Orchid

Saturday’s $150,000 Orchid H. (G3) at Gulfstream Park features a familiar
cast of distance-loving turf distaffers. HONEY RYDER (Lasting Approval) looks to
defend her title in this 1 1/2-mile contest, and it will take a top-class
performance to dethrone the Todd Pletcher-trained gray.

We think that OLAYA (Theatrical [Ire]) has the credentials to deliver that
kind of performance and take the honors here. She’s two-for-two at the distance,
including a victory at the expense of males in the Derby du Languedoc in the
French provinces last year. Since coming to Graham Motion’s barn in the United States, Olaya has two wins and a second from three starts. She closed a good deal of
ground off a slow pace to snatch a narrow victory in the 1 1/2-mile Long Island
H. (G2) in her American debut, defeating Orchid rival KATE WINSLET (Signal Tap)
back in third. After a freshening, she returned to capture an allowance over
subsequent Hillsborough S. (G3) winner Ready’s Gal (More than Ready), racking up
a 104 BRIS Late Pace figure. Olaya was just caught late by DYNAMITE LASS (Dynaformer)
in their last outing, The Very One H. (G3), but she had a taxing trip that day
and is eligible to turn the tables. Olaya was off slowly and shuffled back to
last, then expended energy to move up to midpack after a half-mile, and made an
early move on the far turn to take the lead. All things considered, she ran a
deceptively good race in defeat. We suspect she’ll get a kinder passage on
Saturday, enabling her to mow down her rivals with her patented late kick. Edgar
Prado returns to the saddle.

Honey Ryder merits respect not only as the reigning titleholder but also as a
Grade 1 winner with strong form to her credit. The five-year-old mare defeated
some top-class rivals in 2005, including Film Maker (Dynaformer) in the Glens
Falls H. (G3) at Saratoga and Latice (Ire) (Inchinor [GB]) in the E. P. Taylor
S. (Can-G1) at Woodbine. In her seasonal reappearance at Gulfstream, Honey Ryder
was third to the classy Wend (Pulpit) in the Honey Fox H. (G3) at 1 1/16 miles,
a distance much too short for her. She posted a 100 Speed rating for that
effort, showing that she hasn’t lost a step over the winter. She will tote the
top weight of 120 pounds along with regular rider John Velazquez..

Dynamite Lass earned a career-best Speed rating of 100 for her victory in the
1 7/16-mile The Very One, and it’s no coincidence that she finally hit the
century mark when tackling the longest race of her life up to that time. She’s
bred to relish marathon trips, and the extra sixteenth of a mile in the Orchid
can only work to her advantage. The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee performed
creditably over shorter, including placed efforts in the Valley View S. (G3) and
2005 Herecomesthebride S. (G3), but she’s clearly found her home over extended
distances. Rafael Bejarano climbs aboard for the fourth straight race.

The Allen Jerkens-conditioned ASTI (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) lurks as an
intriguing sleeper who could improve with the step up in trip here. Although she
hasn’t tried 12 furlongs yet, she was a very close runner-up in the 1 1/4-mile
Prix Saint-Alary (Fr-G1) in 2004. Asti’s only stakes score came in the
off-the-turf Athenia H., but she’s run decently enough in turf stakes that may
well be too short for her. She’s exiting a 1 1/8-mile allowance victory in which
she recorded a eye-catching 121 Late Pace rating. Cornelio Velasquez picks up
the mount.

NOBLE STELLA (Ger) (Monsun) is exiting two third-place finishes, most
recently in The Very One and prior to that, in the La Prevoyante H. (G2), but
she was a non-threatening sixth behind Honey Rider in the E. P. Taylor. Although
she tends to find others too good for her in better company, the Roger Attfield
mare keeps knocking on the door and should be kept in mind for the exotics.

Kate Winslet just outdueled Noble Stella for the place in the La Prevoyante,
her last race in mid-December, but neither was troubling the easy winner, Film
Maker. Kate Winslet is a likeable sort who’s good enough to hit the board on her
day, but we’re a bit concerned that she hasn’t had a prep race under her belt.

POTRA CLASICA (Arg) (Potrillon [Arg]) was an honorable fourth in The Very One
after winging it on the lead through solid early fractions. If returning to her
usual stalk-and-pounce style, she could figure in the minor awards. PRETTY JANE
(Subordination), unraced since October, looks up against it to try to repeat her
third in the 2005 Orchid.