Maylena and Qué Buena B, a Formidable Pair at El Bosque
The Stud Levalle representatives stand out in the Clásico Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural, contested over 1000 meters, where Tac Tac looms as one of the primary threats
LA PLATA.— Stud Levalle has an outstanding opportunity to add another stakes victory this Thursday at Hipódromo de La Plata, where it will field Maylena and Qué Buena B, two daughters of Qué Vida Buena, in the Clásico Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural, the feature race of the card, slated over 1000 meters on the dirt for mares 4 years old and up under weight-for-age conditions.
The stablemates boast more than enough form to contend for top honors and arrive following their mid-September appearances in the Clásico Florentino Ameghino, where Maylena came agonizingly close to victory, falling by a nose to the Brazilian-bred Party Girl (Outstrip), while Qué Buena B finished fifth, 6 1/2 lengths adrift.
Maylena stands a notch above in terms of preference, backed by an enviable campaign of remarkable consistency in which she has never finished out of the purse money. Winner of the Especial Paris Queen, the Handicap Haras Cumeneyén, the Especial Jockey Club del Perú, and the Handicap Revista Palermo, the sprinter has proven time and again her ability to step up under major demands. Her latest performance served only to confirm her excellent current form.
Qué Buena B, for her part, offers equally compelling credentials. A six-time winner, she reached her career peak when capturing the Clásico Arturo A. Bullrich (G3), while also adding the Clásico Curtida Nistel to her resume. That fifth-place finish in the Ameghino does not reflect her full potential, and she now seeks to reclaim top billing.
The primary threat to the coupled pair appears to be Tac Tac (Manipulator), another speed merchant who also featured in the Florentino Ameghino, crossing the wire fourth, 5 1/2 lengths behind Party Girl. Winner as a 3-year-old of the Clásico Raúl Lottero (L), she has added the Handicap Haras El Paraíso and the Especial Talavera to her tally this season—credentials that make her an opponent deserving of immense respect.
Occupying a less prominent spot in the forecast is Beauty Check (Safety Check), though discounting her would be dangerous. Her recent form has lacked consistency, but she returns to a distance where she travels comfortably and possesses more than enough early speed to make life difficult for anyone. She was a length second to Qué Buena B in the Curtida Nistel, placing ahead of Tac Tac, and comes off a sixth-place effort in the Especial Jockey Club de Mar del Plata, 6 1/2 lengths behind Let Me Dance (Le Blues), once again behind several of today's rivals.
Lady Nicolás (Lencelot) arrives bolstered by a conditional victory at Palermo and will aim to capitalize on that momentum to make a step up in class, while Texana Rye (Nashville Texan) brings solid consistency and a strong record over the La Plata track. This will mark her second stakes experience, having finished second by 6 lengths to Calle de Tierra (Strategos) in the Clásico Santiago Luro early in the year.
The lineup is completed by Furiosa Popular (Furious Key), a generally reliable mare whose ventures into stakes company have yet to yield the desired results. For that reason, she appears lower down in the selections.
With several high-profile sprinters set to clash and recent form lines intersecting once more, the race promises a compelling finish. Maylena and Qué Buena B hold the strongest hand, but Tac Tac is well equipped to spoil the party. Over a single kilometer, the slightest detail could decide the outcome.
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