Yoursmineours tests the turf

BOSSIER CITY, La. - Yoursmineours and Josie G, classy stakes winners on the main track, will each be making her turf debut in Saturday's Chapel Belle Stakes. Throw in fellow stakes winner Topango and no fewer than four others who won their last start, and you have one bettable headliner.

A one-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies, the Chapel Belle carries a $50,000 purse and will be run as the ninth race on the 11-race program, which begins at 2:05 p.m.

Owned by Stan Burstein and Jim Nelson, Yoursmineours was a victim of a torrid pace duel in the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn in her last start. A repeat of her effort in the Honeybee on March 7 at Oaklawn would make Yoursmineours tough to beat in the Chapel Belle. Yoursmineours set manageable early fractions in the Honeybee and kicked clear, recording an 88 Beyer Figure, the highest of anyone in the Chapel Belle field.

Yoursmineours will have some company up front Saturday in Smokey Diplomacy, but she should be fit enough to handle the challenge. Trainer Donnie Von Hemel has kept Yoursmineours busy in the mornings, including a bullet six furlongs in 1:13.80. With fitness and class issues resolved, the only question remaining is Yoursmineours's ability to handle the turf. Regular rider Don Pettinger will be on board at 123 pounds.

Josie G has also proven herself on the main track. She won the Houston Oaks in March and was a close runner-up in the one-mile Tiffany Lass Stakes at Fair Grounds in January. An El Amante filly, Josie G is trained by Bret Calhoun for Greg England and will have the red-hot Lonnie Meche in the irons.

Topango is the only stakes winner on the turf in the Chapel Belle, and, with others changing surfaces, that experience could be a factor. Last August, as a 2-year-old, Topango came from just off the pace to capture the $100,000 La Senorita Stakes on the Retama Park turf and has been idle since. She has been training well for her return and will have one of the best turf riders around in veteran E. J. Perrodin.

Outright Buck returns to the surface on which she has shown only marginal success in the past, but she has never been better than she is now. Trained by Troy Young, Outright Buck comes off a sharp win on the Lone Star main April 28 and has been working bullets since arriving from Dallas. Corey Lanerie comes in to ride.