Debonair Darling looks good as new

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Debonair Darling, a strong second in her comeback, faces seven rivals, including three with extensive stakes experience, on Friday in the $82,000 second-level allowance feature for fillies and mares at Monmouth Park.

The solid field for the 1 1/16-mile race includes Tizahit, making her season debut following a victory in the Grade 2 Demoiselle last November at Aqueduct.

C C's Pal has hit the board in a pair of Grade 3 stakes this season, finishing second in the Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs and third in the Comely at Aqueduct.

Potosina closed out last year with a seventh-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. She was sixth mostly recently here in the Little Silver Stakes on May 30, her first race without blinkers. Trainer Mark Shuman will put the hood back on for Friday's race.

Debonair Darling has yet to run in a stakes although she was on that path last year for trainer Greg Sacco. She had 2 wins and a third in 3 starts here until a chipped ankle shut down her season on June 27. Now 4, Debonair Darling returned on June 4, losing by only a half-length after setting a pressured pace.

"She came off the layoff and she really ran a big race for us off the shelf," Sacco said. "She had trained well going in and she ran the way she'd trained. You never know how they'll perform off the layoff and she came out of the race in great shape."

The turnaround is a little quick but Sacco said "she couldn't be training any better. We're hoping for another big effort and an improved effort out of her."

The only negative was a swerving move inside the final eighth of a mile that cost Debonair Darling momentum. She charged home strongly after regaining her stride with Carlos Marquez Jr. aboard.

"She didn't switch leads until late in the race," Sacco said. "If she had switched at the quarter pole, I believe she would have been very tough to beat. Maybe it was a combination of a little rust, her getting a little tired, and Carlos trying to make her switch. After that, she was coming back on."

Marquez has the return call.

East to Eden, Burning Calories, and I Dare Billy complete the field. Zaphyra was cross-entered in a similar race on Friday at Belmont.