Mo Shopping gets class relief in Light Hearted Stakes

The $50,000 Light Hearted Stakes at Delaware Park on Wednesday is the local prep for next month’s Grade 3 Delaware Oaks and gives interested parties an opportunity to get their fillies a race over the track.

The Light Hearted will be run at one mile and 70 yards, while the $300,000 Delaware Oaks on July 7 will be at 1 1/16 miles.

A field of eight was entered for the Light Hearted, but Larry Jones said via text that Hold Her Tight would not be making the trip to Delaware and would race in the $65,000 Panthers at Prairie Meadows on Thursday.

Mo Shopping will be a solid favorite in the Light Hearted for trainer Todd Pletcher, who has given the mount to Mario Pino. She has the two highest Beyer Speed Figures in the field and will be dropping in class from the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct.

While their figures might not stack up to those of Mo Shopping, Blue Strike is improving for John Servis and Prospective Lady enters off a victory in a $100,000 stakes for Florida-breds at Tampa Bay Downs.

In the 1 1/8-mile Gazelle, Mo Shopping prompted the pace inside Godolphin-owned Sara Street for 6 1/2 furlongs before dropping back. She tired in the stretch to finish a well-beaten fifth, while Sara Street hung on doggedly in the stretch and finished second, beaten a half-length. In her next start, Sara Street was sent off favored in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico, but tired over the sloppy track and finished fourth.

Mo Shopping, who drew the rail last time, has a better outside post in the Light Hearted. While she figures to be prominent early, she may be able to relax a bit more in the early stages of the race.

Blue Strike is 2 for 2 since Servis added blinkers to her equipment. She won a one-mile maiden race at Laurel in April and a two-turn allowance at Parx in early May. The daughter of Smart Strike’s Beyers have improved in each of her four starts, and another jump is possible Wednesday.

Feargal Lynch, who rode her two starts back, regains the mount.

Servis also has entered Blue Union Rags, who is coming off a fifth-place finish to the promising Goodonehoney in the $125,000 Weber City Miss at Laurel Park. Blue Union Rags was only beaten a length for second in that race.

Both Blue Strike and Blue Union Rags are owned by the DJ Stable of Leonard Green. Jorge Vargas Jr. stays aboard Blue Union Rags.

Prospective Lady led throughout in her Tampa stakes win for trainer Gerald Bennett. The race was Prospective Lady’s first attempt at two turns over a dirt track.

Dothraki Sea, who is trained by Tom Proctor and owned by the SF Racing of George Soros, finished second to Blue Strike at Parx. She is bred closely along the line of Dixie Chatter, a graded winner on both turf and dirt. The daughter of Union Rags also is a half-sister to four-time stakes winner Rumor.