Stidham eyes stakes at Woodbine, Del Mar

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Trainer Mike Stidham, in the midst of an excellent Arlington meet, will be in stakes action from Woodbine to Del Mar in coming weeks.

At Woodbine on Sunday, Stidham will start the filly Katie’s Eyes against males in the Grade 2 Highlander Stakes, a six-furlong turf sprint. Katie’s Eyes, a winner of four straight races, has been one of the best female grass sprinters in North America during the first half of 2015, winning a pair of allowance races at Fair Grounds before beating the good mare Ageless in the $100,000 Giant’s Causeway at Keeneland and capturing the Unbridled Sidney at Churchill.

Woodbine also is the site of the intended comeback race for Leigh Court, who won the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes last fall at Keeneland before finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Sold after that race, Leigh Court worked once at Fair Grounds over the winter but was stopped on and didn’t breeze again until late this spring. She now has posted four works at Arlington, is being pointed for the Grade 3 Seaway Stakes on Aug. 8 at Woodbine, and has a return trip to the BC Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland as a long-term goal.

Stidham is extremely pleased with how Her Emmynency has exited a comeback-race win June 20 at Arlington, and the 3-year-old filly, who took seriously ill with colitis last fall, is being pointed to the Grade 2, $200,000 San Clemente Handicap on July 19 at Del Mar. Her Emmynency, who was second in the Del Mar Debutante and won the Surfer Girl at Santa Anita before her setback, earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure in her one-mile Polytrack win last month, in which she overcame trouble and was up at the wire.

“Instead of that race taking something out of her after eight months off, she bounced out of it beautifully,” Stidham said.

Stidham won the 2014 San Clemente with Istanford, who is being pointed for the July 18 Osunitas Stakes on opening weekend at Del Mar.

Meanwhile, Stidham said Jessica’s Star, who was vanned off after being eased last weekend in the Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows, bled through Lasix in the race and has been sent for farm rest.