'She Devil' gets first stakes try

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - White She Devil has spent the past few months establishing herself as one of the region's more promising 3-year-old fillies. Saturday, she will get her first crack at stakes competition in the $50,000 Richland Hills Farm at Lone Star Park.

The six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies is one of two stakes on the program. The other is the $40,000 Gold Nugget for Texas-breds at 7 1/2 furlongs on turf, and it drew stakes winners Rare Cure and Agrivating General.

White She Devil comes into the Richland Hills off a string of strong efforts, her latest a 2 3/4-length score over older rivals at Lone Star Park on April 13. She won that six-furlong allowance in a swift 1:10.40.

"She's run three really nice races in a row," said Steve Asmussen, who trains White She Devil for Earl Silver.

first indicated her quality in January, when she was second to future stakes winner Kat Nan Do in an optional claimer at the Fair Grounds meet at Louisiana Downs. White She Devil backed that performance up with a win in a six-furlong optional claimer at Oaklawn Park in her next start March 5, covering the distance in a strong 1:10.60.

Morner was the runner-up that day, and she has gone on to place in a stakes and on Saturday will start in the Grade 3 La Troienne at Churchill Downs.

White She Devil can stalk the pace, but her last two wins have come wire to wire and she figures to be prominent again Saturday.

"I think that she's fairly versatile - she's just pretty quick the whole way," said Asmussen.

My Silver Charm made her stakes debut last out in the $75,000 Hallowed Dreams over 5 1/2 furlongs at Evangeline Downs and rallied for second in the race, run April 7.

"She ran a good race," said Cole Norman, who trains My Silver Charm. "The speed horse got loose on the lead, and we just couldn't run her down. We had a little too much work to make up."

Norman said the move to six furlongs will be good for My Silver Charm, who is at her best stalking the pace.

* A local television program previewing the Triple Crown races as well as upcoming stakes at Lone Star Park will begin a six-week run on Saturday. It will air on KFWD-52 at 9 a.m. Central.