DeMasi hoping Everything Lovely can double up in Lightning City

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Last year, trainer Kathleen DeMasi won the allowance prep for the Lightning City Stakes with Joya Real, but the mare could only finish fourth in the stakes race itself. This year, DeMasi is hoping for a better result after Everything Lovely’s impressive win last Saturday in the prep for the $100,000 Lightning City.

Everything Lovely ($4.80) cruised to a front-running 4 1/4-length victory in the optional $100,000 claiming race, which served as the feature on opening day at Tampa Bay Downs. She finished the five-furlong race on firm turf in 55.87 seconds after setting extremely fast fractions of 21.21 seconds for a quarter-mile and 43.87 for a half-mile under jockey Jose C. Ferrer. Last year, Richies Sweetheart won the Lightning City in 56.18 seconds.

Everything Lovely earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure for the win.

In the winner’s circle Saturday, DeMasi said Everything Lovely would point for the Lightning City if she comes out of Saturday’s race in good order. The Lightning City, a five-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares ages 3 and up, is scheduled for Dec. 17 here.

“It is déjà vu except hopefully, if everything is good, we can win the Lightning City,” DeMasi said.

Everything Lovely, a 4-year-old filly by Pollard’s Vision, has won five of 17 career starts for DeMasi’s Pewter Stable and Armand A. Delaperrie. She won three straight allowances and optional claimers last year at Parx but subsequently had lost seven consecutive races, all in stakes. But she had run well over that span, finishing second or third in four stakes, including a runner-up finish behind the top turf sprinter Lady Shipman in the Turf Amazon last September.

Everything Lovely entered last Saturday’s race off a seventh-place finish in the Grade 3 Franklin County Stakes at Keeneland, where she faded late in the 5 1/2-furlong race. DeMasi said she prefers the five-furlong distance for her filly.

“This is a fast filly,” DeMasi said. “Unfortunately, most of the races are 5 1/2 furlongs, and she always has to be encouraged to slow down, but she is quick. After Keeneland, we pretty much had this race in our sights the whole time. She ran so hard vs. Lady Shipman and some other horses. We were really hoping just to get her a win this year. It didn’t seem fair she hadn’t won a race [this year].”

DeMasi said that Joya Real, a 7-year-old Eddington mare owned by Pewter Stable, is likely to be bred in 2017. The horse has won 10 of 30 starts, including the last two editions of the Blue Sparkler Stakes and the 2014 Fort Monmouth Stakes at Monmouth Park, and earned $450,999.

◗ The first stakes races of the Tampa Bay Downs meet are set for Saturday, with the Inaugural and Sandpiper stakes each worth $100,000 and covering six furlongs on the main track. The Inaugural is for 2-year-olds, while the Sandpiper is restricted to juvenile fillies.