Miss Preakness and Hilltop draw varied fields

Street Lute, last year’s champion Maryland-bred juvenile filly, leads the home team in Friday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Miss Preakness for 3-year-old fillies going six furlongs on the Pimlico dirt.

A winner in seven of eight sprints, Street Lute looks to rebound from a third-place finish two months ago in the Beyond the Wire traveling a one-turn mile at Laurel.

“I had my doubts she could go that far,” said trainer John Robb.

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Street Lute has recorded two bullet workouts at Pimlico over the last few weeks, and Robb said she did not miss any time due to the recent equine herpesvirus quarantine and main-track renovations at Laurel.

“We could still gallop at Laurel, and I then shipped her to Pimlico for the breezes,” he said.

Paradise Song is one of the main challengers to Street Lute in the Miss Preakness. She seems to be improving, and impressed trainer Michael Trombetta with her recent entry-level allowance score at Laurel.

“The last race was the one I was hoping to see,” Trombetta said. “She had run okay before, but the last one was her breakthrough race. I really like the place I’m at right now with her. She’s had lots of time off a big race and she’s training very well.”

Among the notable shippers for the Miss Preakness is Red Ghost, who is based in Kentucky with trainer Wesley Ward.

Ward said he had high hopes for Red Ghost before she ran, and she has met his expectations. She is 2 for 3, with both victories having come sprinting on dirt and her loss on turf.

Red Ghost won her debut by 8 1/2 lengths last August at Saratoga, then finished seventh 16 days later in the Untapable on the turf at Kentucky Downs. Ward said the reason for her poor performance in the Untapable is that he ran her back too quickly, rather than any problems with handling turf.

“Robbie Davis was breezing her for me on the grass going into the maiden race,” Ward said. “Robbie absolutely loved her. I thought she had such great grass works that we would go to Kentucky Downs. I very rarely come back on short rest, but I thought she would be so much the best that she could overcome the short rest and the shipping and still win.”

Ward gave Red Ghost the rest of the year off, and his patience was rewarded when Red Ghost defeated males in an allowance race at Keeneland on April 16.

“The issue coming into this race is that I might be coming back a little quick because we have to ship, too,” Ward said. “I think she has a good chance, but I have that little bit of fear in my mind.”

Abrogate and Euphoric wheel back on short notice after chasing a hot pace in the Grade 2 Eight Belles at Churchill on April 30. Juror Number Four finished a troubled second in her seasonal debut, a statebred allowance sprint at Pimlico on April 23.

Prodigy Doll, a stakes winner at Mahoning Valley, and stakes-placed Joyful Cadence complete the field. Inject is expected to scratch and run in the Goldfinch at Prairie Meadows on Saturday.

Hilltop Stakes

It’s a family affair for trainer James Toner as it pertains to Seasons, one of the main contenders in the $100,000 Hilltop for 3-year-old fillies racing one mile on turf. Not only did Toner train Seasons’s dam, Winter Memories, to victories in the Grade 1 Diana and the Garden City (now the Belmont Oaks), but he also campaigned the filly’s second dam, Memories of Silver, who captured the Grade 1 Beverly D. and the Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup.

“This is the third generation of this family,” said Toner. “I’m quite excited about that. This filly, she has me quite excited, too.”

Seasons won at Saratoga in her debut, then finished third in the Grade 1 Natalma at Woodbine last September.

“It was a big effort,” Toner said about the Natalma. “She was just not getting her traction and the jock had to get her together. She finished up well.”

Seasons then went to the sidelines “to grow and develop,” Toner said, and the Hilltop is her first race back.

Seasons shows two bullet workouts leading up to the race, but Toner said she may run better in her second start off the layoff.

“I tend to not tighten the screws up too much,” he said. “I like to leave a little something on the table and I think she’ll move forward from this race.”

Trainer Graham Motion sends out Alda and Mia Martina. The latter displayed a strong kick to win her first two starts before finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at Tampa in March. She was eased in the Gazelle last month in her first try on dirt, and returns to her preferred surface.

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“With her pedigree, we had to try her on dirt,” said Motion. “It was probably an ambitious spot and it didn’t work out. She’s done really well and hasn’t missed a beat since then. I think she’s filled out and looks well. I’m happy with her.”

Alda finished ahead of Seasons when second in the Natalma. Alda has made one start this year, a sixth-place finish in the Limestone Turf Sprint at Keeneland on April 9. Motion said the 5 1/2-furlong distance of that race was probably too short for Alda.

“I did think she could handle sprinting one time because she’s quite rapid in the morning, but in hindsight it was probably asking a lot,” he said. “Hopefully, that is a stepping-stone to this two-turn race.”

Bubbles On Ice, an import from Ireland trained by Christophe Clement, won the Memories of Silver Stakes at Aqueduct about a month ago in her only start in this country.

Completing the field are Tracy Flick, Proper Attire, Serenade a Kitten, Il Malocchio, Journeytothemoon, Arm Candy, Double Fireball, Speed Lane, Phantom Vision, and Out of Sorts.