Apple Blossom nothing but an exhibition for Unique Bella
It isn’t often I revert to my fan roots, but on Friday, when the gates open for Oaklawn Park’s Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap, I will go full-on.
The horse responsible for temporary transformation from opinionated columnist to pure fan is the big, beautiful, sleek, gray bullet: Unique Bella.
Should she handle the weather and shipping outside California, she should hand this field an absolute drubbing. I know there are doubters out there about her ability to go two turns. Consider those concerns are unfounded.
In two tries at beyond a mile and around two turns, Unique Bella has won easily. In one of those efforts, she even took the measure of Abel Tasman, who would go on to win the 2017 Kentucky Oaks.
What makes Unique Bella so dangerous around two turns is exactly the reason people doubt her. It is her raw speed. Unique Bella is fast enough to sprint, though she is also a long-striding filly who is best when not rushed, but allowed to settle into that tempo.
Unfortunately for her opponents, her natural tempo is much faster than many can keep up with, so she ends up running her opponents into the ground by the time she and the field hit the stretch.
In regard to the surface, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said a sloppy track shouldn't be an issue. The way he put it: everybody has to deal with it. If the weather’s bad, then we’ll try to deal with it.” So, if that's the case, I expect this to be nothing but an exhibition race for the royally bred daughter of Tapit.
The fan in me would be happy with that.