Photo Call Rates Nod in Orchid
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Photo Call won the Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita Park last fall.
A wide-open field of older fillies and mares will line up for the $200,000 Orchid Stakes (gr. IIIT) going 1 3/8 miles at Gulfstream Park April 2.
Photo Call will inherit favoritism off her grade I victory in the 1 1/4-mile Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita Park last fall at 8-1. She briefly grabbed the lead in her next race, the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (gr. IT), but gave way to finish fifth. She ran into Tepin in her first race this season and checked in fourth in the Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes (gr. IIIT). There are no Tepins to deal with in the Orchid, and the stalker figures to get a good trip.
Quiet Kitten leads this field with seven victories and was supplemented into the Orchid after running an even fifth last month in the Very One Stakes (gr. IIIT) at 1 3/16 miles. She won a minor stakes over good ground at Gulfstream in December.
Juddmonte Farms' Suffused will make her first stateside start in the Orchid. She won a handicap event in England but failed to break through there in three stakes tries. She has been off since September but shows a steady series of breezes. Maximova finished second behind Goldy Espony in the La Prevoyante Handicap (gr. IIIT) in December over 1 1/2 miles at Gulfstream. She began this season with an even fourth in a minor stakes and has enough back form to rate a chance.
Crisolles ran well in allowance company in New York after arriving from France last summer, but was up the track in the grade III Long Island Handicap last November and will be making her first start since. Achnaha finished one placing in front of Maximova last out in her first stakes try but has visited the winner's circle just once in 17 tries.
Songoficeandfire hasn't won beyond a first-level allowance tilt and returned off more than a year layoff to run second in an allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream over good turf in February. My Sweet Girl has been stuck in second-level allowance company and would need to show improvement. Pretty and Sweet needed a drop into claiming company to break her maiden last time out.
Orchid S. (gr. IIIT)
Gulfstream Park , Saturday, April 02, 2016, Race 11
- 1 3/8m
- Turf
- $200,000
- 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
- 5:00 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Crisolles (FR) | Julien R. Leparoux | 119 | Christophe Clement | 5/1 |
| 2 | 2Achnaha (IRE) | John R. Velazquez | 117 | George Weaver | 12/1 |
| 3 | 3Suffused (GB) | Jose Lezcano | 117 | William I. Mott | 4/1 |
| 4 | 4Photo Call (IRE) | Javier Castellano | 119 | Todd A. Pletcher | 2/1 |
| 5 | 5Quiet Kitten (KY) | Nik Juarez | 117 | Marcus J. Vitali | 8/1 |
| 6 | 6Maximova (NY) | Joe Bravo | 119 | Christophe Clement | 6/1 |
| 7 | 7Songoficeandfire (KY) | Junior Alvarado | 117 | William I. Mott | 10/1 |
| 8 | 8My Sweet Girl (KY) | Edgar S. Prado | 117 | Barclay Tagg | 12/1 |
| 9 | 9Pretty and Sweet (IRE) | Leonel Reyes | 117 | Juan Andres Rodriguez | 30/1 |