Determined Kingdom likely to land fourth Punch Line win
:quality(75))
Trainer Michael Trombetta has the morning-line favorite in three of the four stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs, but none of his runners will be as daunting as Determined Kingdom in the $125,000 Punch Line. The Virginia-bred has won the race three times and was denied the opportunity to repeat last year when the 5 1/2-furlong sprint was rained off the turf.
“He’s just a nice, old, classy horse and it’s a pleasure to have him,” Trombetta said. “Whether it be Saratoga or Colonial or Laurel, wherever I take him, he just seems to always show up and give us a good effort.”
Because he scratched from the Punch Line and came up just short in other target races last year, Determined Kingdom quietly compiled an eight-race losing streak between April 2025 and May 2026. That came to an end at Saratoga last month, when the 7-year-old won a $125,000 allowance in a three-horse blanket finish.
The course in upstate New York might be his favorite vacation spot, but Colonial is home, and he will be going for his seventh career victory at the track in a state-restricted field of eight. The two turf stakes on Saturday are for runners bred or sired in Virginia, while the two dirt stakes extend to those bred or sired in Virginia or Maryland.
Trombetta cross-entered Crossingthechannel in an allowance at Colonial on Monday and will only run him in the Punch Line if it is moved to dirt. Last year, the trainer was left empty-handed when Determined Kingdom had to scratch.
Glenn Petty
Sporting Lady has been plagued by inside post positions in her last three starts for trainer Keri Brion, but her luck might finally be taking a turn. The 4-year-old filly will break from the far outside against five older female rivals in the $125,000 Glenn Petty Stakes on Saturday.
“She actively tries very hard to get herself off the rail,” Brion said. “So the fact that that’s not going to be something we have to worry about is a relief.”
Since coming up just short in a second-level allowance at Aqueduct in April, Sporting Lady has kept tough company at Laurel Park, finishing off the board in the $100,000 The Very One and $100,000 Jameela. Brion said she considered this 5 1/2-furlong sprint a softer spot and will add blinkers, which the filly wore in her maiden victory at Colonial last summer.
Noquestionaboutit, the 6-5 morning-line favorite trained by Trombetta, won last year’s edition of the Glenn Petty, making her the only stakes winner in the field. She has not won in three starts since, though she returned last month and ran a game third in a second-level allowance at Laurel.
“I have a race under her belt and was able to come back and work her a couple times,” Trombetta said. “Hopefully, she’s ready to defend her title.”
Miss Disco
A pair of $125,000 stakes scheduled for July 4 at Colonial had to be pushed back a week because of extreme heat, but most contenders in the Star de Naskra and Miss Disco are still on track to run Saturday.
In the Miss Disco, Just Philtored and Slewperstitus will square off for the fifth time in their short careers, renewing their rivalry in a state-restricted field of six 3-year-old fillies.
Slewperstitus, who finished second behind Just Philtored in all three of her juvenile stakes victories, is coming off a career-best effort at Laurel last month, when she closed fast to win a first-level allowance with a 79 Beyer Speed Figure. She will stretch out to seven furlongs on Saturday.
“She’s doing really good, had her last main gallop [Thursday],” trainer Robert Bailes said. “She’ll have a jog tomorrow and we should be set to go for Saturday.”
Trombetta said Just Philtored is more than ready to return to Virginia, where she was an overwhelming presence in state-restricted stakes last summer. She will switch back to dirt after a pair of defeats in turf stakes at Aqueduct and Laurel this year.
Star de Naskra
Trainer Tim Keefe confirmed that Top Manipulator is still on track to run in the Star de Naskra Stakes on Saturday, where he will try to get back to business after stepping up too far in the $150,000 Chick Lang at Laurel.
Between January and April, Top Manipulator improved to win three straight races at Laurel, most notably toppling a $63,000 allowance field at 27-1 on April 17. That was the race that convinced Keefe to try the Chick Lang on Preakness Day, but he simply didn’t stack up in a 13 1/2-length defeat.
Keefe’s plucky gelding should be a solid contender in the state-restricted field of eight 3-year-olds on Saturday. He will stretch out to seven furlongs for the first time, something Keefe said he always wanted to try.
Tartabull, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, and Close the Gate, the 3-1 second choice, are both looking for their second victories in their ninth career starts. Tartabull will make his first start for new trainer Rohan Crichton.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.