Bonnie Miss

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Seven sophomore fillies will go nine furlongs on the main surface in hopes of
taking down the top prize in the $150,000 Bonnie Miss S. (G2) at Gulfstream Park
on Saturday. BACKSEAT RHYTHM (El Corredor) put in a solid run versus some fine
turf fillies in her 2008 debut and seems poised for a big effort in her second
start off the shelf for Patrick Reynolds. The bay miss didn’t get going as a
juvenile until she stretched out beyond sprint distances, but her improvement
was considerable, evidenced by her placings in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
Fillies (G1) and Frizette S. (G1). The Kentucky-bred has trained well in advance
of this and should get a solid pace at which to run late under Javier Castellano.

HIGHEST CLASS (Mineshaft) also took some time to get going but has been quite
steady for trainer Neil Howard, as she will likely pose the biggest threat to
our top pick. The dark bay lass won two straight to conclude her 2007 campaign,
including a facile win over eventual Grade 3 queen Eight Belles (Unbridled’s Song), and
showed good late energy last out in a solid effort when third in the
Silverbulletday S. (G3). John Velazquez will guide the dark bay, who should be
rolling late.

HALO HOLLIE (Halo’s Image) displayed a stubborn late run in her recent
allowance tally and comes into this race in top form for Eddie Plesa Jr. The
Florida-bred lacks the credentials of many of her foes but has improved
dramatically since her third-place effort in her debut in late December. This filly is another
bred for speed, and she’s never run two turns, but her fondness for this oval
should catapult her into the trifecta. Cornelio Velasquez will be in the irons.

SHE’S ALL ELTISH (Eltish) has never been off the board in six career starts
and always fires for trainer Marty Wolfson. The bay miss ran a winning race when
second in a recent turf allowance and should be prominent from the outset, but
she has never been two turns on the main oval and is bred for speed, so we’ll
proceed with caution. The Florida-bred is an obvious exotics threat, but we
don’t like her for the win. OVERANDABEAUTY (Grand Slam) was caught going a mile over this surface last out
for Nick Zito, and the gray miss will attempt to handle an extra furlong in her
route debut. The filly is fast early and should get first run on the closers,
but we can’t envision her being there in the latter stages under Kent Desormeaux.

ROBBIE’S GAL (Straight Man) opened up a huge lead in the recent Davona Dale
S. (G2) approaching the final turn before tiring late for third in that one, and we’re not
confident that the Florida-bred will excel at this distance for conditioner
Stephen Dimauro. The bay filly has been running strong since August of last year
and has proven to be competitive on both turf and dirt, but we must side with
others in this affair. CLASSY CONCERN (West Acre) rolled home by 10 3/4 lengths in a maiden claiming
event two back when claimed by Reynolds, but we can’t help but think that she is
entered solely to assure a solid pace for her stable companion. The bay filly
showed nothing in an allowance tilt most recently and will likely fold prior
to the stretch.