All but two of the 11 fillies and mares entered for Saturday night’s $125,000 Queen Stakes at Turfway Park have won at the Florence, Ky., track this season. That group is led by Awesome Treat and Lithe Spirit, both recent stakes winners over the Turfway-loving Nice as Pie, a multiple stakes winner here. Nice as Pie gets a chance for revenge in the last sprint stakes of this meet for older fillies and mares.
Awesome Treat won the Holiday Inaugural Stakes in December for trainer Justin Wojczynski, handing Nice as Pie, who angled out and was coming on late for third, her first loss at Turfway. Nice as Pie went 4 for 4 at Turfway last season for Kelsey Danner, including wins in the Valdale and Serena’s Song stakes.
In the next stakes for the division, the Wishing Well in January, Lithe Spirit rallied from sixth in the early going and was in full stride at the wire to win her third straight race and second at Turfway for Steve Asmussen. Nice as Pie was second, and Awesome Treat was third.
Nice as Pie got back in the win column with an allowance/optional-claiming win Feb. 12. She then ran second in a similar race March 1 behind a talented foe in stakes-placed Nom de Plume. Nice as Pie’s consistency at this track makes her a must-use in the Queen. She is the second choice on the morning line at 7-2, behind Lithe Spirit at 3-1.
Always Wanting, Get Twisted, Girl of My Dreams, High Fashion Kate, Sickle Dance, and These Apples have all won at the allowance level during this Turfway meeting. Girl of My Dreams and These Apples have each won back-to-back races. Trained by Anna Meah, Girl of My Dreams earned Beyer Speed Figures of 82 and 89 in those wins, giving her the highest last-out figure in this field. Lithe Spirit earned an 86 in the Wishing Well.
Rounding out the field are Cloudwalker and Moonlit Lady, the outliers who have never raced at Turfway. Cloudwalker, stakes-placed last year at Churchill Downs and Saratoga for Brendan Walsh, was most recently seen finishing eighth in the Pan Zareta Stakes in November at Fair Grounds. Moonlit Lady was most recently fourth after setting the pace in the American Beauty Stakes at Oaklawn Park. She moves to Mike Maker’s barn and switches from dirt to Tapeta here.
Moonlit Lady figures as part of the pace for the Queen, along with Always Wanting and High Fashion Kate, who bookend the starting gate, and Girl of My Dreams. Awesome Treat should be pressing just off that. A strong pace would suit both Nice as Pie and Lithe Spirit.
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