Juvenile Stakes Feature at Hawthorne

Two-year-old state-bred juveniles will be sprinting on the Hawthorne dirt in a pair of stakes races featured on the Saturday afternoon card. First up in race #3, a short field of five is expected to break from the gate for the $100,000 Sun Power Stakes, going six furlongs. Later in the day, race #7 of nine will be the $100,000 Showtime Deb Stakes, also going six furlongs but restricted to Illinois fillies. In the first, Bad Boy Peter has been made the morning line choice at 9-5, while Sasy Ms Elizabeth is the 4-1 favorite for the girls.

Top two choices will renew rivalry

Bad Boy Peter is coming off a second-place finish in the Troy Our Boy Stakes at Fairmount, following a fourth-place showing in the Prairie Gold Juvenile at Prairie Meadows. In both of those he was a beaten favorite, and in the former he finished behind Solar Flair, who is also entered in the Sun Power and is listed as second choice at 2-1. Following the Troy Our Boy, Solar Flair stepped up to the Grade III level in the Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland, but was a well-beaten twelfth at odds of 80-1.

Good prices available in filly contest

In the wide-open Showtime Deb, Sasy Ms Elizabeth earns the ML nod on the strength of a five-length win in the Sold Out Stakes at Fairmount, her second straight trip to the winner’s circle after finishing second in her first career start. Breaking inside of her in the rail spot will be Gabio (10-1), who was bumped hard from both sides her first time out and then was forced five wide to finish tenth. Next time out, however, she had no problems and pressed the pace early, eventually pulling away to break her maiden by more than seven lengths.