Delaware Park offers 10 races on the card Saturday, July 4 including three stakes — two Grade 3s, one for Kentucky Oaks points, and an Arabian race as a closer.
To kick off stakes action, a nine horse field is entered in the $50,000 Christiana Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.
Piece of My Heart and Comical, the top two respective finishers from the May 1 Gardenia Stakes at Oaklawn Park, are top contenders in Saturday’s $300,000 Delaware Oaks (G3). The 1 1/16-mile race at Delaware Park has been added as a qualifier in the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series, awarding points on a 50-20-10-5 scale to the top four finishers, and a competitive field of eight is set.
The $125,000 Kent Stakes (G3) goes off after the Delaware Oaks at 1 1/8 miles on the turf. Five-times stakes-placed Godolphin homebred Pixelate will contend with seven 3-year-olds including Bayern son Sunsation who won his last two starts and odds favorite Gufo looking for consecutive win number five.
The $300,000 Delaware Oaks (G3) at 1 1/16 mile
The McLean Robertson-trained Piece of My Heart enters with a two-race win skein, leading wire-to-wire most recently when making her stakes debut in the Gardenia at Saturday’s distance. The daughter of Flat Out has captured three of her last four outings, and Joe Talamo will be in to ride.
Comical exits back-to-back seconds for Steve Asmussen. A juvenile Grade 3 scorer, the Into Mischief filly has won or placed in a total of four stakes, including a neck second in last year’s Chandelier Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita. Comical will get a new pilot in Alex Cintron.
Princess Cadey, a seven-length winner of the Beyond the Wire S. at Laurel Park in mid-March, will make her initial graded stakes attempt. Angel Cruz will be up for Claudio Gonzalez.
Other contenders include stakes heroine Project Whiskey; last-out allowance scorer Hopeful Growth; and Grade 3-placed Dream Marie.
Delaware Oaks (G3) Post Positions
Race 8, Post Time 4:45 p.m. ET
Horse, Trainer, Jockey, MLO
1. COMICAL – Steve Asmussen – Alex Cintron – 5/2
2. PIECE OF MY HEART – McLean Robertson – Joe Talamo – 2/1
3. PRINCESS CADY – Claudio Gonzalez – Angel Cruz – 10/1
4. LONG POINT BEACH – Lacey Gaudet – Feargal Lynch – 15/1
5. HOPEFUL GROWTH – Anthony R. Margotta, Jr. – Trevor McCarthy – 10/1
6. PROJECT WHISKEY – Robert E. Reid, Jr. – Frankie Pennington – 12/1
7. DREAM MARIE – Matthew J. Williams – Joe Bravo – 4/1
8. QUEEN BRIDGET – John Alexander Ortiz – Tyler Baze – 8/1
For complete stats https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DEL070420USA-EQB.html
2019 Delaware Oaks Replay
Cross Traffic’s champion filly Jaywalk rolled to a nine-length victory to earn a 96 Beyer in the Delaware Oaks (G3) – the fastest two-turn Beyer by a 3yo filly in a 2019 Graded stakes race (as of July 6, 2019).
The $125,000 Kent Stakes (G3) at 1 1/8 miles on the turf
Michael Stidham trains Godolphin’s homebred Pixelate, looking for his first win of the season. The son of City Zip out of Street Cry (IRE) mare Speckled has never finished worse than third in nine starts, five times stakes placed with one win in the Central Park Stakes December 6, 2019 at Aqueduct. The dark brown colt’s last start was June 20 at Churchill in the Audubon Stakes where he placed third. Angel Suarez has the call to post.
Conditioner Graham Motion says hello to Delaware Park with Bye Bye Melvin. After placing third at Keeneland in his third start, the Alex G. Campbell, Jr. homebred had back to back wins at Tampa Bay breaking his maiden with a flashing 100 Equibase Speed Figure under Jockey Pablo Morales. Feargal Lynch gets the leg up on Saturday.
This will be the Uncle Mo colt’s first start since a lackluster performance in heavy stakes company in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) in March at 1 1/16 miles on dirt. Note: The race was won by another Uncle Mo colt, King Guillermo, who paid $100.40 to win.
Bayern son Sunsation campaigned by Newtown Anner Stud Farm looks to won his first graded stakes. After breaking his maiden March 28 at Tampa Bay the Kelsey Danner-trained colt won his next start in an Allowance Optional Claiming race at Gulfstream May 30. Under Joe Bravo Sunsation caused a sensation winning gate-to-wire at 55-1 paying $112.20, $30.80, $11.80. Bravo gets the return call Saturday.
