Las Vegas, NV - The Grade 2 A Gleam Handicap A Gleam Handicap comes our way this Saturday, July 14 th from Betfair Hollywood Park on the American Oaks Stakes undercard. Fillies and mares will be featured as they go seven furlongs for their portion of the $200,000 purse.
The A Gleam has drawn a field of eight for this important race. The race serves as a "win and you're in" for the Breeders' Cup in November - an automatic berth is on the line! It is race 9 on Hollywood Park's Saturday schedule with a post time of 5:10 PM. Here is a look at all eight entries into this very important Grade 2 event.
2012 A Gleam Handicap Race Favorites
Switch - is a former grade 1 winner but those two triumphs came back at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 - she hasn't won in eight tries since. Switch's best result of late came in November - a second in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint to end a 2011 campaign in which she finished no worse than third in seven starts - one win, four seconds and two third place finishes all in graded stakes races. 2012 has seen Switch race to a fifth in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff Stakes in May and most recently a fourth in the Desert Stormer on this track June 17th. Switch may not be in the best form presently but she is certainly the most decorated entry in the field.
Izzy Rules - won four straight races to end 2011 and begin 2012 - the best of which came on April 14th when she raced to a win as 13-10 favorite in the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes at Santa Anita. Izzy Rules followed up that streak with a pair of fifths - the Grade 3 Count Fleet Handicap at Oaklawn and the Time to Leave Stakes. Most recently she was second in the Desert Stormer Handicap here to Turbulent Decent June 17th.
A Gleam Handicap 2012 | Remaining Field Entries
Teddy's Promise - Teddy's Promise won the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes on December 31st beating such standouts as Turbulent Decent and Sugarinthemorning. Trainer Dan Ellis has Teddy's Promise has won four of her last six starts with pedestrian fifths in the Grade 1 Santa Monica Stakes and Desert Stormer last time out among the six. She is definitely one to watch on Saturday but definitely needs a bounce back after a brutal Desert Stormer.
Sugarinthemorning - finished second last time out in the Grade 1 Santa Monica Stakes at Santa Anita on January 28th and before that finished second to Teddy's Promise in the La Brea Stakes. Sugarinthemorning is a dual stakes winner and has five wins, four seconds and a third in 15 career starts.
American Lady - one of the Bob Baffert trained fillies is highly regarded but somewhat lightly raced. She is coming off a win in the Reminiscing Stakes here on June 12 th to follow a second in an Allowance Optional Claiming in her only other start this year. American Lady started 2011 with two wins and a second place finish but ended with an eighth in the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga back in August of last year.
A Gleam Handicap betting at OffTrackBetting.com
Glamorista - The other Bob Baffert entry Glamorista has won three of five career starts but will be making her stakes debut on Saturday. She will have Chantal Sutherland on board and she has been on quite a role!
Moonstruck Maya - four year old filly has yet to start a stakes race but comes into the A Gleam having won two straight - an Allowance Optional Claiming last time out on this track and a Claiming race in May on this track as well.
Mildly Offensive - raced to a fourth place finish in this race last year and has since finished fourth in another pair of graded stakes races - the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap and the Grade 1 Humana Distaff. In nine career starts, Mildly Offensive has three wins, a second and a third place finish.
