Hold Her Tight might get sweet trip in Panthers

Back in the day, trainer Larry Jones was a regular at Prairie Meadows. During the 2004 meeting, Jones started 46 horses at Prairie Meadows, and in 2005 that number swelled to 102, but since 2006 no Jones-trained runners have raced there.

That changes Thursday night when Hold Her Tight races in the $65,000 Panthers Stakes, a one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies that serves as a local prep for the Iowa Oaks next month.

Hold Her Tight was cross-entered in a Delaware Park Stakes scheduled for Wednesday but is expected to be scratched from that race in favor of the Panthers.

Hold Her Tight is one of eight entrants in the Panthers, and if she can successfully stretch out from sprints to this short route while maintaining the stalking style she’s used in shorter races, she can win. The Panthers is top-heavy with front-runners, and a filly that will relax and stalk the pace could wind up with a considerable tactical advantage.

Hold Her Tight has been at Churchill Downs since a sixth-place finish in the Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes. Mia Mischief and Talk Veuve to Me dominated that seven-furlong race, with graded stakes winner Gas Station Sushi third, and the move to the Panthers puts Hold Her Tight in a much easier spot. At Keeneland in April she beat the capable Devine Mischief in a seven-furlong allowance race. Hold Her Tight’s sire, Proud Citizen, and dam, Langcita, both found success racing around two turns.

Mia Mischief’s trainer, Steve Asmussen, has a similarly named but less accomplished filly, Mia d’Oro, for the Panthers, and she should be a prime contender. Mia d’Oro beat, among others, the good 3-year-old filly Eskimo Kisses making her 3-year-old debut in a one-mile allowance race at Oaklawn. That start came on a fast track, and Mia d’Oro caught mud and slop in two subsequent starts there. She’s hinted at being rateable and is another candidate to take back a bit in Thursday night’s race (post time 9:17 p.m. Central).

First Alternate beat Mia D’Oro on a wet track at Oaklawn and exits a second-place finish in a Kentucky Oaks Day first-level allowance race at Churchill. If she can avoid getting caught up in Salt Bae’s fast pace, she also should have a legitimate chance to roar in the Panthers.