Saturday’s running of the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga Race Track is supposed to be a showdown between top 3-year-old fillies Proud Spell and Music Note. However, as of late Friday evening that remains somewhat in doubt. That’s because Sheik Mohammed and Godolfin Stables, owners of Music Note, are still toying with the idea of facing off against some of the top 3-year-old colts in the Travers Stakes next weekend.
The 1 1/4 mile Alabama is one of the bigger stakes of the Saratoga meet, attracting some of the top fillies in the nation in each year with a $600,000 purse. Even if Music Note departs, we’ll still have a decent matchup with Proud Spell and Little Belles. In fact, Little Belles is officially listed as coupled with Music Note for Godolphin Stables and trainer Saeed bin Suroor. The field for the Alabama is as follows:
- #2 Proud Spell (G.Saez) - 8/5
- #1 Music Note (J.Castellano) - 4/5*
- #3 Skylighter (E. Prado) - 15/1
- #4 Mushka (J. Velazquez) - 6/1
- #1A Little Belle (R. Maragh) - 4/5*
- #5 Sweet Vendetta (R. Dominguez) - 8/1
Assuming Music Note runs tomorrow, I firmly believe it’s her race to lose. When coupled with the feisty Little Belle, Music Note would appear to make a strong favorite to beat. She exits 4 consecutive impressive victories, including a dominating 11 length victory in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks over Little Belle, and a 3 length victory over Proud Spell in the Grade 1 Mother Goose after stumbling at the start.
Music Note defeats Proud Spell in the G1 Mother Goose on 6/28/08 at Belmont Park
If Music Note were to scratch and opt for the Travers, than the Alabama would appear to be a two horse race between Little Belle and Proud Spell. In such a case, Proud Spell would likely inherit post time favoritism over Little Belle, While Little Belle and Proud Spell have taken turns beating one another, with Little Belle prevailing in the Ashland and Proud Spell turning the tables on her in the Kentucky Oaks, it’s important to note that Proud Spell is the much more accomplished runner on the dirt. Proud Spell also has the always dangerous Larry Jones/Gabriel Saez tandem, and I’m not sure there’s a better trainer/jockey tandem for 3-year-old fillies in the nation.
Looking at the rest of the field, Skylighter is a Robert Frankel trainee that took 6 tries before breaking her maiden 2 starts ago. She came back to beat N1X Optional Claimers at the $75,000 level last time out and is taking quite a class hike today. It’s good to see that she’s headed in the right direction, but it’s hard to expect her to run her best race here with out quite a bit of racing luck. Mushka was a Grade 2 winner in the Demoisel as a 2-year-old, but was a beaten favorite against weaker in her 3-year-old debut on July 25.
Sweet Vendetta is probably the most attractive of the longer shots on the board. I was on hand at Pimlico to watch her prevail in the Black Eyed Susan over a very sloppy Pimlico track on May 16. The win marked her 2nd in a row and 3rd in her last 4 races. In fact, in her last 4 starts, Little Belle is the only horse to have defeated Sweet Vendetta.
This doesn’t have the makings of a good betting race, but as I’m a guy that likes to have at least a small amount of action on the major races, here’s how I’d play it. If Music Note runs she’s the obvious win candidate, and good luck trying to beat her. I’d use Proud Spell and Sweet Vendetta underneath in the exacta and trifecta. If Music Note is out than I think you play Proud Spell for the win, with LIttle Belle and Sweet Vendetta underneath in the exacta and trifecta.
1/2,5/2,5 (If Music Note runs)
2/1,5/1,5 (If Music Note scratches)
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