Delaunay seeks return to form in Ed Skinner Memorial

ALTOONA, Iowa – Delaunay seeks to get his stellar career back on track in Saturday night’s $75,000 Ed Skinner Memorial, a six-furlong stakes sprint. The race, named for the state lawmaker who played a primary role in the development of Prairie Meadows in the late 1980s, drew six capable geldings.

Delaunay, a winner of 18 races, including 11 stakes races, for earnings of $1,112,071, has finished second in the last two Iowa Sprint Handicaps during June’s Iowa Festival of Racing. Last June 27, he battled eventual Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and champion Work All Week before succumbing to a half-length defeat. In his last race, he lost his chance when stumbling at the start in an April 18 Keeneland optional-claiming test.

Trainer Tom Amoss ships him back up from Churchill Downs, and jockey Ramon Vazquez will ride him for the first time.

The Ed Skinner Memorial, formerly known as the Prairie Express, has a scheduled post time of 9:37 p.m. Central.

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KEY CONTENDERS

Delaunay (Last 3 Beyers: 85-102-101)

◗ He tends to excel at Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds. The 8-year-old gelding has had a marvelous career, and his bullet four-furlong move in 48.40 seconds May 12 signals his readiness.

Helooksthepart (Last 3 Beyers: 95-82-85)

◗ This rallying sprinter tallied a solid optional-claiming win here July 31. He flew home when missing by a nose in the Pelican Stakes on Jan. 24 at Tampa Bay Downs. He was freshened by trainer Jimmy DiVito, who has a great record here dating back to three-time Iowa Sprint Handicap winner Coach Jimi Lee.

Broadway Empire (Last 3 Beyers: 92-82-85)

◗ This highly tried 5-year-old is a multiple Grade 3 winner who has contested the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Belmont’s Met Mile.

◗ The Robertino Diodoro-trained stable star handled five foes in the Coyote Handicap on March 28 at Turf Paradise.

◗ He has a sharp Canterbury Park workout tab.

Nine set for Prairie Rose

The $50,000 Prairie Rose, a six-furlong sprint that attracted nine fillies and mares, is highly competitive. The race is headed by Win’em All and St. Louis City, a pair of consistent 6-year-olds trained by Scott Becker, who is winning at a 28 percent clip in 2015.

The Prairie Rose, which offers valuable black type, is scheduled for 8:44 p.m.

KEY CONTENDERS

Win’em All (Last 3 Beyers: 82-81-63)

◗ She ships in from Illinois in good form following recent Hawthorne sprint wins in a March 28 Illinois-bred stakes and an April 19 muddy, open optional claimer.

Honey Candy (Last 3 Beyers: 84-36-83)

◗ She possesses the field’s lone stakes win against open company, an 11 1/2-length win in last May’s Chariot Chaser at Edmonton’s Northlands Park. This speedy 4-year-old dusted Turf Paradise optional-claiming foes by six lengths May 2.

St. Louis City (Last 3 Beyers: 81-57-74)

◗ The meet’s leading rider, Shane Laviolette, has been chosen to utilize this Chicago-based mare’s tactical speed.

Table Three Ten (Last 3 Beyers: 79-78-67)

◗ She represents lofty connections in Team Valor and trainer Mike Stidham. She has been running well without winning in listed stakes and tough optional claimers since her last win, a muddy Parx allowance sprint on Sept. 2, 2013.

Electric Temptress (Last 3 Beyers: 79-88-85)

◗ Like Delaunay, this 4-year-old filly is another former claimer owned by 11-time local leader Maggi Moss. Based here with Chris Richard, she aims to improve on her Oaklawn Park stakes debut when fourth in the April 8 Carousel.