Fillies in Malvern Rose lack two-turn experience on Tapeta

Nine Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-old fillies, all unproven going two turns on a synthetic surface, will clash in Sunday night’s $100,000 Malvern Rose Stakes at Presque Isle Downs.

The best credentials in the one-mile race may belong to Bella Flor. She missed by a nose in last fall’s Mrs. Henry Paxson Memorial Stakes going six furlongs locally and won a one-mile overnight stakes at Gulfstream Park West in the final start of her 2-year-old campaign.

Bella Flor has raced just once this season, however, finishing last of three going 5 1/2 furlongs against older females on July 18.

R U Happy Now will move in two slots to post 8 following the early scratches of White as Cotton and Ponytail. She tries Tapeta for the first time after wiring a group of maidens going a mile on turf at Penn National, earning a 79 Beyer Speed Figure that’s by far the best number in Sunday’s field.

Lakota, trained by Jonathan Sheppard, may be ready to move forward adding blinkers for her synthetic surface debut after finishing a close second going 1 1/16 miles on turf in a first-level allowance. Lakota worked a bullet five furlongs in 1:00 flat on Wednesday over the local surface.

Behrnik’s Bank, a two-time stakes winner on dirt, will race beyond 6 1/2 furlongs and on a surface other than dirt for the first time. The offspring of her dam, Behrnik, are just 2 for 17 on synthetic surfaces.

Disco Rose is stakes-placed at the Grade 2 level going 1 1/8 miles on the main track and defeated high-priced open company optional claimers going a mile in her most recent start, so the Malvern Rose distance will be no problem. But she has never tried a synthetic surface and her Parx-based trainer, Butch Reid, is 0 for 3 with first-time synthetic runners.