Gang of shippers and a four-way rematch

Four fillies who finished within two lengths of each other in an overnight stakes at Delaware Park a month ago, the winner and runner-up from a restricted stakes in early June at Pimlico, and six sharp shippers who last raced in New York, New Jersey, or Southern California combine to pose a complex handicapping puzzle in Saturday's stakes feature at Delaware Park.

Fourteen 3-year-old fillies, including one also-eligible and one main-track-only entrant, are entered for the $75,000 Denise Rhudy Memorial at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

On paper, there's little separating more than half the field.

Miss Tizzynow, who won the St. Georges May 28 at Delaware at the same distance as the Rhudy, is the lukewarm 4-1 favorite on the track's morning line.

But the Graham Motion-trained Miss Tizzynow was a mere nose better than New Edition, a length in front of Eurydice, and two lengths better than Lemon Drop Mom that day.

The only one of the four who has raced since then is Eurydice. Breaking from post 11 in a first-level allowance on June 20, she failed to show her customary speed and regressed 15 points on the Beyer Figure scale to finish as the remote runner-up.

The value play among the St. Georges foursome looks like Lemon Drop Mom at 12-1. She will race with blinkers for the first time and has a license to improve in only her second start on grass.

Marias Golden Rose has won back-to-back starts on grass in Maryland, including a 2 1/2-length score over Ziggly in the Pearl Necklace for statebreds four weeks ago. Marias Golden Rose must pick up six pounds in the Rhudy off her last victory as the 122-pound highweight, and would have to improve about 10 points from her best turf Beyer of 74 to beat this group.

Among the half-dozen other contenders who last raced out of town, here are the most intriguing:

* Prom Party is a recent maiden winner at Belmont for trainer Todd Pletcher. Normally a high-percentage trainer no matter where he races, Pletcher is 0 for 2 this meet at Delaware.

* Cabbage Key is a deep closer whose 90 Beyer for her second-place finish in the Little Silver at Monmouth Park is the best last-out figure in the Rhudy field.

* Dinner Break comes off a career-best effort in a minor seven-furlong stakes at Belmont, but she must overcome post 12.