Searching for value in the Mamzelle Stakes

A field of 13 sophomore fillies will dash five-eighths on the Churchill Downs turf in Saturday’s $110,000 Mamzelle S. The cast features numerous contenders that have a legitimate chance at victory, including a few that will go off at a healthy price.

With several horses that are fleet out of the gate, I envision a swift and contested pace from the outset. Horses that prefer to run from off the pace should have every chance inside the final furlong, and I will dabble with a few closing types in my plays.

#12 Navratilova is my top pick for conditioner Rusty Arnold. The bay daughter of Medaglia d’Oro was a superb debut winner on the Ellis Park green in the summer when going postward as the 5-2 favorite. She tired late when stretching out in the Jessamine S. (G2) at Keeneland in her first with winners, but the miss rebounded with a nice third-place showing on the cut back in trip most recently when making her three-year-old debut. The homebred shows a pair of useful morning drills in the interim, and I fully expect her to have a great trip from off the pace while clear throughout.

#5 Inajiffy was 2-for-2 before flopping at Keeneland last time out, but the Joe Sharp pupil has appeal in her second black-type outing. By Street Boss, the filly is a half-sister to a pair of talented stakes winners and seems destined to join them with expected progression going forward. The late runner went last-to-first at Fair Grounds on debut, and she will be doing her best work late once again beneath Gabriel Saez.

The Brad Cox-trained #2 Goin’ Good has done little wrong in registering top-two finishes in each of her four career outings to this stage of her development. Daughter of Congrats has posted runner-up results in a pair of stakes races in succession and can be placed anywhere in the field in the early going. The versatile Kentucky-bred could peak in her third run of the season with regular rider Geroux in the silks.

Mamzelle Wagers

• $10 win and place #12 Navratilova ($20)
• $3 exacta box 2,5,12 ($18)