Ribbon Stakes and run for the first time in 1977. The 2012 edition was the first edition of the race under its new name. The name change was part of a mass renaming of 14 stakes races on the Santa Anita fall stakes calendar. The name changes came about with the end of a longtime partnership between Santa Anita and the Oak Tree Racing Association. The race record is held by Brown Bess in 2003. The most winning jockey is Kent Desormeaux with four and the most wins by a trainer are Robert Frankel with five.

It looks like this year’s field of seven is expected to be led by Tiz Flirtatious, an impressive winner of the (GII) John Mabee Stakes on the turf at Del Mar on August 11, 2013 and Marketing Mix, who beat her in the (GI) Gamely Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park in May. Last out Marketing Mix was fourth in the Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington Park to the European Dank who won the race that day and a spot in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. This will also be Tiz Flirtatious’ first time at this distance and she’s never been off the board. Both of these fillies will be super tough in here but I’m going with a gal I liked last year in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare turf, Lady of Shamrock.

The California gal Lady of Shamrock is a 4 year-old John Sadler trained daughter of Scat Daddy and a two-time (GI) winner. Last out she was second to Tiz Flirtatious in the (GII) John Mabee Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on the grass at Del Mar on August 11. Prior she was second in the (GII) New York Handicap at Belmont Park on June 29. Lady of Shamrock was a candidate for the Beverly D. Stakes but they elected to by-pass that race and stay in California as the division leader Marketing Mix was the headliner. With a career of 16 races she’s hit the board in 13 of those. The three times she didn’t were her first two races trying to break her maiden and last year’s Breeders’ Cup race. I’m looking for this gal to find her four-leaf clover on Saturday and upset the applecart. She’s been training superb at Santa Anita and I hope she can score here. Lady of Shamrock will exit post #2 with “Go-Go” Gomez in the irons.

So I’m super excited for my favorite track Santa Anita to be opening this weekend and I’m even more looking forward to attending this year’s 30th edition of the Breeders’ Cup Championship Series. This weekend is chock full of racing fun and lots of talent.

Most people know I’m a sucker for a Scat Daddy progeny in a race as he’s one of my favorite sires. This year’s 2013 Rodeo Drive Stakes looks to be one of the better races on Saturday and super tough but hopefully Lady of Shamrock can snag the win. In the John Mabee for some reason she was sent closer to the pace and sporting blinkers, huh?? This time, sans the blinker, I look for her to be taken back a ways. Tiz Flirtatious has beaten her in their last three outings but at the shorter distance. I think with the longer haul here, Lady of Shamrock can come charging late and pull an upset. Along with her I’d put Marketing Mix leaving from outside #7 with Gary Stevens, Tiz Flirtatious in the #3 spot with Julien Leparoux along with the longshot Starstruck from #5 with Rosie Napravnik up to hit the board. How can you not go for a filly named Starstruck in California in a race called the Rodeo Drive? Best of luck ladies and run safe.

The 2013 Rodeo Drive Stakes is the 6th race on the card of 11 with a post time of 3:34 PM PDT.

2013 Rodeo Drive Post Positions & Odds
1. Topic 12/1  J.Talamo/D.Drysdale
2. Lady of Shamrock 4/1 G.Gomez/J.Sadler *removing blinkers
3. Tiz Flirtatious 8/5  J.Leparoux/M.Jones
4. My Gi Gi 12/1 R.Bejarano/P.Eurton
5. Starstruck 10/1 (IRE) R.Napravnik/L.Jones
6. Vionnet 15/1 V.Espinoza/R.Mandella
7. Marketing Mix 7/5 G.Stevens/T.Proctor
UPDATED RESULTS: 3, 7, 6, 5, 2, 4, 1