Beverly D. S.

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Saturday’s $750,000 Beverly D. S. (G1) brings together an excellent field of
10 turf distaffers and is the first of three Grade 1 races scheduled at
Arlington Park. Yielding ground appears likely and our top choice, WONDER AGAIN
(Silver Hawk), relishes soft conditions. The six-year-old mare appears to be
rounding into top form for trainer James Toner and should come flying late under
Edgar Prado.

A 5 3/4-length winner of last year’s Diana H. (G1) over yielding turf, Wonder
Again was entered to that event two weeks back but instead wound up scratching
and shipping to Arlington due to hard and firm turf conditions at Saratoga. The
outside post shouldn’t be much of a detriment as Solis will take back and
attempt to save ground into the first bend, and Wonder Again will be making her
third start of the year following an excellent second, beaten only a head, in
the 10-furlong New York H. (G2) last out. She earned a 110 BRIS Late Pace rating
in that performance, and we’ll look for her to come rallying boldly on Saturday
for the win.

ANGARA (GB) (Alzao) captured the Bewitch S. (G3) in April but has been
unlucky in three starts since. The Patrick Biancone-trained filly is a threat to
break through with her first Grade 1 score here. She was shut off in the stretch
when finishing a close second in the Sheepshead Bay H. (G2) three starts back,
traveled extremely wide around both turns when beaten only 1 3/4 lengths by
males two starts ago and came flying late but couldn’t catch the pacesetter over
the speed-favoring Spa turf in the Diana last time. Angara has earned Late Pace
ratings of 118, 113 and 111 from her last four attempts and is a very promising
turf runner. She can handle soft ground and could make a serious impact in this
spot.

MELHOR AINDA (Pulpit) is the morning-line favorite and should like off turf
conditions, but the Bobby Frankel trainee looks like a vulnerable win play at
short odds. She’s never beaten an opponent of merit and finished a
non-threatening second last time when stretching out to a similar route of
ground for the first time in her career in the American Invitational Oaks (G1).
Melhor Ainda is obviously very classy and will probably continue to develop into
a top-notch turf distaffer, but this will be her first attempt against older
rivals and we’ll just use her on the bottom of the exotics.

WEND (Pulpit) is another up-and-coming performer. The Bill Mott-trained
four-year-old broke her maiden in early January and has captured her last five
outings, including her graded bow in the New York H. last out. She picks up
seven pounds off that race and faces a much more difficult assignment here, but
Wend is a threat to parlay a front-running trip into a top three finish.

MEGAHERTZ (GB) (Pivotal) is an extremely classy individual who has excelled
over firm turf courses in California for Frankel. We have our doubts how she’ll
handle ground with some give to it on Saturday, but the Grade 1-winning mare
owns a strong late turn of foot and could have a say in the final outcome
regardless of course condition. SUNDROP (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) makes her U.S.
debut for Godolphin and has made four of her last seven starts against Group 1
rivals overseas. The four-year-old filly appears classy enough to challenge in
this spot, but Sundrop may prefer a little less ground. She remains a logical
top three candidate and should be able to carve out a ground-saving trip from
her rail post.

MONA LISA (GB) (Giant’s Causeway) likes a route of ground but will be
stepping up to tackle older rivals here. She’s hasn’t been much of factor at the
Group 1 level this season, so we can’t recommend her chances against these
rivals. TARFAH (Kingmambo) owns a winning attitude (five victories from seven
starts), but she appears to be facing a serious class hike in this spot. We’ll
just watch to see how the four-year-old fares.

MISS TERRIBLE (Arg) (Numerous) will likely show the way with her speed but
doesn’t appear well-suited for 1 3/16 miles. She also didn’t handle yielding
turf the only other time she’s attempted it in the United States. HALO OLA (Arg)
(Southern Halo) was a classy performer in her native Argentina, but she hasn’t
shown enough in three U.S. attempts for us to recommend her chances.