Darlins Delight makes her 2009 debut in the $50,000 opening round of the Overbid Series on Friday night at the Meadowlands, and trainer Jeff Stafford has brought all of her fans up to speed on what the mare has been up to

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The six-year-old mare is rated 9-2 from Post 8 in Race 6, which boasts a field that includes Cape & Cutter winner Martha Maxine.

A winner of $2.6 million lifetime, Darlins Delight was first or second in 10 of 16 starts in 2008 as she battled divisional champion My Little Dragon throughout the season. One of the highlights of her campaign was a 1:49.2 score over My Little Dragon in the Golden Girls on Hambletonian Day at the Meadowlands.

“Darlins Delight has come back really good so far,” said Stafford, the trainer for White Birch Farm in Allentown, New Jersey. “She can handle any of the top mares on any given day, and she was on her toes pretty much all of 2008. I’m looking forward to renewing her rivalry with My Little Dragon. I think it will nice for the sport to see again.

“We were thinking about retiring her this year as the richest offspring of Bettors Delight, but she’s just so good and sound right now,” he continued. “Basically, she’s as sound as she’s ever been. She’ll tell us when she’s done. She deserves another shot.”

Although March is the earliest Darlins Delight has hit the racetrack in a season, Stafford said he would stick to the 15-start average that has served her well over her career.

“Last year’s slate was the prototype, and that’s the game plan again,” he said. “She was pretty much peaking when she finished up the season winning the Milton final in 1:50.4 at Mohawk (September 27, 2008). Several people looked at me funny when I told them she was getting turned out after the Milton Stakes. [Horses] can’t do it, especially a horse of her calibre, week-in and week-out. You want to aim her for the big ones. It’s a long year. You can’t race them 30 or 40 times and expect them to hold up.

“She’ll go from the Overbid to the Classic Series, and we have options like that new series at Yonkers or the Betsy Ross at Chester,” he added. “Let me tell you, it’s going to be hard to beat her on a half-mile track. As a three-year-old, she won at Saratoga in 1:52. Last year, she won the Silk Stockings at Monticello in 1:52.3. Turns don’t mean anything to her.”

(Meadowlands)