The second preliminary leg of the Maryland Sire Stakes for three-year-old filly pacers and trotters highlighted the Wednesday, July 15 card at Ocean Downs, with two pacing divisions and one trotting division contested for purses of $14,085.
The evening opened with the first pacing division, where favourite I Say That Too turned in a dominant performance. Driven and owned by Corey Braden and trained by Stacey McLenaghan, the daughter of Rustys For Real-Who Says That controlled the race from gate to wire, posting fractions of :28.1, :58.4 and 1:27.1 before drawing away to a comfortable five-length victory in 1:56.3. Im Feeling Spicy (Eric Davis) chased gamely to finish second, while Miss Vals Way (Jonathan Roberts) completed the trifecta.
The lone trotting division produced the night’s most dramatic finish as Scott Woogen's Progressivekathy rallied in deep stretch to collar tempo-setter Twisted Janet (Corey Baden) by a head. Russell Foster guided the popular Ronald Millman trainee to her second consecutive Maryland Sire Stakes victory, with the daughter of Il Mago-Progressive Caviar stopping the timer in 1:59.2. Twisted Janet turned in a determined effort after setting every fraction (:29.2, 1:00.1, 1:29.4) before settling for second, while More Than Tipsy (Jared Moyer) finished a distant third.
The second pacing division featured another thrilling finish as Thatsloveto held off the late bid of favourite More Than Better (Russell Foster) by a head in 1:57.2. Driver Johnathan Ahle put the Dominik Miga-owned and trained filly on the lead from the outset, and the daughter of Dapper Dude-I Cant Stoplovinu dug in through the lane after carving out fractions of :28.1, :58 and 1:28. More Than Better closed strongly but came up just short, with Areta (William Carter) finishing third.
With two preliminary legs now complete, the sophomore fillies will look ahead to their respected finals on Wednesday, July 29 at Ocean Downs.
The point standings for the division are listed below.
- More Than Better - 75 points
- Thatsloveto - 62 points
- Pamfin - 58 points
- I Say That Too - 56 points
- Im Feeling Spicy - 37 points
- Miss Vals Way - 37 points
- Cedar Lane Lover - 33 points
- Areta - 20 points
(With files from Maryland Standardbred Race Fund)