D'boldest, My Sister Caro meet in Jellison Memorial

The 10 entrants in the $100,000 Jill Jellison Memorial Dash, a turf sprint for fillies and mares on Saturday at Suffolk Downs, have made their most recent start at nine different tracks. But the well-traveled cast of characters is led by two runners who have shown local form: defending race winner D’boldest and My Sister Caro, coming off a win here.

Suffolk had begun planning for the remote possibility that it would have to cancel racing this weekend after the state’s racing law expired on Tuesday night prior to the legislature moving a bill extending the law. However, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill extending the law on Thursday after the State Senate passed a bill during an informal session earlier in the day, allowing simulcasting to resume and for the live cards to go forward as planned.

The Jellison Memorial anchors a 13-race card that is part of Suffolk’s third weekend of racing this summer. Saturday’s card also includes the $50,000 Massachusetts Sire Stakes for horses sired by Massachusetts stallions, while Sunday’s card is anchored by the $50,000 George Brown Memorial Turf Mile for statebreds.

Suffolk also will continue its $5,000 jockey challenge throughout the weekend. Riders are awarded points based on their finishing positions in each race, with the four jockeys accumulating the most points awarded cash bonuses of $2,000, $1,500, $1,000, and $500. Dylan Davis earned the top prize during June’s weekend of racing, while Pedro Monterrey Jr. won last month.

D’boldest, trained by Jose Camejo, has not won since taking the Jellison Memorial by 4 1/4 lengths in wire-to-wire fashion in July 2017. Since then, she has started seven times, with three seconds and two thirds. Most recently, she was third at Evangeline Downs in an allowance taken off the turf. Abel Lezcano, who rode D’boldest to victory in this spot last year, regains the mount.

My Sister Caro won an optional-claiming race on June 10 on the Suffolk turf and was claimed out of that victory by trainer Joe Sharp. He also will saddle Fiesta, who finished third in that race before going on to take an optional claimer at Indiana Grand.

The Massachusetts Sire Stakes, which opens Saturday’s card, features a well-matched field including Jeb and Spectacularsociano, first and second in this race last year; The Doc Is In, a stakes winner at Finger Lakes this season; and Tropical Joy, who has three stakes placings this season.

The George Brown Memorial on Sunday features a rematch between Princess Dream, who has won the Isadorable and First Episode stakes this year at Suffolk, and Dr Ruthless, who was third and second in the Isadorable and First Episode. Saint Alfred finished third in the Rise Jim Stakes here in June and second in the Last Dance Stakes last out.

– additional reporting by Matt Hegarty