Week/Weekend Stakes Beyers: West Coast 108

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Anyone that says that is blinded by irrational love for Songbird. Stellar Wind was the leader of the division before the race with three Grade 1s this year and in an even stronger position coming out...and I say that as a fan of Forever Unbridled. Then again, I'm a Stellar Wind fan too.

The lead-in story for the BC Distaff this year may be the impending showdown between Stellar Wind and Forever Unbridled, with Songbird taking a back seat. That's got to be a bit surprising for some.

A telling stat: Stellar Wind is 0 for 3 at 9f. Forever Unbridled is 6-3-0-2.

Stellar Wind has been stretched to the limit by Vale Dori twice this year at a flat mile. Forever Unbridled has looked loaded throughout in both her starts this year and has not felt the whip in either start (although they say she doesn't like the whip).

It will be interesting to see if either mare will come out for a race before the BC Distaff. Both horses seem to do best with lots of space between races. The last time either horse started ~1 month (that's a quick turnaround nowadays apparently) apart they both lost (albeit the BC Distaff). In fact, that is either mare's only loss in the past 14 months in Stellar Wind's case and the past 11 months in the case of Forever Unbridled.

If Stellar Wind does come out, presumably for the Zenyatta, she'll probably have to face Songbird. That might not mean much for those who believe Stellar Wind is simply better than Songbird, but in the grand scheme of things it might have repercussions for her BC run.