Otterben Stables, LLC’s Gufo is looking for his fourth win in a row since moving to Gulfstream Park in December 2019. The Declaration of War colt trained by Christophe Clement won his first stakes May 3 with a wicked 101 Equibase Speed Figure.
$125,000 Kent Stakes (G3) Post Positions
Race 9, post time is 5:15 p.m. ET
Horse, Trainer, Jockey, MLO
1. TALKING – Jonathan Thomas – Daniel Centeno – 12/1
2. ON BASE – Jonathan Thomas – TBA – 15/1
3. PIXELATE – Angel Suarez – Michael Stidham – 3/1
4. BYE BYE MELVIN – Graham Motion – Feargal Lynch – 6/1
5. ME AND MR. C – Edward T. Allard – Carol Cedeno – 8/1
6. GUFO – Christophe Clement – Trevor McCarthy – 5/2
7. SUNSATION – Kelsey Danner – Joe Bravo – 6/1
8. VANZZY – Michael Pino – Daniel M. Ryan – 4/1
The $50,000 Christiana Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles on the turf
Trainer Michael Stidham brings a treble of enteries to Delaware Park. Medaglia d’Oro daughter Embossed out of Seeking the Gold mare Golden Velvet will run under Godolphin’s colors. Piloted by Feargal Lynch she will go for her first stakes win.
Joe Bravo gets the call on Pure Rhythm, Tony Holmes & Dr. & Mrs. Walter Zent’s homebred co-owned with Loudmouth Racing LLC. The dark brown Hard Spun filly won her last start to break her maiden by 11 lengths under jockey Scott Spieth on May 27.
Trickle In, daughter of Temple City, followed up wins in her first two starts with a photo finish for third in her first stakes February 8 at the Gair Grounds in the Shantel Lanerie Memorial Overnight Stakes. Making her first start since, she will have Trevor McCarthy in the irons for owner CJ Thoroughbreds.
Correctness, another daughter of Medaglia d’Oro is entered by Arnaud Delacour for Lael Stables. In her only start this year, the Florida Oaks (G3) on March 7, she placed sixth by a neck but placement in this race is deceiving on paper. Twelve horses were separated by noses, necks and heads with the farthest distance between being 2 3/4 lengths between the two last horses. Out of Verocity by Distorted Humor, the filly will have Daniel Centeno up.
Three Diamond Farm’s Maryland-bred Kiss the Girl is under conditioner Steve Asmussen. She will make her fifth start of the year and second grade 3 start after placing second in the Schuylerville Stakes (G3) to Comical at Saratoga July 11, 2019. The bay filly finished a respectable fourth in her last start well behind winner Bob Baffert-trained Gamine but well ahead of an outclassed field of nine. Alex Cintron will ride the daughter of Into Mischief.
Graham Motion, just back from a second place with Sharing at Ascot, brings Duchess of Sussex to the Christiana. Making her fifth start of the year having broken her maiden in February, the chestnut filly also has a second, third and fourth place finish but has never run more than one mile.
The Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners-owned filly by Palace Malice is out of Dixie Union mare Southern Belle. Jockey Angel Suarez will get the leg up.
Rounding out the field is Kellyn Gorder-trained Miss Imperfection (Majesticperfection) with Tyler Baze up. Toolcat (Kitten’s Joy) runs for trainer Ron G. Potts with Huber Villa-Gomez getting the call. Jockey Carol Cedeno will beriding American Giant (More Than Ready) for trainer Michael Trombetta.
$50,000 Christiana Stakes Post Positions
Race 6, Post time is 3:45 p.m. ET.
Horse, Trainer, Jockey, MLO
1. AMERICAN GIANT – Michael Trombetta – Carol Cedeno – 5/1
2. EMBOSSED – Michael Stidham – Feargal Lynch – 7/2
3. TOOLCAT – Ron G. Potts – Huber Villa-Gomez – 20/1
4. PURE RHYTHM – Michael Stidham – Joe Bravo – 8/1
5. MISS IMPERFECTION – Kellyn Gorder – Tyler Baze – 12/1
6. TRICKLE IN – Michael Stidham – Trevor McCarthy – 5/2
7. DUCHESS OF SUSSEX – Graham Motion – Angel Suarez – 10/1
8. KISS THE GIRL – Steve Asmussen – Alex Cintron – 6/1
9. CORRECTNESS – Arnaud Delacour – Daniel Centeno – 6/1
Delaware Park Entries, Saturday, July 4, 2020
https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/DEL070420USA-EQB.html
MbKalinich
Photo: Comical (blue silks) winning the 2019 Schuylerville Stakes. Credit: Horsephotos/O’Leary
