LAUREL, MD 09-27-14---Kathleen Willier’s Miss Bullistic roared by the leaders in mid-stretch and drew away to win the $100,000 Selima Stakes for juvenile fillies, the first of six stakes to be contested over the turf on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Laurel Park.

Xavier Perez was at the controls as the Hamilton Smith trainee covered the 5-1/2 furlong distance in 1:02.94 over the firm turf to win by 1-1/2 lengths. Long shot Unhindered broke tardily but was along in time to grab second, while Coco’s Wildcat surrendered the lead to both and finished third.

“There was a lot of speed in this race with horses shipping in from New York and Pennsylvania,” Perez said. “Ham told me to break sharp, stalk the pace and run from quarter pole on. When she quickened off I got a good feeling. She was dragging me the whole way around. The turf inside is much better on the outside so when we got to the outside and switched leads we were clear and she won easy.”

Miss Bullistic broke her maiden over the turf at Laurel in her previous start three weeks ago. Today the daughter of Bullsbay returned $25.40 and topped a $299.60 exacta and $2,068.10 trifecta.

“This horse has now won two in a row,” Smith said. “The main thing that happened to her is that we moved to grass. She has more speed on grass. She’s bred for grass. Her mother (Miss Lombardi) won the Maryland Million on grass. I hope she’s the same. She’s done a fine job sprinting so far but I want to test her long. Her daddy was a long runner. I have no definite plans but something in the Maryland Million (October 18 at Laurel). I suspect a bright future. She can’t do anything but go up from here.”

Smith moves into a tie atop the Laurel Park trainer standings with five victories. Perez is now tied for second place in the rider standings with 11 first place finishes.

About Laurel Park
Laurel Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and is one of North America's top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world's largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a major producer of televised horse racing programming through its HRTV cable and satellite network and is North America's premier supplier of virtual online horse racing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.