The Turf Triple Crown Dream

[S u N f r O s T ~]

As any person in the racing world knows, classic season is nearly upon us. In fact...it is April Week Four, the first week of classic racing. And Stride Of Perfection has quite a couple of key contenders on the scene, in hot pursuit of their Turf Triple Crown dream.

Stride Of Perfection is proud to announce the official entry of two horses in the Kentucky Open - Devil's Flair and Pandora. The stories around these two are absolutely profound. Both are dual surface monsters and both are perhaps SOPS's strongest contenders since Infinite Warcry. Except this time, Amber is suffering from no breakdowns. She is full of the will to finally win the Turf Triple Crown. Stride Of Perfection has come notoriously close in the past. In two different years, they took two out of three legs. One year, an SOPS bred horse won every leg, though unfortunately it was a different horse each time.

Devil's Flair and Pandora share one fascinating thing in common - they are both half-siblings to the only Canadian Triple Crown winners in existence. Devil's Flair is related to Anodyne through sire Augusto. Pandora is related through sire Impressario to Italian Ice. Needless to say, the choice of who to send to the Turf Triple Crown versus the Canadian Triple Crown is a tough one. Therefore, Amber Black decided to send both of them. Whoever does better wins the rights to the rest of the Turf Triple Crown; the other will switch to the dirt to prep for the Canadian Triple Crown.

Let's take a look at Pandora first. The behemoth of a filly is fantastically bred and at eleven wins in her career, four of which have been on the season. More and more people have been watching this filly lately as she clocks off win after win. She began the season with a win in the super competitive American Derby. Her first start over the dirt was in the Wood Memorial Stakes and she won over highly touted Sun King. In fact, Pan holds the unique recognition of having won two Turf Triple Crown preps, one Turf Triple Tiara prep and a Triple Crown prep. All of this while being piloted by the mysterious Kylie Silverstar, Stride Of Perfection's newest apprentice jockey star. There is no doubt this filly is special. She's beaten top contender Take Flight (whom she is actually related to) twice, though she has never faced Spotlight Pride. Regardless, Amber is feeling confident of the filly's chances, though she warns that if Pan does not win the Kentucky Open, the dirt horses better fear, as the filly will head to the Kentucky Derby.

Devil's Flair is to be feared as well. Though he has not had the stunning successes of Pandora this season, every horse knows who will control the pace of the race, and that's Devil. Valencia Andrews is absolutely fearsome aboard this horse. There are fewer jockey and horse combinations stronger than these two. He is not the second-stringer; he is the unseen threat.

But for the Turf Triple Tiara, SOPS is entering Trinity, the top underdog in the country. Trinity has the ability to win against the best that few can brag of, as well as the ability to lose badly to them. She is a tough filly and is going into the Debutante Stakes off a win over her home track. She and Christopher Black make up a rare combination - both shy of the spotlight, but full of heart. Trinity has won twice this season and competed strongly in Turf Triple Tiara preps. Her switch to the turf for this season has led to fantastic results. She is not an easy horse to ride, but every ride aboard this horse is a rewarding one. Let us not forget that this filly last year won over Saintly Touch, one of the top Triple Crown contenders and eventual Breeders Cup Juvenile winner. Let us not forget the win she pulled off just before the Breeders Cup in the Gorgeous George Stakes, her first start over turf in which she defeated Girl Talk, Taboo, Refute and Eavesdropper. This filly is one to surprise and not one to count out. SOPS has sought the Debutante Stakes for years. Perhaps Trinity will be the one to take it down at last.

Stride Of Perfection is entering three strong contenders into the turf classics. Will they succeed? All the signs are pointing to a strong performance regardless of the end result. One thing is for certain...PANDORA IS HUNGRY, DEVIL'S FLAIR IS ANGRY, TRINITY IS FURIOUS.

(I really couldn't help myself XD)