Fillies battle the boys in Loyalty Stakes
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The best Ohio-bred 2-year-old this year might be Kontiki, a filly who is out of town on Friday to run at Presque Isle Downs. A pair of fillies who have finished behind her in stakes over the summer, Dynamic Vision and Dunn’s River, figure as major candidates in the $75,000 Loyalty Stakes for Ohio-accredited juveniles on Friday at Belterra Park.
Dynamic Vision, the morning-line favorite at 3-1, and Dunn’s River are among four fillies lining up to face the boys in a full field of 10 in the six-furlong Loyalty, one of two stakes on the program.
Dynamic Vision, who is trained and co-owned by Robert Cline, has already faced males, defeating them in her debut in June at Belterra. She stepped up to stakes company next out, and despite being steadied on the turn, was easily best of the rest while well-beaten by Kontiki in the Jim Morgan Memorial Tah Dah Stakes in July at Belterra.
In last month’s Best of Ohio Miss Ohio at Thistledown, Dynamic Vision made it her early mission to try to run with and weaken Kontiki. Instead, she weakened herself, fading to last of five while Kontiki drew off to win by 12. Allowed a more relaxed trip on Friday, she should be right back in the thick of things.
Dunn’s River finished third in the Miss Ohio for trainer Ricardo Bailey and Lion Palm Racing Stable. She had previously been second on debut to the talented Miss Elecktra, who was third in the Tah Dah, then was a game second-out maiden winner. Dunn’s River and Dynamic Vision are the only members of this field with a prior stakes placing.
Miss Southern Ohio
The co-feature is the $75,000 Miss Southern Ohio for Ohio-accredited fillies and mares. Parlay, a four-time stakes-winning 3-year-old, steps up to take on older competition in the 1 1/16-mile race.
Parlay was bred by leading Ohio trainer Tim Hamm of Blazing Meadows Farm in his WinBlaze partnership with Kentucky-based WinStar Farm. She now races for Blazing Meadows and America’s Thoroughbred Investors, which is operated by the Hamm family.
Parlay won the Emerald Necklace and Glacial Princess last year. The filly was also second in the Best of Ohio John W. Galbreath and was runner-up in the Loyalty and the Joshua Radosevich Memorial, both against males.
After taking some time to round into form this year, Parlay has regained her best stride with a win in the Cincinnatian Stakes, a third in the Horizon Stakes against males, and a runaway win in the Tomboy Stakes against fillies last out.
The Miss Southern Ohio field of nine also includes defending winner Factisimflashy, who also won the 2023 Cincinnatian and was second in that summer’s Horizon. She was most recently sixth in the Buckeye Native against males.
The 2024 Cincinnatian winner, Miz Keeta, also is multiple stakes-placed.
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