Ten 3-year-old fillies will try for their first black type bragging rights Saturday at Turfway Park in the 35th running of the $50,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes.
The Cincinnati Trophy will be the third start for Delphinia, a Wesley Ward trainee who enters off a maiden special win on the turf at Gulfstream Dec. 17. In her first start, she was second on the dirt at Keeneland, beaten less than two lengths after taking the lead in the stretch. In both efforts she was close to the pace early.
Delphinia has been getting acquainted with Turfway’s Polytrack over the past month and after a slow start fired two fine breezes at the track, including a bullet five furlongs workout in :59.20 Jan. 17. Ward is winning at a 31 percent clip at Turfway this meet and has been in the money with 69 percent of his starters since the local racing season opened Nov. 30.
Julio Garcia was aboard for Delphinia’s career debut and returns for her stakes debut, the longest distance she will have traveled in her three-race career.
Delphinia drew post eight in the Cincinnati Trophy, immediately inside Jenna J, who led all the way to win her only start, a six-furlong maiden special at Turfway Jan. 19. Pushed all the way, she finished that race in 1:10.96, erasing a lackluster introductory breeze from the gate at Turfway in mid-December.
Rodney Prescott, who has more stakes wins at Turfway than any other rider in the current colony and was aboard for the debut win, has the call for trainer Jason Cook.
If Delphinia and Jenna J wear down on the front end, versatile Promises Broken could take advantage.
Trained by Phil Sims, Promises Broken has two wins in two sprint starts on two different surfaces, both by impressive margins, She scored by 12 1/4 lengths in her debut on a sealed sloppy track at Keeneland going seven furlongs and 8 1/2 lengths in her most recent race, 6 1/2 furlongs on the Turfway Polytrack Jan. 18.
In between was a third-place finish at Churchill in November, a mile on fast dirt. While she set all the pace in her debut, she raced off the pace in her next two starts. Jack Gilligan has the call.
The field for the Cincinnati Trophy from the rail out: Beloved Betty (Orlando Mojica); Hansen’s Girl (Albin Jiminez); Promises Broken (Gilligan); On Probation (Alonso Quinonez, the meet’s leading rider); Creative Element (Megan Fadlovich); Spanish Arch, who sprints for the first time after five routes, the last two won by open lengths (Abel Lezcano); Follow the Petals (Julie Burke); Delphinia (Garcia); Jenna J (Prescott); and Sister Nation, stakes-placed in Canada (Gary Boulanger). All carry 118 lbs.
The Cincinnati Trophy is the sixth of nine races on Saturday’s card. First post is 6:15 p.m.
Turfway Park