Multiple Stakes Winners Among 29 Nominees for $75,000 Alma North
Multiple Stakes Winners Among 29 Nominees for $75,000 Alma North
Seven-Furlong Sprint Kicks Off Summer Stakes Schedule June 16
LAUREL, MD – Multiple stakes winners Almond Roca, Indy’s Lady, Limited View and Strategic Dreams, and undefeated Mo Smart and Sower are among 29 horses nominated to the $75,000 Alma North Stakes Saturday, June 16 at Laurel Park.
The seven-furlong Alma North for 3-year-old fillies is the first of 13 stakes worth $1 million in purses scheduled during Laurel’s 40-day summer meet that runs June 1 through Aug. 19.
Chadds Ford Stable’s Almond Roca, trained by Fair Hill-based Graham Motion, won a pair of sprint stakes over the winter at Tampa Bay Downs and has finished off the board in her past two starts including the Adena Springs Miss Preakness (G3) over a sloppy, sealed track May 18 at legendary Pimlico Race Course.
Limited View was entered to run in the six-furlong Miss Preakness but scratched by trainer and co-owner John Salzman Jr. Among her three career stakes triumphs is the Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship Dec. 9 at Laurel at the Alma North distance.
Strategic Dreams put together a three-race win streak over the fall and winter that included a 1 ¾-length victory in the seven-furlong Gin Talking Stakes Dec. 30 at Laurel. She returned to her New York base to capture the Ruthless Stakes at the same distance Jan. 28 and most recently was third in the Soaring Softly (G3) May 19 at Belmont Park.
Indy’s Lady, also based at Belmont, won a pair of New York-bred stakes at Finger Lakes at 2 and has raced once this year, tiring to last of seven in an entry-level allowance going six furlongs May 5 at Parx in her first start in nearly six months.
Mo Smart, a daughter of champion Uncle Mo trained by Todd Pletcher, has gone unbeaten in each of her two career starts, both this year, winning by a combined 20 ½ lengths. Last out she romped by 13 lengths going 1 1/16 miles over a muddy, sealed track May 13 at Pimlico.
Leonard Green’s Sower has a similar 2-0 record this year for trainer Linda Rice, both of her victories coming in Maryland. The Flatter filly broke her maiden by 7 ¼ lengths April 28 at Laurel and followed up with a three-quarter length allowance win on an off track May 18 at Pimlico.
Also among Alma North nominees are stakes winners Elevenses, most recently second in the Soaring Softly; Flame Mingo; Lezendary, fifth in the Miss Preakness; Smokinpaddylassie, winner of the one-mile Beyond the Wire March 17 at Laurel; and Split Time.
