Royal Renege, Lenape Rim get rematch in Northern Fling

Presque Isle Downs has slotted a pair of $75,000 stakes for Pennsylvania-breds late Sunday afternoon.

The Leemat, for males, is carded as the sixth race at 5:10 p.m. Eastern. The Northern Fling, for fillies and mares, is race 8 with a 6 p.m. post time. Both races are at a mile over Presque Isle’s Tapeta surface.

The Northern Fling will be a rematch for the top three finishers from the 1 1/16-mile Lyphard, a turf race May 30 at Penn National. Royal Renege won the Lyphard at 7-2 by a length over 5-2 favorite Lenape Rim. It was four lengths farther back to the 4-1 Bound.

Lenape Rim and Royal Renege raced side by side while in midpack on the backstretch of the Lyphard through a quick 46.07-second first half-mile.

Lenape Rim accelerated away from Royal Renege on the turn and took a four-wide path into the stretch. Once Royal Renege got moving, she saved ground into the stretch, a hole opened between horses, and she came through to take the lead.

Royal Renege had the better journey of the two, and if you switch trips, the order of finish might have been different.

The late-running Bound didn’t have the best path from post 11 and finished willingly, though never a danger to the top pair. Bound is stuck out in post 9 in the Northern Fling, which has a full field of 12, plus two also-eligibles.

The X factor in the Northern Fling is the remarkably consistent Power of Snunner, a 5-year-old with a 21-10-7-2 record. This will be her first start over a synthetic surface. In her lone turf start, she finished off the board in a Penn National statebred stakes in June 2013.

Power of Snunner has won three of her last four starts. She was second two starts back in the Winter Melody Stakes at Delaware Park to Sea Shadow, who scored a 4 3/4-length upset at 15-1.

Power of Snunner has good early speed and is dangerous here if she can handle the Presque Isle footing.

Leemat (race 6)

There is not much separating the top contenders in the Leemat.

The proven commodity is the 8-year-old Roadhog, a turf warrior who has a 3-2-1-0 record at Presque Isle. Roadhog is 10 for 38 in his career but has a lot of miles on him, and it seems that his wins are coming with more and more time in between. Still, he has a lot of class and will be moving back to statebred company here.

Beyond Smart, trained by Jonathan Sheppard, might be the one to beat. He finished 10th in the Grade 2 Dixie to start the year, then was second behind Ghost Hunter in an open Presque Isle optional claimer in June. Ghost Hunter is on a three-race winning streak.

Beyond Smart is coming off a sharp two-other-than Pennsylvania-bred allowance score at 6 1/2 furlongs and will be stretching back out in distance here.

Beyond Smart is half of an Augustin Stable-owned entry. He is coupled with Forward Thinker, who won his season debut at Presque Isle in June for Graham Motion. Forward Thinker is 8-6-2-0 at Presque Isle.