2009 BREEDERS CUP FILLY AND MARE SPRINT TIPS AND SELECTIONS

A lot of people are expecting this one to turn into a duel between Ventura and Informed Decision. Granted those are two top-quality females, but I will be pushing on Saeed Bin Suroor's Seventh Street to pull off a dramatic upset in the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita tomorrow. I am very much impressed by the form and quality shown by Godolphin's American selections this year and I think this is one of their more understated horses. This 4 year-old chocolate-coloured filly boasts 5 wins, 3 places and 1 show in nine lifetime races. She scored in the Grade 1 Go For Wand Handicap at Saratoga back in early August and pounded a field of 5 in the Appleblossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park in April. She came a disappointing 2nd in the Ruffian Handicap at Belmont, but I think that she's shown plenty of progression since coming out of the Allowance circuit down at Aqueduct about this time last year. Seventh Street is a value play for me and she is priced out at 4/1 in the ML but an absolutely titanic 12.5 on Betfair. Ventura has had quite a year, pulling off the Woodbine Mile just two months ago over a field of 10. She put in a hell of a fight against Gio Ponti in the Frank E Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita back in January. This is a multiple Grade 1 winner with good form, but I think she favoures the mile distance a bit more than the 7 f we'll see in this race. Her runs tend to be timed a bit late, so I'm concerned she may run out of time here or get mixed up in the middle. She is extremely short-priced at around 8/5 ML and 2.28 on Betfair. I can see all the attention, this is a great filly, but the price is a turn-off. I'll say the same for Informed Decision, who actually beat Ventura when they faced off against each other in the (Grade 1) Vinery Madison Stakes, there doesn't appear to be much between the two in terms of betting and she is very much a plausible winner. I still don't see the value on this and she hasn't scored a victory at 7f since July in the Grade 3 Chicago Handicap. This is a great filly with plenty of skill, but her lack of wins at Grade 1 level over 7 furlongs puts me off. I will be backing Seventh Street on an each-way bet.