Prairie Meadows: Von Hemel has main threats in sprint stakes

ALTOONA, Iowa – Local trainer Kelly Von Hemel holds a strong hand in both of Saturday evening’s co-featured $60,000 sprint stakes for Iowa-bred 3-year-olds.

Someplace Else looks like a standout in the six-furlong Bob Bryant. She has won two straight, including a front-running, 2 3/4-length maiden win April 9 at Oaklawn Park and a three-length allowance win at Prairie Meadows on May 6.

Among the six other fillies in the field, Von Hemel said he has respect for Dimanche Pouliche, who chased Someplace Else home before finishing second at Prairie Meadows. The six-furlong Bob Bryant, for fillies, has seven entrants. Von Hemel’s Someplace Else looks like a standout based on her front-running, 2 3/4-length maiden score April 9 at Oaklawn Park and three-length allowance tally at Prairie Meadows on May 6.“Someplace Else was highly regarded when I got her as a 2-year-old off the farm, and she was spectacular in her front-running Oaklawn win,” Von Hemel said. “I do have a lot of respect for Clinton Stuart’s filly Dimanche Pouliche who chased her home the other day.” Dimanche Pouliche breaks from the rail, and Someplace Else has the outside post.

Ginger Added could also be a factor. She may be the stable star among trainer Dick Clark’s legion of Iowa-breds and has won both of her career starts, including a four-length win in an entry-level allowance April 25.

The chances of 2 for 2 Ginger Added, who is trained by Dick Clark for River Ridge Ranch, should not be ignored as she may be the stable star amongst Clark’s legion of Iowa-breds. She looked smart when pulling away to win her April 25 entry-level allowance by four lengths. Von Hemel’s other filly, Lucky Daz, warrants respect. She failed to handle the surface at Oaklawn two starts back, finishing seventh, but returned to finish second in an allowance at Prairie Meadows last time out. as “she did not handle the surface at Oaklawn but excels here.” Last August, Lucky Daz won the $86,000 Iowa Sorority by 2 3/4 lengths.

The colts and geldings take center stage in the six-furlong The Gray’s Lake. Von Hemel has three contenders in the field of seven, headed by another Prairie Lane Farms LLC homebred One Hundred Proof. A gelded son of Friends Lake, One Hundred Proof will be making his third start but is the probable favorite after cruising by 5 3/4 lengths over Iowa-bred maidens May 6.

“We expected better from him in his Oaklawn debut, and the addition of blinkers has really sharpened him up,” Von Hemel said.

Von Hemel also sends Father Wayne and Cash at Night, both of whom finished second last time out. Father Wayne rallied from off the pace April 26, but Von Hemel said he expects him to lay closer to the pace Saturday. Cash At Night returned from a nine-month layoff to finish second to Stormin River on May 7.

The chief threat could be Dynamic Within, owner-trainer Larry Hunt’s 2010 Iowa-bred juvenile champion. Dynamic Within looks to rebound from a subpar allowance effort April 30, when he was sixth, beaten 8 3/4 lengths by the 4-year-old Launch Light. Asked how Dynamic Within was doing Tuesday morning, Hunt said, “I’ll let you know in a few days. The Gray’s Lake is the one I really want to win.”

Prairie Meadows has a special early first post time of 4:45 p.m. on Saturday to accommodate the large ontrack crowd expected for the simulcast of the Preakness Stakes.