A field of 10 3-year old fillies is set for the Grade 2 $200,000 Sands Point Stakes, with three main track only entrants hoping rain necessitates moving the race from turf to dirt. Leading the field are the top two finishers in the similar Grade 3 Fasig-Tipton Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes run four weeks ago on the same course at Aqueduct. Eternal Hope won that race in her U.S. debut after coming over from Europe, with Neecie Marie a head behind in second. Other horses coming out of that race are hoping to improve such as Highland Grace (fourth), Quarrel (fifth) and Stephanie’s Charm (sixth). Be Your Best left her New York base of operations when last seen in August for a strong effort in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks and could have a say in the outcome again, as could recent Virginia Oaks runner-up Root Cause. In the Virginia Oaks, Alpha Bella led late, was just a neck behind Root Cause, and appears to fit at this level as well. Leave No Trace won the Grade 1 2022 Spinaway Stakes on dirt in the summer of 2022 but has never run on turf and is winless in four races since then. Soviet Excess has finished third in three straight stakes on the turf, most recently in the Winter Memories Stakes four weeks ago. Among the trio entered for dirt only, Ichiban recently won the Fleet Treat Stakes at Saratoga, while both Amanda’s Folly and Essaouira have never run in a stakes race on turf.  

Top Contenders:

Eternal Hope brought a 2-for-5 record (with a pair of third place finishes) into her U.S. debut four weeks ago in the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes, run at the longer distance of 1 3/8 miles. After being as far back as 23 lengths behind a faster than average pace but not one which was sizzling hot, Eternal Hope commenced an impressive rally to get within two lengths of the lead with an eighth of a mile to go before prevailing by a neck. That effort earned a 97 Equibase Speed Figure which is the second-best last race figure in the field, and the best recent winning figure in the field. Likely to run even better in her second local start, Eternal Hope looks highly likely to add to trainer Charles Appleby’s amazing record in graded stakes turf routes in North America over the last four years, which stands at 20-10-6 in 48 races. With jockey Jamie Spencer back in the saddle just as he was for the win last month, this filly looks exceptionally tough to beat.

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That being said, considering Neecie Marie got within a head of Eternal Hope in the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational, Neecie Marie must be considered a contender. Neecie Marie has won three of five career races on grass and missed by a neck in the other and finished off the board in one more. The one poor effort came on a soft course so is irrelevant when assessing her chances on firmer ground. She’s improved from an 85 figure three races back, to 93, to the same 97 figure Eternal Hope earned, and her pattern suggests even better today. In the Oaks Invitational, Neecie Marie was fifth, 21 lengths back after a half-mile, whereas Eternal Hope was seventh, 23 lengths back. She was out-finished by the winner but nevertheless this filly has a lot of talent and is definitely a contender to win this race.

Root Cause may be just a step behind the top two in terms of the quality of races she’s run and her figures, but as a lightly raced 3-year-old could improve markedly enough to leap-frog over the top two and post the upset. Root Cause has run only one poor race in five starts when eighth back in May. She finished second in her debut last summer then returned to the races seven months later with a strong win at this 1 1/8-mile trip. Then came the poor effort, but Root Cause improved to an 83 figure in June and then ran a big race when rallying from eighth to second by a head in the Virginia Oaks. That effort earned her a 92 figure. In her second start off the layoff, even better is possible.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Alpha Bella (92), Be Your Best (96), Highland Grace (95), Leave No Trace (90), Quarrel (92), Soviet Excess (101) and Stephanie’s Charm (85). Those entered for the main track only are Amanda’s Folly (85), Essaouira (92) and Ichiban (82)

Top Win Contenders:

Eternal Hope

Neecie Marie

Root Cause