Christiana Stakes snippets

  • userFrank Vespe
  • dateJuly 1, 2022

Delaware Park hosts four stakes Saturday, a card topped by the Grade 3 Kent Stakes on the turf and the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks for sophomore fillies.

The undercard features the $100,000 Alapocas Run Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for three-year-olds and up, and the Christiana Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for three-year-old fillies.

Some Christiana Stakes snippets:

  • World traveler: The French-bred Parnac will make her first North American start in this contest; her two prior tries, both victories, came in Germany. Trainer Christophe Clement is 7-for-82 with trainer-switching horses in the last five years, and Parnac will get Lasix on.
  • World traveler, part deux: Speaking of, Gizala will also make her first North American start in this race. The Irish-bred, who made all four of her career starts to date in France, switches into Graham Motion’s barn  Motion wins at a 23% clip after the trainer switch and will add blinkers to this miss.
  • One for the money: Center Stage will likely be a long price off a fourth-place finish in an allowance at Laurel. But that effort was better than it looked: this miss was completely shut off in mid-stretch, shuffled back to ninth, but kept trying all the way to the wire. Trainer Delacour and new pilot Centeno have won at a 27% clip the last five years.
  • Two for the show: Clement is slated to saddle a pair of runners in this spot, with Shad Nation joining Parnac. The Cairo Prince filly won at first asking but has yet to defeat winners. Local leading rider Jaime Rodriguez will ride.
  • Three to get ready: Motion is scheduled to saddle three runners in the Christiana. In addition to Gizala, he’ll send out first-time-on-turf Saucy Lady T, a Tonalist filly out of a turfing War Front mare; and Sparkle Blue, whose half-sister Shared Account won the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
  • Brown alert: It wouldn’t be a turf stake without at least one Chad Brown trainee in the mix. Lay the Groundwork finished second last time out in a Belmont allowance in her first try against winners and first on the turf. Victor Carrasco is named.

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