Super Allison Trying New Ground in G2 Commonwealth Oaks; Stakes Winner Making Grass, Graded Debut in $150,000 Turf Test
Super Allison Trying New Ground in G2 Commonwealth Oaks; Stakes Winner Making Grass, Graded Debut in $150,000 Turf Test
Stakes Winner Making Grass, Graded Debut in $150,000 Turf Test
LAUREL, MD – Already this year Matt Shera’s Super Allison owns a stakes win and pair of victories against her elders from seven starts. She’ll face her toughest test yet Saturday at Laurel Park, making her grass and graded stakes debut in the $150,000 Commonwealth Oaks (G3).
The 1 1/8-mile Oaks for 3-year-old fillies is one of eight stakes, three graded, worth $850,000 in purses on an 11-race Commonwealth Day program that also features the $200,000 Commonwealth Derby (G2), $200,000 Commonwealth Turf Cup (G2) and five $60,000 stakes restricted to Virginia-bred/sired horses.
A New York-bred daughter of 2010 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Super Saver, Super Allison has made nine career starts, all in her home state and each on dirt, since her debut last fall at Aqueduct. This year at Belmont Park, she broke her maiden April 30 and won an entry-level allowance June 18, each over older horses.
Trained by Carlos Martin, Super Allison returned to her own age group to capture the 1 1/16-mile New York Oaks July 23 at Finger Lakes before finishing sixth following a troubled trip in the Fleet Indian, run at the Commonwealth Oaks distance Aug. 26 at Saratoga.
“She had a really tough, tough trip on the inside. [The rider] tried to come up the inside and they played bumper cars with her all through the stretch,” Martin said. “She was on a bit of a roll and I don’t know if she would have won but it would have been interesting to see what would have happened. They really slammed her down in there about three times and she finally pulled out the last sixteenth and was beaten [6 ¾] lengths for all the money. It was a pretty good race considering the trip she had.”
Though she has yet to race on the grass, Super Allison, out of the Wildcat Heir mare Richiegirlgonewild, shows a pair of five-furlong works since the Fleet Indian over Belmont’s main and inner turf courses.
“I think the filly deserves a chance on the grass. She’s trained well on the turf and she’s bred for the turf. It’s hard to find straight 3-year-old filly races going long. The New York-bred program comes up a little bit tough with the older fillies and mares in the fall,” Martin said. “I’m optimistic the way she’s trained on the turf. She’s had two good workouts on the Belmont infield course to get ready for this race. I’m kind of looking forward to running her on the grass and seeing what we’ve got.”
Martin is third generation horseman whose grandfather was late Hall of Fame trainer Frank ‘Pancho’ Martin and father, Jose, also trained in New York and campaigned three year-end champions. A lifetime student of the game, particularly in pedigree analysis, Carlos Martin’s last graded stakes win came with Roar Emotion in the 2003 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at historic Pimlico Race Course.
“Super Saver is kind of a versatile sire. The mare, I think she had won on synthetic primarily for [trainer] Larry Rivelli in Chicago. She was a pretty decent mare by Wildcat Heir and those horses seem to run on anything,” Martin said. “[Trying turf] was always in the back of my mind a little bit and after the last race I was kind of looking for another spot. Matt said, ‘You’re going to be in Maryland that day anyway, what about this race?’
“We went back and forth with it and I said, ‘Let me try and train her on the grass and we’ll see how she trains on the turf,’ and both works were good. She seems like she moves really well over it,” he added. “The way she’s trained over it, we’re not opposed to giving her a chance. It’s going to be a good race, I’m sure, but I think it’s a race where she can be competitive.”
Forest Boyce will ride Super Allison from post 8 in the 11-horse field. All fillies will carry 116 pounds.
Grade 3-winning stablemates Noble Beauty and Pricedtoperfection will square off in the Oaks. Great Point Stables’ Noble Beauty, by turf champion and prolific grass sire Kitten’s Joy, is making her sixth career start and second straight at 1 1/8 miles after being promoted to first via disqualification in the Pucker Up (G3) Aug. 13 at Arlington Park.
Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence’s Pricedtoperfection, who encountered traffic while third in the Riskaverse Aug. 25 at Saratoga, is winless since capturing the one-mile Sweetest Chant (G3) Jan. 30 at Gulfstream.
Feargal Lynch has the call on Noble Beauty from post 5, while Manuel Franco will be aboard Pricedtoperfection from the rail.
Also entered are stakes winners Involuntary, It’s the Truth and My Impression; stakes-placed Princess Princess; Brian Lynch-trained stablemates Miss Nancy and Shiawassee; Broken Bridle and Stella Rose.
