Beware Amoss shipper at Delaware

Trainer Thomas Amoss is based in the Midwest, so when he takes the trouble and expense to ship a horse to the East Coast for a stakes, it's safe to assume he has a live runner.

That certainly seems to be the case with Peace River Lady, a 3-year-old filly who appears ideally suited for Monday's $55,000 Count Turf Stakes at Delaware Park.

Peace River Lady has yet to finish worse than second in five career starts on grass. Her consistency extends to her Beyer Speed Figures, as evidenced by a string of 86, 88, and 85 in her last three races in Kentucky. Most recently, Peace River Lady finished second after setting the early pace in the Grade 3 Regret.

Perhaps even more importantly, in a race packed with need-the-lead types, Peace River Lady has shown the ability to sit slightly off the pace and win.

The other dangerous stalker in the one-mile Count Turf is Devon Rose, trained by Michael Pino. In her turf debut last month, Devon Rose drew off to a 6 1/2-length win against first-level allowance company, earning a Beyer Figure of 91 that is the best in this field. She was then ambitiously placed in the $500,000 American Oaks at Hollywood Park, but faded badly after the first six furlongs of the 1 1/4-mile stakes.

Eddie Martin is named to ride both Peace River Lady and Devon Rose.

With Patience also has the kind of stalking style that seems ideal for this race. In her stakes debut at Colonial Downs, she improved her Beyer Figure 18 points to an 85 in winning a 1 1/16-mile race restricted to Virginia-breds.

The beaten odds-on favorite in that race, Midnite Deelite, gets a rematch against With Patience. In each of her last four races, Midnite Deelite has managed to get into some kind of trouble. Most recently, she was five-wide, managed to take a clear lead with a furlong remaining, but lugged in and had to settle for second. In her best stakes effort, at one mile, Midnite Deelite rallied to finish third at Monmouth, earning a Beyer of 86.

Litany, trained by Graham Motion, cuts back to a mile after a pair of good efforts at nine furlongs. She was in front after a mile in both of those races, including the Twin Light Stakes at Monmouth.