Polytrack may wake up Half Heaven

Half Heaven got hot last winter at Turfway Park. Soon after Stronach Stable transferred her into the care of Dale Romans, Half Heaven nearly swept a four-race series of filly and mare stakes, winning three and finishing second in another.

Since then, Half Heaven has been competitive, albeit winless, so Romans is eager to get her back onto the Polytrack surface at Turfway in Florence, Ky., where on Saturday the 5-year-old mare will defend her title in the $50,000 My Charmer Stakes.

The My Charmer, a 1 1/16-mile stakes carded as the 11th of 12 races, drew 14 entries, including two also-eligibles. Although Half Heaven's Turfway form clearly is good enough to net a repeat, there are a handful of capable challengers, creating a good betting race.

Half Heaven, bred by former teen idol David Cassidy in New York, raced exclusively on turf and in statebred stakes company following her Turfway tear, finishing respectably in all five races while failing to win. Following a fifth-place finish in the Oct. 20 Ticonderoga at Belmont Park, Romans decided to wait for Turfway.

"There really wasn't anywhere to run, and I thought we'd just point to this race," said Romans, who currently has his stable split between Kentucky and south Florida. "She really moves up on the Polytrack."

Besides the My Charmer, Half Heaven also won the Wintergreen and Fairway Fun last winter at Turfway while settling for second in the Likely Exchange. Dean Sarvis has the mount Saturday on Half Heaven, who was assigned post 8.

The toughest challenges may come from Put Away the Halo, an interesting stretch-out possibility for trainer Lynn Whiting; Marquee Delivery, a consistent 3-year-old with an excellent record on synthetic surfaces; Our Dancing Babe, narrowly defeated in the Pago Hop on opening weekend at Fair Grounds; April Frost, an impressive winner as the favorite in a recent second-level turf allowance at Churchill Downs; or Now More Than Ever, a New York-bred in good form for new owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey.

The My Charmer, named for the late dam of the great Seattle Slew, dates to 1980, when it was run in two divisions.