Thistledown: First stakes for 'Lac'

NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Trainer Donn Rowe brought Lac Ouiloose out in midseason form after a six-month layoff and she chased down the 2-5 favorite Ashwood C C to win the $50,000 Merry Time Stakes by 1 3/4 lengths. Mensa Madam finished 6 3/4 lengths farther back in third in the field of six Ohio-bred fillies and mares.

It was the first stakes victory for Lac Ouiloose, a 5-year-old mare owned and bred by Nancy J. Lavrich. She covered the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:45.88 under jockey Jeffrey Skerrett and returned $41 as the longest shot on the board.