Who's in Town seeks first stakes victory in Miss Woodford

OC EANPORT, N.J. – Who’s in Town seeks that elusive first stakes victory Sunday in the $70,000 Miss Woodford Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Monmouth Park. That’s the same goal shared by most of the dozen runners in the six-furlong feature.

A stakes win was within Who’s in Town’s grasp last summer at Saratoga in the Grade 2 Adirondack. She finished first, only to be disqualified and placed fourth for stretch interference.

Secret Kitten and Puddifoot are the only stakes winners in the field.

Secret Kitten captured a pair of stakes at Calder last summer for trainer Kathleen O’Connell.

Puddifoot was 2 for 2 last year, easily winning her debut here before romping in the Juvenile Filly Sprint Stakes for statebreds at Gulfstream Park. Puddifoot has the most license to improve of any horse in the race. She was terrible in her 2014 debut, Monmouth’s Crank It Up Stakes on turf.

“It goes to show that you can’t take anything for granted,” said trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. “You would have thought she’d love the turf with her pedigree, but she had a big disda in for it. She did not like it at all.”

KEY CONTENDERS

WHO’S IN TOWN (Last 3 Beyers: 76-78-79)

* Owns the class edge as the only contender to have run in two graded stakes: the Adirondack and the Grade 1 Alcibiades.

* She is extremely consistent, as reflected in her last three Beyers. While she always delivers a solid effort for trainer Michael Matz, Who’s in Town might need to step up her game a notch in this very competitive field.

PUDDIFOOT (Last 3 Beyers: 49-81-78)

* Loaded with positive angles: second start of a layoff, turf to dirt, and a beaten favorite.

* Has been given plenty of rest following the disappointing comeback and has logged four steady half-mile works since then.

“She came out of the race 100 percent sound and has been training very good,” Plesa said. “I expect we’ll see the real Puddifoot on Sunday.”

DISCREETLY ELUSIVE (Last 3 Beyers: 86-78-75)

* Looks to extend her winning streak to three for Todd Pletcher, who entered three in the race. Her last effort, a first-level allowance romp here, produced the best last-race Beyer in the field.

* Like her uncoupled stablemates Red Minx and Money Game, Discreetly Elusive has no shipping woes. The trio is based here with Pletcher’s New Jersey division and has benefited from multiple works over the track.