STAKES ANALYSIS Gr. 1 winners enter Shine Again

Carina Mia, Birdatthwire drop in class

By Jeff Scott SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » It was hard for this year’s field in the $100,000 Shine Again Stakes to match last year’s. That’s because the 2016 edition of the sevenfurlong race for older fillies and mares counted Wavell Avenue — winner of the 2015 BC Filly & Mare Sprint and runner-up for an Eclipse Award — among its eight starters. Wavell Avenue ran to her reputation and 1-2 odds, prevailing by a length.

There are no Breeders’ Cup winners in this fifth edition of the race, which will be the featured event on Wednesday’s card. The 10 expected starters do include two other Grade 1 winners, however, topped by Carina Mia, who is the morning-line choice at 2-1.

Carina Mia is looking for some class relief after going winless in six Grade 1s since her lone Grade 1 score in last year’s Acorn Stakes. Two of those nonwinning efforts, it should be mentioned, saw Carina Mia run second behind two-time champion Songbird. The 4-year-old Malibu Moon filly, who also won the Golden Rod Stakes as a two-year-old, has earned over $1.1 million in a dozen starts.

Birdatthewire (6-1) is the other Grade 1 winner in the field; she won the 2015 La Brea Stakes. Like Carina Mia, the daughter of Summer Bird is also dropping in class, having gone winless in 10 graded tries since the La Brea. She exits a fifth-place finish in the Princess Rooney (G2) last month.

The lightly raced Going for Broke is second choice at 7-2. The four-year-old Blame filly, who has been away from the races for ten months, found graded competition a bit too stiff when given the opportunity late last year. The Waterford Stable homebred will be cutting back in distance after trying 9-10 furlongs in her last four starts of 2016.

Clipthecouponannie is given a shot at 5-1 on the morning line. The Repole Stable homebred has a pair of stakes wins on her resume, one of them versus fellow New Yorkbreds. The Uncle Mo filly faded in her one try at seven furlongs.

The other entrants include Discreet Senorita (30-1), Indulgent (6-1), Momameamaria (30-1) — who ran second in last year’s Shine Again — Pawleys Express, Wheatfield and Absatootly.

The Shine Again honors the H. Allen Jerkensconditioned mare who earned over $1.2 million between 1999 and 2003. Her five graded victories included back-to-back editions of the Ballerina Handicap (G1) in 2001 and 2002.