Delaware Park: Our Mims Stakes a bit of a puzzler

There are few clues as to which of the seven 2-year-old fillies in the lineup for Wednesday’s $50,000 Our Mims Stakes at Delaware Park is best suited to handle two turns and the one-mile distance. One statistic, however, jumps out.

Check out trainer Todd Pletcher’s numbers with 2-year-olds returning from a maiden win to make their first start going long. Over the past five years, Pletcher is a remarkable 7 for 11 (64 percent) in that category, including 4 wins and 2 seconds in 8 stakes starts. That bodes well for the Pletcher-trained Danalake, who will break from the rail under Jose Caraballo, the same jockey who was aboard for her wire-to-wire, five-furlong win locally July 4.

Among the others, Politcal Pupil and Touring Hong Kong each has a two-turn race under her belt, although it came on turf, not the main track. Political Pupil will likely go off favored on the basis of her third-place finish in the 7 1/2-furlong Tuck Greene Memorial on Aug. 2. She gave way grudingly while making her first start on Lasix.

Touring Hong Kong also comes out of the Greene Memorial, but she was eliminated when she broke in the air and finished ahead of just one opponent. She’s capable of showing much better speed with a clean break and will likely be forwardly placed as hinted by her best-of-30 four-furlong workout in 48 seconds at Laurel Park on Aug. 15.

The field also includes Love Me Good, who adds Lasix and returns to dirt after rallying to get second going 5 1/2 furlongs on the Tapeta at Presque Isle Downs. Two starts ago, Love Me Good finished fourth of 10 in the Grade 3, six-furlong Debutante at Churchill Downs. Monday’s race will be her first attempt beyond six furlongs. Her trainer, Tim Hamm, is 4 for 21 (19 percent) with 2-year-olds back in less than 30 days to make their first attempt at a route. That number includes a 1-for-7 record in stakes.