Pianist looks to stay perfect at Belmont in Athenia
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Trainer Chad
Brown will saddle two fillies in Saturday’s G3 Athenia Stakes, and though one of his fillies has been installed
as the morning line favorite, it is his second entrant, billed as the morning
line second choice, that holds the most appeal. Though Samitar is the Grade 1
winner of the duo, it is Pianist that holds one key advantage in this weekend’s
event: pace.
We all know
the old adage “pace makes the race,” and that looks to be true for Saturday’s
Athenia. So long as the weather continues to hold and the race doesn’t come off
turf, front-running Pianist looks to
have things all her way. With little to no other early speed in the race,
Pianist should be able to sprint straight to the lead and then relax and set a
comfortable pace. With no pressure, she should have plenty left in the tank for
the stretch run. Tactical advantage aside, Pianist also has an affinity for
Belmont’s turf course. The chestnut filly is perfect in two starts there.
In her most
recent outing, the More Than Ready filly closely tracked undefeated for the
season Laughing around the Saratoga
course to lose the G2 Ballston Spa by just a neck. Prior to that she finished a
respectable 3rd in the G3 Dr. James Penny Memorial over a yielding
course and three starts back, recorded a win in the G3 Gallorette Handicap. In
both of those races she was part of the pace, weakening in the Dr. James Penny
but pulling away in the Gallorette. In neither race did she have intense
pressure on the front end and was able to race through comfortable splits;
however, the yielding Parx course likely did her no favors in the James Penny
Memorial.
From a pace
perspective, Assateague looks to be
Pianist’s biggest threat. She recently set the pace in the one mile G3 Noble
Damsel but faded to finish fourth, beaten only 1 ½-lengths for it all. She has
a couple of wins at the Athenia distance of 1 1/16 mile, but those wins came at
a lower level. I do not expect Assateague to win, but if she presses the issue
on the front end, she could take Pianist with her.
Samitar is obviously the class of the race.
Despite only having found the winner’s circle in a pair of minor stakes since
her G1 Garden City win over a year ago, she has remained competitive at racing’s
highest levels. Her typical stalking style will enable her to stay close to
Pianist’s pace and will give her a definite tactical advantage over the Ruthenia and Abaco, both sustained run types. Like Pianist, Samitar is a perfect
two-for-two over Belmont’s turf course.
Outsiders Embarr and My Perfect Ten round out the field of seven.
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