Carmelina needs to keep her cool prior to Shamrock Rose

Carmelina is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in a competitive edition of Penn National’s $100,000 Shamrock Rose for 2-year-old Pennsylvania-bred fillies at six furlongs.

The Shamrock Rose is one of three stakes on the Wednesday evening program along with two $50,000 events at one mile, the Susquehanna Valley for fillies and mares and the Chocolate Town for 3-year-olds and up. The Susquehanna Valley and Chocolate Town are restricted to horses who have started at Penn National in 2023 and haven’t won a stakes race this year.

Carmelina was a debut winner June 18 at Parx Racing before finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga.

She rebounded with a victory in the restricted Keswick Stakes on Aug. 5 at Colonial Downs.

“She was really up against it that day,” trainer Butch Reid said. “She had a long ship all the way from Saratoga and she acted up at little bit pre-race.”

Most recently, Carmelina finished a tiring seventh in the Selima at Laurel Park going two turns on turf Sept. 30. She drew the rail in the 12-horse Shamrock Rose.

Reid is a bit concerned that the Maximus Mischief filly – emotionally a “high-wire act,” according to the trainer – will have to stand in the gate for a little while as the rest of the bulky field loads.

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Dewey Doit looks like a bounce-back candidate for trainer John Servis. A winner on dirt in her first two starts, Dewey Doit finished an even fifth when trying Tapeta in the Finest City on Oct. 16 at Presque Isle Downs.

Servis also entered Jody’s Ruby, the winner of Parx’s Miss Blue Tye Dye on Aug. 21 before finishing sixth over sloppy going in the Imply there Sept. 27.

Trainer Bruce Kravets entered a pair of last-out maiden winners. Plus Sized Courage, beaten a nose in her debut Oct. 9 at Parx, rebounded with a solid 5 3/4-length victory 30 days later.

Stablemate Paula’s Surprise showed improved focus from the starting gate when adding blinkers for her second start and took five open rivals gate to wire Nov. 9.

Rock N Reward tries dirt for the first time after graduating at odds-on at Presque Isle despite failing to change leads in the stretch.

Face it Alone, Back Forty, Lady Ahava, Normandy Life, First Foray, and Chublin also entered.

Chocolate Town

Colonel Bowman has hit the board in his last 12 starts and is a strong contender in the Chocolate Town.

Owned and trained by David Jacobson, Colonel Bowman earned Beyers between 90 and 98 in four consecutive starts over the spring and summer in New York. He enters this race following a pair of runner-up efforts against starter-allowance company at Delaware Park.

While Colonel Bowman has won at a mile, he’s primarily competed in sprints. He is expected to show good tactical speed in a race without much pace.

Crazy Legs Hirsch, on the other hand, seems to appreciate route racing. The son of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man was claimed by trainer Tim Kreiser for $25,000 three back with an eye on a dime starter allowance with a $60,000 purse at Parx 22 days later.

A rallying fourth in that race, contested over a sloppy track, Crazy Legs Hirsch successfully stretched out to two turns in a $12,000 starter on Oct. 18 at Delaware.

“When we claimed him, we thought two turns was what he wanted to do, being a Mucho Macho Man” said David Bushey, co-manager of Bush Racing Stable. “By Tim’s account, he’s ready to roll.”

Consistent performers Egot a Poker Face, Tra Lad, Will E Sutton, and the Jacobson-trained Laughing Boy also deserve consideration.

Susquehanna Valley

Trainer Bobbi Anne Hawthorne notched her first stakes victory on Sept. 23 at Parx when Notice of Action captured the Prince Lucky. She’ll try for number two with Majestic Creed, potentially the controlling speed in the Susquehanna Valley.

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Third in Parx’s $200,000 Cathryn Sophia Stakes behind graded winner Foggy Night on Aug. 22, Majestic Creed returned from two double-digit defeats to defeat second-level allowance foes on Oct. 30 at Parx.

Will Or Won’t won her first three starts, all around two turns, after being claimed for $16,000 by Kreiser and Bush Racing during the summer. In her most recent appearance, she placed third in a first-level allowance at a one-turn mile on Oct. 29 at Laurel.

“We felt like we could change her running style a little bit,” Bushey said. “When [her prior connections] started sending her on the synthetic, they started rating her back further off the pace, and we just didn’t feel like that’s what she wanted to do.”

Sofia’s Secret, returning from a May layoff for high-percentage trainer Brittany Russell, and in-form Doctor Abbie also look like prime contenders.

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