Laurel: Silmaril hangs on

The scratch of morning-line favorite Roar Emotion sent Silmaril off as the 4-5 public choice in the $75,000 Nellie Morse Stakes at Laurel, and she came through with a narrow victory for her backers.

Star of Anziyan set the early pace, pushed first by Smokin' Greida and then Rochetta. Silmaril, ridden by Ryan Fogelsonger, stayed off the early leaders in the one-mile Nellie Morse, then found a narrow opening between horses and dug in for a four-horse stretch battle and won by a neck over Rochetta, with Points West a half-length back in third.

Silmaril ($3.60), a 4-year-old trained by Christopher Grove, won in a final time of 1:39.51. The Nellie Morse victory was her second straight in a stakes, following her Dec. 11 victory in the $100,000 Geisha Handicap at Pimlico.

In the $50,000 What a Summer Stakes, Sensibly Chic dueled early with Traci Girl through fractions of 22.85 seconds for the quarter-mile and 45.86 for the half. As Traci Girl began to tire passing the eighth pole, Sensibly Chic, ridden by Steve Hamilton, pulled away from the field for a 6 1/2-length victory. Wallop, well off the early pace, rallied for second, with Bronze Abe third and Traci Girl fourth.

Sensibly Chic ($5.60), a 5-year old mare trained by Timothy Tullock Jr., finished the six furlongs in 1:09.84.