Tesora tops intriguing field in Christiana

Tesora was undefeated in two starts last year at 2 and will likely be favored when she returns from a seven-month layoff in the $50,000 Christiana Stakes at Delaware Park on Wednesday. After all, perfect is perfect.

But there are others in the field of 11 3-year-old fillies whose promise is somewhat hidden and yet who may hold as much upside. The result is an intriguing betting race at 1 1/16 miles on turf that could produce horses to follow in stakes as the summer progresses.

Tesora won a Gulfstream Park turf sprint in her debut last September and then was sent to Del Mar in November for a one-mile optional-claiming race on grass. She steadied and dropped back to last on the far turn, then accelerated nicely to win without much asking.

Trainer Jonathan Thomas has legged her up at Bridlewood Farm in Florida and worked her once at Saratoga.

Closing Statement won a Monmouth Park maiden race in her sixth start last time out for Shug McGaughey. She put in a sustained run and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 80, the highest in the field. A visually impressive effort, her race was hand-timed in 1:43.68 due to a teletimer malfunction.

Then there are Layla Noor, Daisy, and Mihrab, who were all badly beaten in their most recent race but have shown ability and are dropping in class.

Layla Noor finished sixth and was moved up to fifth on dirt in the $125,000 Weber City Miss at Laurel Park in her 3-year-old debut. She has been given plenty of time to get over that race by Arnaud Delacour and figures to improve. She won her maiden over turf at Saratoga last summer and faced the talented runners Rushing Fall and Wonder Gadot in reasonable stakes efforts sandwiched around a first-level optional-claiming win.

Daisy and Mihrab will be making their turf debuts.

Trained by John Servis, Daisy won the Grade 3 Tempted at Aqueduct last November and finished a close second in the two-turn Suncoast Stakes at Tampa in February prior to testing deeper waters in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks.

Mihrab, trained by Graham Motion, didn’t run well in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan last out but won a first-level optional-claiming race by eight lengths in her prior start. She finished third, 1 1/4 lengths behind Daisy in the Suncoast.

Also in the field are Souper Striking, Peach of a Gal, and Judge Lee, the first-, third-, and fifth-place finishers in the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico on the rain-saturated Black-Eyed Susan undercard.

Souper Striking won the one-mile Hilltop over soft ground, covering a mile in 1:51.72. She comes into the Christiana with three wins in her last four races, all for trainer Mike Trombetta.

Peach of a Gal, also trained by Motion, was beaten 10 lengths in the Hilltop. Judge Lee, trained by Kate DeMasi, was beaten 25. Both horses deserve a mulligan because of the course condition.

Miraculously is yet another horse whose ability is difficult to measure. Brendan Walsh will ship her in from Kentucky following a mile allowance win over yielding ground at Arlington Park.