Nine vie for first stakes win

The first stakes race of 2025 in Ohio takes place Thursday at Mahoning Valley. The $75,000 Southern Park Stakes for Ohio-bred 3-year-old fillies gives all nine entrants a chance to record their first stakes win.

The only entrants to get a piece of a stakes previously are My Kinda Party, trained by Robert Gorham, and Lo Bug, trained by Richard Zielinski. My Kinda Party was second in the Miss Ohio Stakes last August at Thistledown, with Lo Bug a half-length behind her in third while still a maiden.

My Kinda Party went on to attempt a stretch-out in the John W. Galbreath on the fall Best of Ohio showcase program. She never threatened, jogging to the line in 10th. She has bounced back well in sprints at Mahoning Valley this winter, with a win and a second in two allowance starts.

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Lo Bug won a Thistledown maiden race in her next start after the Miss Ohio. She has also had a strong winter at Mahoning Valley and comes into the six-furlong Southern Park off three consecutive allowance wins, all on muddy tracks. There is rain in the forecast on Thursday.

In her most recent effort on March 5, Lo Bug turned in a professional stalk-and-pounce performance for a one-length win over Belle Bottoms and Complexity Girl, both of whom she faces again here. Lo Bug’s Beyer Speed Figures have improved in each start at Mahoning Valley, with a career-high 60 on March 5, the top last-out figure in this field.

Belle Bottoms, although defeated last time out, handed Lo Bug her most recent loss. Also trained by Gorham, she was a nine-length allowance winner over Lo Bug on Dec. 11, posting the field’s best overall Beyer, a 67. She then finished sixth in a stakes at Parx before bouncing back with a good runner-up effort in a local allowance.

Last-out allowance winner Mobil Ensign; maiden winners Complexity Girl, Dreaming of War, Flashy N, and Wonder World; and the maiden Carmel Rose complete the field.

Mahoning Valley, which opened in October, will have one more stakes this spring – the Howard B. Noonan for 3-year-old statebreds on April 3. The meet concludes April 12, at which point the Ohio circuit moves to Belterra Park and Thistledown for the spring and summer.

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