Justalittlesmoke looms large in First Lady Stakes

Justalittlesmoke, perfect in three starts at Mahoning Valley Race Course this season, seeks to strengthen her credentials as this season’s best Ohio-bred 3-year-old filly in Saturday’s $75,000 First Lady Stakes.

It will take some major improvement from one of the other six Ohio-bred 3-year-old fillies in the six-furlong First Lady to upset Justalittlesmoke. The Beyer Speed Figures from her last five sprints dating to March range from 69 to 77. No one else in Saturday’s lineup has run faster than a 69.

The most intriguing challenger is Lady Buckeye, who will be making her first appearance at the track near Youngstown, Ohio, after beginning her career with three straight wins at Belterra Park and ThistleDown. She is stepping up to stakes company for the first time after an easy allowance win with a career-best 67 Beyer in early October.

KEY CONTENDERS

Justalittlesmoke (Last 3 Beyers: 77-74-71)

◗ Three of her four victories this season have come at Mahoning Valley, including a win over open company in the Austintown Filly Sprint in April. She’s coming off a daylight victory over two-time Ohio-bred Horse of the Year Needmore Flattery in the Diana Stakes at ThistleDown.

Lady Buckeye (Last 3 Beyers: 67-51-40)

◗ After winning a slow maiden race in her career debut in July, she has moved forward in each of her two subsequent starts. She shows no published workouts since her Oct. 5 victory.

Chain Yanker (Last 3 Beyers: 61-59-52)

◗ She has strung together a series of faster races since being claimed out of a maiden win for $5,000 in March but is unproven at the stakes level and hasn’t run fast enough to threaten either of the top two contenders.

Something Nice (Last 3 Beyers: 56-46-30)

◗ She was no match for stablemate Justalittlesmoke in two sprints early this season but could be the controlling speed here and comes into this race fresh, making her first start since a dominant victory in an allowance Aug. 10.

Beth’s Bling (Last 3 Beyers: 41-37-53)

◗ This former Southern California-based filly scored twice as the heavy favorite at ThistleDown, but her form went sour, and she didn’t show much in her two most recent starts. She hasn’t worked out since finishing last at Hawthorne on Oct. 27.