Miss A. Bomb tries to go longer

There seems little doubt that Miss A. Bomb likes racing over Polytrack. Now the main question left to be answered Saturday in the $50,000 Valdale Stakes is whether the 3-year-old filly can handle two turns, too.

In four starts over Polytrack at Turfway Park, all at 6 1/2 furlongs or shorter, Miss A. Bomb has put forth four excellent efforts: 2 wins, including a Dec. 23 triumph in the Gowell Stakes, and 2 seconds, one of them in her most recent start on Jan. 20 in the Cincinnati Trophy.

So when she stretches out to a mile Saturday among a full field of 3-year-old fillies, Miss A. Bomb will be attempting to keep her Turfway record looking good while taking on more distance. Curiously, her only two races outside of Turfway both were at 1 1/16 miles and resulted in off-the-board finishes.

"Those races might have come a little too early in her career, when she was more speed-oriented than she is now," said Grant Hofmans, the transplanted Californian who trains Miss A. Bomb for Dick Colvin and William Gould.

"The last few races she's been willing to sit off the pace and make her run. I really like the way she's developing, and we're looking forward to trying her around two turns again Saturday."

With Orlando Mojica to ride, Miss A. Bomb is scheduled to start from post 6 in the Valdale, the featured 11th of 12 races. Being by Lemon Drop Kid, whose progeny tend to fare better with distance, Miss A. Bomb figures as the filly to beat despite those two losses last fall in two-turn allowances at Keeneland and Churchill Downs.

If Miss A. Bomb fails to live up to favoritism, there is no shortage of candidates to rush into the void, with Luna Dorada, Bavarian Belle, Our Dancing Babe, Stravinsky's Code, and even an also-eligible, Miss Taro, all looking like worthy challengers.

Luna Dorada, Our Dancing Babe, and Stravinsky's Code all are seeking a third straight victory at Turfway. All three won maiden races two starts back, then immediately went through their first allowance condition and are now making their stakes debut.

Bavarian Belle has faced tougher company recently at Fair Grounds and rejoins the Kentucky string of trainer Becky Maker.

Miss Taro, a winner of her lone start, will need at least one other filly to scratch before making the race.