Queen Lilly Kay up against familiar company in Mamie Eisenhower Stakes

ALTOONA, Iowa – Queen Lilly Kay, a consistent 5-year-old mare with a potent finishing kick, will try to assert her command over 10 other Iowa-bred fillies and mares in Friday’s $70,000 Mamie Eisenhower Stakes. The Kelly Von Hemel trainee looked sharp when streaking away late for a 1 1/2-length allowance score April 18 over six of her Mamie Eisenhower rivals.

Heading that group are Queen Lilly Kay’s stablemate, Someplace Else, the speedy Sunset Illusion, and the well-decorated Ginger Added. Someplace Else rallied well for the place spot in that April 18 prep and may have needed the race following a break since last August. Sunset Illusion, trained by Ray Tracy, whose Sakakawea won three straight renewals of this race from 2010 to 2012, drew the rail and is likely to be sent to the front by jockey Alex Birzer. Ginger Added, also unraced since August, was a lackluster seventh in that April 18 test, but the winner of seven races can rebound here.

Of the three who did not show their hand in the April 18 race, Justaglance, conditioned by Gene Jacquot for Travis Murphy, husband of former top rider here, Cindy Noll Murphy, crushed eight rivals by 8 1/4 lengths in an April 26 allowance sprint and looks ready for her stakes debut.

Lonely Lover will make her 2014 debut for the high-percentage tandem of leading rider David Mello, off to a 19-for-75 start through the first 11 days of the meet, and trainer Chris Richard.

The rest of the contentious group is led by Cream of Soup, who bounced back to her best when grinding out a half-length win over starter-allowance foes April 27. The accomplished quartet of Sumting Wong, Jumped the Harbor, Big N Lucky, and Star Tour should not be overlooked.

Sumting Wong convincingly won last season’s Iowa Breeders’ Oaks and, like fellow 4-year-old Star Tour, easily could improve this season. Lightly raced Star Tour makes her Iowa-bred stakes debut off of a stalk-and-pounce three-quarter-length win in an April 25 allowance sprint here. Jumped the Harbor, winner of the 2013 Bob Bryant here, and Big N Lucky possess useful tactical speed and should be in the mix.

The Mamie Eisenhower has a scheduled post of 9:37 p.m. Central.