Valued Notion made his stakes debut a winning one with a gate-to-wire performance in Sunday’s $100,000 Ben’s Cat for Maryland-bred or -sired performers at five furlongs. The Ben’s Cat was one of two scheduled turf sprints moved to the main track due to heavy rain that soaked the Baltimore area earlier this week. The precipitation was so hazardous that Friday’s racing program at Pimlico was abandoned after the first two races. Trained by Rodney Jenkins for Hillwood Stable, Valued Notion broke sweetly under jockey Xavier Perez and set the opening fraction of 22.22 seconds while pressured by longshot Xmasinthecity. Valued Notion soon spurted clear of that foe while saving ground and had plenty left to fend off Air Token’s late close. :: DRF Bets players get free Daily Racing Form Past Performances and up to 5% weekly cashback. Click to learn more.  The Great Notion gelding polished off the distance over the fast track in 58.19 seconds while two lengths clear of Air Token. It was another 3 1/4 lengths back to Oldies But Goodies.  Favored Hemp finished fourth.  So Street and Xmasinthecity completed the order of finish. Valued Notion paid $18 to win. “I wanted to let the 12 [Xmasinthecity] go ahead,” Perez said in a post-race interview broadcast by Pimlico. “I’ve ridden him in some of his races and he kind of slows down at the end, but as soon as I put my horse against the bit, he took me to the front, and I just let him cruise. He was doing it so comfortably and he did it himself going to the top of the lane.” A 4-year-old full brother to multiple stakes-winner Great Soul, Valued Notion was bred in Pennsylvania by Steven and Jane Long. Purchased for $120,000 as a yearling, he has won three of his last four starts. Street Lute wins Stormy Blues Stakes Street Lute displayed her abundant class by overcoming trouble to win Sunday’s $100,000 Stormy Blues Stakes for 3-year-old fillies racing five furlongs at Pimlico. Originally scheduled for turf, the Stormy Blues was transferred to the fast main track. Ridden by Xavier Perez, Street Lute broke slowly from the widest post in the scratch-shortened field of seven and chased the pace outside over a track that favored inside pace horses for most of the day. Meanwhile, Proper Attire controlled the pace from the rail through an opening quarter in 22.43 seconds while prompted by Malibu Beauty. The two leaders took the field to inside the furlong grounds before being confronted by wide-rallying Street Lute. The daughter of Street Magician collared them in the late stages to win by a half-length in 58 seconds. Malibu Beauty held second, a nose better than Prodigy Doll, who split rivals with a late bid for third. Proper Attire faded to fourth and was followed by Whiskey and Rye, Beautiful Grace, and Catching the Wind. Street Lute, last year’s champion Maryland-bred juvenile filly, paid $4.20 to win for trainer Jerry Robb and Lucky 7 Stables. She has won eight times from 11 lifetime starts. “To be honest I thought it was kind of over,” Lucky 7 owner Joey Lloyd said regarding the tardy start in a post-race interview conducted by Pimlico. “But when I saw her coming down the final homestretch, I knew she has the heart, bigger than this world. My heart was in my throat, but as soon as I saw her coming down the stretch right outside [Proper Attire], I knew she was going to catch her.”