Sweet Reason could be a Sweet Deal in 2014 Cotillion Stakes

Sweet Reason could be a Sweet Deal in 2014 Cotillion Stakes: The 2014 Cotillion Stakes is shaping up to be one of the best races this year. All but one filly in the Cotillion field is a graded stake winner, and they all have a legitimate chance to take this race by storm. Between the top two three-year-old fillies in Untapable and Stopchargingmaria, this is far from a two horse race. Others, ripe for an upset could be Cassatt, Jojo Warrior, or Sweet Reason, among others. With concerns about inexperience issues for a horse like Cassatt and distance questions surrounding Sweet Reason, this race could be the deciding factor for the three-year-old filly championships. But what happens if neither Untapable nor Stopchargingmaria takes this year’s edition of the Cotillion? Sweet Reason could be at the top of her game, and be ripe for her grade one win around two turns.

Sweet Reason has yet to prevail in top competition around two turns, and that should actually put a good price on her head on Saturday. She is coming into the Cotillion on a two-race win streak in grade one races. Her most recent win was in the G1 Test Stakes at Saratoga. Sweet Reason has a good record for her career. As a two-year-old, she race four times, hitting the board three of the four times. After her maiden win, she jumped into the G1 Spinaway Stakes, where she did beat Stopchargingmaria to the wire. Next, she ran in the G1 Frizette, finishing second to Artemis Agrotera, but one again, did put away Stopchargingmaria. Coming in fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, she then took a four-month breather, before returning as a three-year-old. She has run four times this year, hitting the board in all four starts. Three times, she has registered the win.

Throughout her career, Sweet Reason has been very consistent. Her pedigree is not too shabby either. She is by relatively young sire Street Sense and out the Mt. Livermore mare, Livermore Leslie. The concern with Sweet Reason is her distance limitations. While her sire was a consistent winner at the classic distances, Sweet Reason has reason to be questioned. In two attempts, she has not faired well with two turns in top competition. The answer may lie in her distaff line. Her dam, Livermore Leslie, was a very solid competitor in allowance company. Her sire, Mt. Livermore, was a pure speedball, loving the 6 and 7 furlong distances. This is likely where the distance restriction in Sweet Reason would lie. Street Sense has given her the ability to go a mile, but the speed in the distaff line is bit too prominent.

Sweet Reason has shown her ability to get the one mile distance, having won the Acorn (G1) and her debut this year in allowance company. While the 8.5F wouldn’t look like much of a stretch, especially since Sweet Reason is a late stretch runner, the distance could pose a problem. She has potential to make it the 8.5F, but there are a multitude of obstacles in her way. Untapable and Stopchargingmaria are seasoned racehorses by now, and are more likely to get the distance, but, they could possibly be so focused on each other, that in racing, the unsuspected usually can come out of the clouds and steal the thunder of those who are getting all the attention.

Counting Sweet Reason out due to distance questions could be a mistake. She has proven she can handle some of this year’s best sprinters, but can she handle some of this year’s best three-year-old fillies at distances over 7F? Saturday couldn’t come soon enough for us to find this out!

Post time for the 45th running of the Cotillion Stakes is set for Saturday, September 20, 2014 at 4:45 PM ET.

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Cotillion Stakes 2014 Post Positions & Odds
1 Cassatt 12-1 Clark/Jones
2 Sweet Reason 4-1 Ortiz, Jr./Gyarmati
3 House Rules 20-1 Castellano/Jerkens
4 Joint Return 8-1 Carmouche/Servis
5 Vero Amore 20-1 Pennington/Reid, Jr.
6 Little Alexis 20-1 Rosario/Vaccarezza
7 Jojo Warrior 6-1 Garcia/Baffert
8 Untapable 7-5 Napravnik/Asmussen
9 Stopchargingmaria 7-2 Velazquez/Pletcher SCRATCHED

Photos of Sweet Reason (Coglianese/NYRA)