Silver Patrona goes after 5th straight

PORTLAND, Ore. - Silver Patrona will shoot for her fifth straight win and her four consecutive stakes victory when she heads a field of five 3-year-old fillies in Sunday's $20,000 Ms. Stakes at six furlongs.

Silver Patrona, a daughter of Tiffany Ice from the barn of trainer Jim Fergason, has been utterly dominant at this stand. After defeating maiden special weight rivals by six lengths in her Portland Meadows debut on Oct. 16, she scored three-length wins in both the Janet Wineberg and the Lassie, then had a resounding 10-length win in the six-furlong Jane Driggers Debutante Stakes on Oregon Championship Day, Dec. 10. She got a freshening after that, but returned to work five furlongs on Tuesday, and Fergason feels she is ready for a representative effort. Regular rider Joe Crispin has the mount.

Silver Patrona's stiffest competition might be her uncoupled stablemate Bagels Baby, who is undefeated after two starts. Bagels Baby burst onto the scene with a 2o1/2-length score over $8,000 maidens on Dec. 12, then jumped up to the invitational handicap level and won by the same margin over yet another stablemate, Danjuria, on Jan. 7, when she ran six furlongs in 1:12.60.

Danjuria also goes in Sunday's Ms., giving Fergason three of the five entrants.

Also on tap Sunday is the $5,000-added Memorial Stakes for 4-year-old Quarter Horse fillies, which drew a field of seven.