A competitive field of 10 3-year-old fillies is entered in Monday’s $100,000 Lady Erie Stakes at Presque Isle Downs. A number of fillies with solid stakes efforts, including at prominent race meets, have entered the six-furlong stakes. However, many of those will be trying a synthetic surface for the first time – and those with synthetic form – are potential overlays.
Mighty Eriu, the favorite on the morning line, was second in the Group 2 Queen Mary at the renowned Royal Ascot meeting last year. She has won just once from five starts in the U.S. this season, and is trying synthetic for the first time while coming off consecutive runner-up efforts at the allowance level against older horses in Kentucky.
The prior stakes winners in the field are Gata Brazil and Brindi. Gata Brazil, among those who have never raced on synthetic, won the Stormy Blues Stakes on the Laurel Park turf two starts back, beating next-out winner Roja. She most recently finished fifth in the Grade 3 Coronation Cup at Saratoga, and is facing easier company here.
Brindi was most recently fourth in the Pea Patch Stakes on the Ellis Park turf behind Grade A, another in this field, who was third. She is somewhat overlooked as the fourth choice on the morning line. Prior to the Pea Patch, Brindi won three of five outings on synthetic tracks, including victories in the Star Shoot and Ruling Angel on Woodbine’s Tapeta, at six and seven furlongs, respectively. Many others in this field have turned in their best efforts at 5 1/2 furlongs, giving Brindi a distance edge.
Grade A did finish second in a pair of maiden races on synthetic, although those were restricted to Florida-breds.
Honorable Win is the only member of this field to start at Presque Isle. Although her lone career stakes victory came on a sloppy dirt track in the Miss Behaviour at Parx, she was only beaten a half-length in the Pennsylvania-restricted Finest City last October over the Presque Isle surface.
Barbara Joan, making just her third career start, won a key maiden on the Gulfstream Park turf, then was second at the allowance level on Woodbine’s Tapeta against older horses.
Rounding out the field are Sunset Express, winner of consecutive allowance races at Hawthorne; Twirling Beauty, who has won two of three career starts, all on dirt; Hold Your Breath, eighth in the Pea Patch after pressing the pace; and Justinqueso, whose only win in six career starts came by disqualification.
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