Miss Bullistic among many legit contenders in Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship

The field is large, the contenders many, and the Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship at Laurel Park is well worth devoting some time to Friday afternoon.

The $125,000 race for Maryland-breds will match 13 2-year-old fillies at seven furlongs. There are at least a half-dozen legitimate contenders.

The stakes winners are Miss Bullistic, who won the Selima on turf; My Magician, who took the Maryland Million Lassie by a hard-fought neck; and Sara Rocks, winner of a division of the Tri-State Futurity at Charles Town.

The near stakes winners are Rocky Policy, who finished second in the Lassie for the small stable of Robert Leaf Jr., and Pret Say Eye, who will be making her first start since finishing a clear second in the open Rollicking Stakes on Black-Eyed Susan Day in May.

Then there are the difficult-to-judge runners, such as Everything Lovely, who will be making her stakes debut for Parx-based Kathleen Demasi, and Mo Bagels, a $16,000 claim who has so far earned more than $72,000 for Dane Kobiskie while winning 3 of her last 4 starts.

KEY CONTENDERS

Miss Bullistic (Last 3 Beyers: 68-29-80)

◗ After winning her maiden and the Selima on turf and then tiring to eighth at 5-2 in the Maryland Million Lassie, it looked as if her best races would come on grass. That perception changed when she surged late to win a four-horse blanket finish in a restricted stakes on the Parx main track.

My Magician (Last 3 Beyers: 56-35-40)

◗ In a much-improved effort in the Maryland Million Lassie, she stalked, opened up, and then dug in to hold off Rocky Policy. A repeat of that effort will make her very tough here.

Everything Lovely (Last 3 Beyers: 67-66-71)

◗ She was second by a neck to eventual Maryland Million Lassie third-place finisher Rockin Jojo in her debut, scored a sharp maiden win next out, and then narrowly missed to Darling Sky in an allowance. Darling Sky has since finished second in a $100,000 stakes.

◗ Only Miss Bullistic has run a higher Beyer Speed Figure than the 71 Everything Lovely earned in her debut.

Pret Say Eye (Beyers: 62-48)

◗ She was second by three-quarters of a length in her debut to Bessie’s Boy, who came back to win the Tremont at Belmont Park for trainer Wesley Ward.

◗ Although still a maiden, she has shown good speed in both of her starts. The question is: Will she be ready off a 32-week layoff?

“I think she’s immensely talented,” trainer Phil Schoenthal said. “I don’t know if she’s fit enough to compete with these better kind of horses going seven-eighths of a mile off the shelf, but we’re going to give it a go.”

DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the past four years, trainer Phil Schoenthal is 3 for 10 with a return on investment of $3.63 with horses returning from layoffs of between 180 and 260 days.

:: Learn more about Formulator | Follow the @DRFFormulator Twitter feed and get free Formulator facts

Rocky Policy (Last 3 Beyers: 55-60-40)

◗ She rallied from well back to win a $30,000 maiden-claiming race, a first-level optional claimer, and to finish second in the Maryland Million Lassie. The seven-furlong distance Friday should be ideal for her.

Mo Bagels (67-59-23)

◗ She has improved markedly since finishing ninth in the Maryland Million Lassie and will be among the early leaders under apprentice Cecily Evans.

◗ This will be the 11th start of the year for Mo Bagels.