Prairie: Slight edge to Platinum Ballet

Platinum Ballet will square off against top Iowa-bred Switch Lanes and six other fillies and mares in the $50,000 Wild Rose Stakes at Prairie Meadows.

In an evenly matched field, Platinum Ballet deserves a slight nod based on her last main-track performance, when she rallied to finish second, beaten one length, in the $100,000 Bayakoa at Oaklawn Park. Platinum Ballet earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure in the Bayakoa, which is the highest number of any starter in the Wild Rose.

In her most recent start, Platinum Ballet finished sixth, beaten five lengths, in the one-mile Honeymoon at Louisiana Downs. That race was run on the turf, a surface over which Platinum Ballet is winless in four career tries.

Overall, the 4-year-old Platinum Ballet, trained by Donnie Von Hemel, has a record of 4-6-3 from 19 starts, good for more than $150,000 in earnings. Platinum Ballet should rally from well off the early pace under jockey Perry Compton.

Switch Lanes enters the Wild Rose in top form, with 4 wins and 3 second-place finishes since she was claimed for $25,000 last July by trainer Dick Clark. The 6-year-old Switch Lanes has earned more than $100,000 since the claim and will likely try to take the Wild Rose field from gate to wire.