McGaughey goes for repeat in Christiana Stakes

Shug McGaughey will shoot for a repeat victory in the $50,000 Christiana Stakes on a surprisingly strong Wednesday card at Delaware Park. Fellow Belmont Park horsemen Christophe Clement and Brian Lynch also have contenders in the 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies.

The New York theme doesn’t stop there. The favorites in race 7, which immediately precedes the Christiana, are trained by Todd Pletcher and Jimmy Jerkens. Bombshell, who is 7-5 on the morning line in the first-level allowance for fillies and mares at a mile and 70 yards, will be Jerkens’s first Delaware Park starter since 2002.

McGaughey won last year’s Christiana with My Impression. On Wednesday, he will send out Initiate, who was narrowly beaten in a first-level optional-claiming race at Belmont Park in her most recent start. Both fillies were bred and are owned by Stuart S. Janney III.

Initiate has good early speed and will be prominent throughout. Nik Juarez, who leads the Monmouth Park standings, has the mount.

Graham Motion has cross-entered Dancing Rags, the winner of the Grade 1 Alcibiades last fall at Keeneland, in the Christiana and the $50,000 Light Hearted over the Delaware main track Thursday. On Monday, Motion said he was “leaning toward the grass with her” on Wednesday.

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“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while,” he said. “I want to see if the turf is a benefit to her. She ran well on it in her first start.”

Lynch has entered Mercy Ann, who wired a 12-horse field of turf maidens at Keeneland in April.

Clement will send out Warrior Hall, who will be making her second start of the season after finishing a close third at Gulfstream Park in April.

Another race of interest on the program is race 6, a high-level optional-claiming race on turf for fillies and mares in which Tom Proctor will send out Enchanteresse. Motion will counter with Boreale, a French import who will be making her U.S. debut and is owned by West Point Thoroughbreds.

“West Point bought her privately, and I want to find out more about her,” Motion said. “She seems like a very nice filly, and this appears to be a sensible spot.”

Enchanteresse will be stretching back out to 1 1/16 miles following a fourth-place finish in a turf sprint at Laurel Park. She has good tracking speed and looks to be sitting on a sharp effort.

In Race 7, Pleased, trained by Pletcher, and Bombshell are drawn side by side in posts 1 and 2. Pleased won her career debut by 4 3/4 lengths over a mile at Gulfstream Park on May 7. That same day, Bombshell was second-best for Jerkens in a first-level allowance going 1 1/16 miles at Belmont.