Delaware: Lemon Drop Mom a good fit

Lemon Drop Mom will be taking a substantial class drop when she returns to Delaware Park for the $55,000 Winter Melody, a 1 1/16-mile overnight stakes that drew a field of seven fillies and mares.

Trained by Tim Ritchey, Lemon Drop Mom ran well in two similar overnight stakes locally last fall, finishing second in one and winning the other with a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 100. She is 3 for 6 at Delaware and prepped for this spot with a bullet five-furlong workout in 59 seconds on May 4.

Lemon Drop Mom most recently flashed good speed and faded to fourth in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park.

Peak Maria's Way, winner of the $101,000 Obeah Handicap at 1 1/8 miles last season, should improve as she stretches out from six furlongs for her second start of the season.

Sweetdownthelane can also be expected to run better switching from Polytrack, where she is 0 for 4, to Delaware's main track, where she is 2 for 4. Her trainer, Larry Jones, is off to a hot start at the meet, winning with 7 of his first 18 starters (39 percent).