Laurel: Three runners look hard to separate in Saturday allowance feature

Laurel Park has a nice sequence of races carded as 6 through 8 on Saturday.

The wide-open eighth, a second-level optional $32,000 claimer for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles, matches Karaoke Queen, Enterprising Lady, and Mecke’s Madalyn.

Karaoke Queen enters off a 3 3/4-length victory over first-level allowance rivals for trainer Linda Rice. Enterprising Lady, in her first start for Jamie Ness, won at this level Jan 29. Ness wheels her back for the $32,000 optional claiming tag.

Mecke’s Madalyn has made her last five starts in stakes company for Corby Caiazzo and should appreciate the drop in class.

Trainer Graham Motion has players of note in races 6 and 7.

In the sixth, a six-furlong, first-level allowance, J La Tache will make her first start since Saratoga. While only 1 for 13, J La Tache has faced tough rivals such as Lightstream, Carina Mia, and On Leave. J La Tache has worked seven times at Fair Hill since Dec. 24 for her return.

Motion will send out Johnny Hop in race 6, a six-furlong maiden race for 3-year-olds. Johnny Hop was a $350,000 buy by West Point Thoroughbreds at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March sale of 2-year-olds. He is out of the mare Smarty Deb, a star at Emerald Downs in 2007 who won five straight races before finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Monmouth Park.

Johnny Hop is a half-brother by Bodemeister to Wild About Deb, who finished second in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones and third in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby last year.