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Pick Pony | April 18, 2024, 4:05 p.m.
The Doubledogdare Stakes is a G3 race for fillies and mares that are four years old or older. It is run over a 1 1/16 dirt track at Keeneland Race Course. The purse is a whopping $300,000.
The race is named after Doubledogdare, a filly who secured a significant stakes victory for Claiborne Farm in the 1955 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland. That same year, she was voted American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. In 1956, she returned to Keeneland to win the Spinster Stakes and was awarded American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.
Raging Sea has been off the track for five months, and her latest works are concerning. However, this filly has enough speed to beat the pack with one leg tied behind her back. We think the time off Chad Brown gave her will serve her well and expect her speed to bounce back up this race. It’s Raging Sea for #2.
Nobody expects much from the Queen of Missoula - except for us. This is where our longshot bet is going. She knows how to win on all types of surfaces, and post-position 2 should help out this late runner. She has never raced against this level of competition and could buckle under the pressure, but her rapidly improving speed and pace make us think she’s ready to move up. We expect great things from her going forward, and Doubledogdare is where it all begins. We think she has a good chance of finishing in the money, so keep an eye on the overlay.
Scylia is the fastest horse in the race although Raging Sea has outperformed her recently. William Mott knows how to prep a horse and we can see his works have peaked just in time. We think she’ll get past Raging Sea for the win.
It’s been nearly seven months since Loved last raced and his latest works hint at caution. However, with Godolphin behind him, this mare keeps rising to the occasion. We think he’ll show up well and place in the money - barely.
Saddle Up Jessie’s speed is only average, possibly even below average. However, his blowout performance on September 29, 2023, at Laurel Park was easily the fastest speed of any horse in this race, which makes him somewhat of an enigma. Irad Ortiz in the saddle gives us confidence. Then his finish in her last outing brings us back down. We’re putting Saddle Up Jessie slightly out of the money, but with speed trending higher, we hope he does a little better this time around.
There’s not a whole lot to get excited about with Hidden Connection. Although one of the slowest horses overall, he’s shown impressive bursts of speed in prior races. Regardless, in most instances, he flounders against G3-caliber competition, and his speed shows a clear decline. Could he place in the money? Certainly. There’s not enough evidence to instill confidence in his ability to do so in this race. Toss.
Maybe trainer Philip Damato knows something we don’t. Curl Girl has never run in anything close to a G3-ranked race and still doesn’t impress even against lower-caliber competition. She appears to be far-outclassed in this outing. Toss.