Jenny Melander has liked Dearly Beloved from the minute she began working with the filly, and the trainer hopes the speedy three-year-old trotter will continue to mature and put her best foot forward as this season progresses.

Dearly Beloved was winless in three races last season, going off stride in each, but has returned this year to win three of four starts for Melander and owner Donald Bartling. Her 1:53.4 score in her most recent race April 28 at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs makes her the second-fastest sophomore trotting filly of the season, and the quickest on a five-eighths-mile track.

On Friday, Dearly Beloved will go on the road for the first time in her career, visiting Hollywood Casino at The Meadows for the first leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for three-year-old female trotters. She is one of eight Hambletonian Oaks-eligible fillies in the two PASS divisions, which total 13 horses.

“I was very high on her last year, she was just very immature,” said Melander. “This winter she trained down beautifully and she seems to be able to deal with things a little bit better. Hopefully, we’re seeing a different side of her.

“She’s absolutely gorgeous, beautifully gaited and super talented. She’s got all the physical attributes. I have some high hopes for her if her mind can handle her talent.”

Dearly Beloved, a daughter of Greenshoe-Broadway Chuckles, was purchased for $60,000 under the name Dazzling Shoes at the 2023 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Her second dam, Fun And Strokes, was a multiple Grand Circuit stakes winner and finished third in the 2001 Hambletonian Oaks.

So far in her career, Dearly Beloved has competed only at Pocono Downs. Among her three wins this season were a preliminary round of the Bobby Weiss Series and the event’s consolation final, when she set her mark of 1:53.4 with Matt Kakaley in the sulky.

“She’s plenty fast,” said Melander. “She did that handy. There is no question there is speed there for sure.”

On Friday, Dearly Beloved will leave from post three with driver Mike Wilder in the second of the two PASS divisions. She will face six rivals going for a purse of $51,682 USD and is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line.

“This will be a little bit of a test to see how she handles a different track and shipping and a new driver,” said Melander. “Hopefully, she is mature enough that she can handle it.

“Even though she didn’t stay flat in any start last year, she showed us a lot of talent. She is staked pretty heavily this year for that reason. If she manages to keep her head on tight, then she has plenty of opportunities to make good money this year. I do really like her a lot and hope she will be a good horse for us this year.”

The 2-1 morning line favou rite in Friday’s second PASS division is Blueberry, a Hambletonian Oaks eligible filly who was the runner-up in last year’s PASS championship. The Doug Snyder trainee will leave from post five with Ronnie Wrenn Jr. in the sulky. The other Oaks eligibles in the field are Tom Fanning’s Saints Preserve Us (5-1) and Anette Lorentzon’s Seal The Deal As (7-1).

In the first division, going for a purse of $51,282 USD, Goodgirl Bi IT is the 3-1 favourite from post one for trainer Marcus Melander and driver Mattias Melander. She was a winner on the PASS circuit last year and is two-for-two this season.

Goodgirl Bi IT is among the four Oaks eligibles in the field, with Melvin Schmucker’s Country Victory (7-2), Ray Schnittker’s returning PASS champ Shes A Shoe In (4-1), and D.R. Ackerman’s Princess Jackie (7-1).

Racing begins at 12:45 p.m. at The Meadows. For free TrackMaster past performances for Friday courtesy the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association, click here.

(USTA)