Bettors face handicapping puzzles in split divisions of Justakiss

If you plan to do any handicapping Wednesday, leave plenty of time for the two stakes at Delaware Park. The $50,000 Justakiss, for fillies and mares on turf, has been split into divisions, and sorting out the fields is no easy task.

Both legs of the 1 1/16-mile Justakiss have 13 entrants. The majority of the runners will ship in from Maryland, but New York, Kentucky, and Delaware are also represented. The races are carded as the fifth and seventh and separated by a seven-horse allowance race. The races are linked by a pick three.

Tokyo Time, trained by Shug McGaughey, is a top contender in the first division, while the Graham Motion-trained Lady of Gold deserves a close look in the seventh.

Tokyo Time last started in the $82,000 Miss Liberty Stakes at Monmouth Park on May 25. That race was won by Kenzadargent, who was making her 4-year-old debut and appears headed to the graded stakes ranks for Chad Brown.

Tokyo Time tracked the pacesetter and finished fourth, beaten a half-length for second. Tokyo Time should be forwardly placed again Wednesday, which might be a positive in this large field.

Granny Mc’s Kitten, trained by Brown, also figures. She won her 4-year-old debut in a second-level optional-claiming race at Belmont Park on May 3 and has worked four times on the Saratoga training track since.

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Other contenders include Samiam, trained by William Van Meter, and Interrupted, trained by Motion. They both come out of a third-level optional-claiming race at Churchill Downs on May 16. Samiam lacked her usual kick that day as the 2-1 favorite but fits here off her best. Interrupted finished a rallying third while making her first start since July.

If the fifth race is tough, the seventh borders on ridiculous.

Possibly the horse to beat is Lady of Gold, who held her own for Motion in California over the winter. She made her last start in the Santa Ana, a deep Grade 2 in March. Motion won the Santa Ana with Hoop of Colour, one of his three starters in the race. That field also included Rosalind, who finished fifth but came back to win the Sheepshead Bay, and Queen of The Sand, who was eighth but came back to win the Santa Barbara Handicap.

Two starts back, Lady of Gold was third to Kitten’s Point in the Astra Stakes at Santa Anita. Kitten’s Point went on to win the Bewitch at Keeneland for Motion.

The knock on Lady of Gold is that she hasn’t won in her previous nine starts, dating back to December 2013.

Theatre Star, trained by Tom Proctor, is another to consider. She finished second, beaten a neck, last out in the Golden Poppy at Golden Gate Fields. The winner of that race, Central Heat, has won six of her last seven races.

Vielsalm and Giant Shadow will both be longshots but could surprise.

Vielsalm ran well in two April turf sprints but is better suited for the 1 1/16 miles of the Justakiss.

Giant Shadow did not run well in the $100,000 Dahlia at Pimlico in her 4-year-old debut but showed ability last year at 3 and may improve second time out.