Hark Theangelssing beats crowd at wire in Stormy Blues Stakes

Hark Theangelssing took center stage in the $100,000 Stormy Blues Stakes on Sunday at Laurel Park. Often overlooked behind more prominent juveniles last year, she firmly stepped out on her own in her 3-year-old debut.

One of two 3-year-old fillies entered by Michael Trombetta, Hark Theangelssing went off as the co-longest shot in the board, paying $24.40 to win. After winning 2 of 4 starts as a juvenile, she picked up her first stakes victory by a neck on Sunday, completing the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint in 1:02.04.

“She had been training really good, so I was very happy to be able to run here,” Trombetta said. “I did think she would have a decent showing. I thought it would be a stretch to win off the layoff, but she was able to pull it off.”

Bettors favored the Miguel Clement-trained second-time starter Only for Now and Just Philtored, the other Trombetta entry, but neither finished in the money in the field of seven 3-year-old fillies.

In what turned out to be a perfect trip under jockey Ismerio Villalobos, Hark Theangelssing sat in second on the backstretch behind 8-1 outsider Gerrards Cross, who kicked on through an opening quarter-mile in 22.19.

“She was actually a little closer than I thought she would be, and it put her in a great spot and it gave her a chance to do well,” Trombetta said.

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The Kathleen O’Connell-trained front-runner proved stubborn around the far turn while completing the half-mile in 44.73, challenging Hark Theangelssing to get around her in the stretch. Several deep closers seemed poised to launch bids from farther back, but the Brittany Russell-trained filly Tap Into Grace was the only one who fired after starting in last.

With Gerrards Cross digging in on the front end and Tap Into Grace closing fast down the center, Villalobos had an unenviable task aboard his unexpected contender. But with gritty determination, the filly managed to grind past the leader with the sufficient kick to hold off the late charger. All three hit the wire together, with Hark Theangelssing landing decisively in front.

Gerrards Cross, resilient at a price under Jeiron Barbosa, took second by a head over Tap Into Grace, who failed to finish the job on a course that seemed to be going against the late runners. In the only other turf race with the rail set at 17 feet on Sunday, the top three finishers all ran near the front in a second-level allowance.

In her debut at Colonial Downs last July, Hark Theangelssing turned heads when she pulled off a 41-1 stunner in her debut. She has never been favored in her five-race career, despite scoring in three turf sprints under Villalobos.

Earlier this week, Trombetta fondly recounted her underappreciated juvenile campaign and said he was happy with her development as a 3-year-old. Bred in Virginia by the late R. Larry Johnson, who entrusted Trombetta with so many high-level runners over the years, she is sure to earn more respect when she returns to Colonial this summer.

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