Sixty Sails Handicap 2014 Contenders & Odds

Las Vegas, NV – Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero, Illinois will be the scene of the Grade 3 Sixty Sails Handicap this Saturday, April 19. The race will feature fillies and mares three years old and upward that are willing to race 1 1/8 miles on Hawthorne’s main track for a purse of $150,000.

Eight older females will line up in the Sixty Sails Handicap – race 8 on Hawthorne’s Saturday schedule. Post time is 5:10 PM. Here is a look into the past performances of all eight combatants for this Grade 3 stakes.

Flashy American – made her graded stakes debut with a very respectable second in the Grade 3 Shuvee July 20 after a win in her stakes debut – the Iowa Distaff Stakes at Prairie Meadows June 28. She had a nice two race win streak in the summer – the minor Alada Stakes at Saratoga August 9 and the minor Locust Grove Stakes at Churchill Downs September 7 but has placed in one of three starts since – all graded stakes races. Lat time out was a sixth in the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park March 15 after an OK third in the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs in November and a fourth in the Grade 1 Zenyatta at Santa Anita in September. She has seven career wins, three seconds and three third place finishes in 25 career starts for trainer Kenneth McPeek and looks like the best of the bunch for the Sixty Sails. She will be guided by Christopher Emigh from post 2 as the 3-1 morning line favorite.

Sonja’s Angel – has 33 starts for trainer Peter Walder with nine wins, seven seconds and five third place finishes. She has just one stakes start however – a sixth place finish in the minor Bassinet Stakes at River Down in 2010. She enters having recorded two wins and a second in her last three starts – all at Gulfstream. Last time out was a second in an Allowance Optional Claiming March 19 after a pair of Starter Optional Claiming this past winter. She makes a major jump in competition Saturday with Martin Garcia in the saddle from the rail. Despite the graded stakes experience, Sonja’s Angel is the 7-2 second choice for the Sixty Sails.

Dixie Strike – Mark Casse trainee is coming off a fifth in the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park March 15 after a second in the listed Bayakoa Stakes and a fourth in the listed Pippin Stakes on that same track this past winter. She did finish second to close out her 2013 campaign in the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes at Woodbine but hasn’t been the same since. She has six wins, five seconds and three third place finishes in 21 career starts – the best being wins in May 2012 in the Selene Stakes and the 2012 Prince of Whales Stakes. She attempts to snap a four race losing streak Saturday from gate 4 with Miguel Mena aboard. Dixie Strike is cross-entered in the Doubledogdare Stakes at Hawthorne Friday but is the 4-1 third choice for the Sixty Sails.

Gamay Noir – raced in graded stakes company for the first time for trainer Martin Wolfson February 16 and finished fifth in the Grade 2 Sabin Stakes at Gulfstream and followed that with a fourth in the minor Wayward Lass Stakes at Tampa Bay March 15 and a true breakthrough performance – a win in the Grade 3 Rampart Stakes at Gulfstream last time out – March 29. She has four wins and four thirds in 15 career starts and has placed in just two of her last six starts overall. But that win last time out has put her on the radar for the Sixty Sails. Timothy Thornton gets the mount from post 7 at an intriguing 9-2 odds.

Sixty Sails Handicap betting at Hawthorne Race Course with OffTrackBetting.com

Ana Luisa – Brazilian bred Todd Pletcher trained filly had three wins and a second in four starts at home before debuting in North America with a fourth in the minor South Beach Stakes at Gulfstream December 15. Her only other career start was a fifth in an Allowance on that same track January 29. She looks for a breakthrough performance with Rosie Napravnik guiding her from gate 5 and is listed at 5-1 odds.

Dress the Part – Tom Proctor trained mare enters the Sixty Sails on a nice three race win streak – the minor Wayward Lass Stakes last time out March 15, an Allowance Optional Claiming January 27 and another Allowance Optional Claiming December 18 – all results at Tampa Bay Downs. She makes her graded stakes debut Saturday after 10 career starts produced four wins and a third place finish. Needless to say – Dress the Part enters in the best form of her career looking for some graded stakes success. She goes off at 8-1 odds as Ronald Allen Jr. rides from post 6.

Imposing Grace – Wayne Catalano trained mare looked terrific five back in winning the Grade 3 Arlington Matron Stakes May 25 but has placed in one of four starts since – that being a second last time out in an Allowance Optional Claiming at Oaklawn Park March 20. Prior to that result was a seventh in the minor Bayakoa Stakes February 16, a sixth in an Allowance January 26 and a fourth in the minor Blushing K D Stakes at Fair Grounds December 21. She has four wins and five seconds in 15 career starts and hopes to return to her May 25 form this weekend. She starts from the rail at 10-1 odds with Channing Hill in the saddle.

Distinctive Review – races in stakes company for the first time Saturday for trainer Paul Darjean after 17 career starts yielded just three wins, four seconds and two third place finishes. She enters on a two race win streak on this track however – an Allowance Optional Claiming April 2 and an Allowance March 19 – after a second in an Allowance here March 2. She has done a lot of racing this past month with good results. Distinctive Review lines up in post 3 with Heidi Rose in the saddle as the longest shot in the field at 20-1 odds.

Race 8 on Hawthorne Race Course’s Saturday card with a Post Time of 5:10 PM.