Return to turf boosts Fareena, Sales Tax

Fareena and Sales Tax, a pair of 3-year-old fillies who have run far better on turf than dirt, return to their preferred surface Saturday in the $75,000 Denise Rhudy Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park.

The Rhudy, at 1 1/16 miles, drew a field of 11 3-year-old fillies, including Love You Not, who will run only if the race is shifted to the main track.

Fareena displayed high promise at 2 last season, winning her first two starts by a combined margin of more than 14 lengths and finishing third to multiple stakes winner Bsharpsonata in the $100,000 Selima at Laurel Park. All three races were on grass.

Sticking to turf for her first start at 3, Fareena finished second in a three-horse photo in the $75,000 Decoration Day Handicap at Mountaineer Racetrack. She regressed 18 points on the Beyer Speed Figure scale as the 2-1 favorite in an overnight stakes at Delaware a month later, a race taken off the turf.

Sales Tax ran even worse than Fareena in that race, the June 28 St. Georges, but shes not nearly as effective on dirt as she is on grass, and that was her first start in eight months. She was good enough to win a pair of stakes on turf last season, and her connections felt confident enough to run her in the $250,000 Epitome on the Breeders Cup card at Monmouth Park. She did not handle the soft turf and finished seventh that day.

The other live longshot in the Rhudy may be Time Reveals All. She stretches out to a route after coming from off the pace to win a first-level allowance at five furlongs three weeks ago in her first start since December. Racing over a synthetic surface at Hollywood Park, Time Reveals All dueled up front and led with a furlong remaining in the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet before fading to sixth in December.