TORONTO — By Matthew Lomon

Quad-A

In professional baseball, the players who are too good for AAA but haven’t quite been able to find their footing at the Major League level are commonly referred to as Quad-A players. Green Up, who enters Saturday’s $300,000 Beholder (G1) at 3-1, is horse racing’s equivalent of a Quad-A player.

The 5-year-old mare has dominated the Black Type and Listed level stakes ranks, going a perfect 3-for-3. While she hasn’t fared poorly at the graded level, Green Up has yet to find the winner’s circle in two tries despite favourable closing odds (third in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare at 5-2 and fourth in the Grade 1 Cotillion at 9-5).

The Todd Pletcher trainee can prove she belongs on the grand stage with a smooth trip in Santa Anita’s main event on March 9.

We Meet Again

The last time 4-year-old Comparative raced at Oaklawn Park, the filly captured her first career graded contest, the Grade 3 Bayakoa. A little over a month later, the filly can score a second consecutive graded title in the form of Saturday’s $400,000 Azeri (G2).

If successful, the Manuel Franco mount would extend her win streak to four.

Seven other competitors, including Bayakoa rival Shotgun Hottie, stand in the way of Comparative’s goal. The 5-year-old mare will try to flip the script this time around, as it was no contest in their last meeting on Feb. 2. Shotgun Hottie (15: 5-4-2) plodded to sixth in the Bayakoa, well behind the pace set by Comparative (11: 5-0-3).

The former enters at 8-1, and the latter at 3-1.

 

Big City Dreamin’

Just a small-town kid from Iowa looking to make a name for himself, No More Time (7-5) can double down on graded stakes victories with a win in the $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G3) on Saturday afternoon.

Coming off an authoritative front-leading triumph in the Sam F. Davis (G3) last time out, the 3-year-old colt returns to the friendly confines of Tampa Bay Downs less than a month after the breakthrough romp.

No More Time will square off against worthy foe Domestic Product, who ran to a second in last month’s Holy Bull (G3) at 14-1. The Tyler Gaffalione mount owns a 1-1-0 record through four starts, while No More time is a smidge better at 2-1-0 in the same number of tries.

Rebound

Multiple graded stakes winner Marketsegmentation will try to corner the field in this Saturday’s $225,000 Hillsborough (G2T) at Tampa Bay Downs.

The 4-year-old mare failed to show for the first time in eight career starts, landing a distant 5 ¼-lengths behind third-place runner Fev Rover (IRE) in the Diana Stakes (G1T) last July.

Having not raced since then, Marketsegmentation and her four fresh legs can reclaim the dominant form that earned her victories in the Beaugay (G3T) and New York (G1T) stakes with a strong performance in the upcoming Hillsborough.

The Jose Ortiz mount, who owns a 5-1-1 overall line, enters at 5-2.

Championship Hangover(s)

Both Secret Money and Accomplished Girl have yet to find their respective footing after delivering career best feats last September. Hoping to buck the trend, the pair will head south to Gulfstream for the $100,000 Captiva Island Stakes on Sunday afternoon.

Following an explosive outing in the $1 million Music City (G3T), Secret Money has since cooled off considerably. The 4-year-old filly’s two encore performances, the Valley View (G3T) and Holiday Inaugural Stakes, resulted in disappointing ninth and seventh place finishes.

Secret Money’s foe, Accomplished Girl, turned in a dynamite showing to take home the 2023 Masters Stakes (G2). The Saffie Joseph Jr. charge stayed hot to nab a second in the Suwannee River (G3T) immediately after.

However, an undesirable eighth in the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G2T) last time out may have left a sour taste heading into Sunday.

Either way, the stage is set for one of these feisty competitors to get back on track.