Turf stakes draws deep group

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A full field of evenly matched fillies and mares entered Thursday's featured Sabin Stakes, a $65,000 overnight event scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on turf.

Among the 10 in the race's main body are the 2-4-6-11 finishers from the recent Ticonderoga Stakes for New York-breds and four others dropping out of graded stakes.

Love Cove was a wire-to-wire winner of last year's Ticonderoga and was second in that race over very soft turf on closing day at Belmont this year. She has won both of her starts on Aqueduct's turf course.

Chestoria never really got rolling when she rallied mildly in the Ticonderoga, but the same thing happened last year and she bounced back to win an overnight stake at the Big A - exactly one year ago to the day.

Chestoria has a stretch-running style that is a good fit to the current track profile: Through the first two weeks of the meet, only 2 of 22 turf races were won wire to wire, while 16 winners were fifth or farther back in the early going.

Remarkable Remy and Them There Eyes were off the board in the Ticonderoga but have run well on this course, particularly Them There Eyes, who is 2-1-0 from 4 local starts.

The John Kimmel-trained Remarkable Remy is part of a Live Oak Plantation entry with Namaste's Wish, who comes out of a troubled fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Athenia and is trained by Bill Mott.

Sunshine for Life wired last year's Athenia but is winless in five starts since then, all for trainer Richard Schosberg.

After giving way in an overnight stakes in July, Sunshine for Life was diagnosed with a breathing issue that was treated over the summer. She returned to run fourth in defense of her Athenia title.

Sea Chanter, who ran on turf through her first 13 starts, comes off six dirt starts that included four Grade 1 or Grade 2 stakes. The field's leading money earner, she makes her third start back from a freshening. In her last start, she was second to her stablemate Spritely after setting the pace in an overnight stakes.

Always for Love, a sharp second in the Grade 3 Violet last out, looms a strong pace factor for Guadalupe Preciado.

Maddy's Heart and Dattts Our Girl round out the main body.