Delaware Park Stakes Aug 9 and 10th 2008
8/12/2008

August 9th and 10th saw the first two legs of the Delaware Park Handicap Series. The Distaff Handicap for 3 & Up going 1 1/16 on Saturday and the MandolynnHill/Valour Open Handicap Series 3 & Up going 1 1/8 on Sunday

article by Stephanie Corum

Delaware Park Distaff Handicap

Superlatives are quickly running out for Bill Waldron’s Dixies Valentine. His latest sensation walked away with the $40,300 Delaware Park Distaff H. by 6 ¼ lengths – the shortest winning margin of her brief career. She faced 7 other challengers including Mark Powell’s Abra Caadabra, Terry Andreasen’ Kittilina and Coast To Coast Racing’s Stars The Limit, but this slight chestnut filly is simply in a class of her own.

Jockey Joe Rocco Jr. had Dixies Valentine swiftly out of the gate and she sprinted clear to lead Kittilina by 1-½ lengths with Djenteel back in third. Around the far turn, Abra Caadabra moved from the back of the pack. Kittilina was trying to stay with Dixies Valentine, but Djenteel was tiring. Through the stretch it was clear that Dixies Valentine would be an easy winner. Abra Caadabra reeled in a weakening Kittilina and proved to be easily second best while Kittilina held on for third over Ruby Earrings. Caviyar, Stars The Limit, AF Gelda and Djenteel rounded out the field. The final time for the 1 1/16 was 1:58.43.

Dixies Valentine is now 5-for-5 with earnings of $56,820. She has won those five starts by nearly 50 lengths combined. She is by Nivour De Cardonne, who sired Bill Waldron’s Our Machine, last year’s 3-Year-Old Darley Champion. Her dam is Dixie Darlene, herself a champion and Racing Hall of Fame member with over $281,000 in earnings and dam of champions Dixies Delight and Dixie Dance. Dixies Valentine looks like she will add her name to that prestigious list.

Mandolynn Hill /Valour Open Handicap

The heavy hitters faced off again in the $40,300 Mandolynn Hill & Valour Farm H. with Aim South carrying high weight of 124 pounds followed by MD Blue Chip with 121 pounds. The obviously talented, but inconsistent Thoroughbred, came in with just 117. If you look at the past performances, Thoroughbred’s last stakes win was in the 2007 version of the Mandolynn Hill Farm S. It’s obviously a race he likes.

As Aim South has done in so many previous races, he jumped out to the lead followed by Arnold Bardin’s So Big Is Better and classic winner Remarkable Man. Thoroughbred with Roxane Losey aboard only had one horse beaten for the first ½ mile. He began making his run in earnest on the far turn while So Big Is Better moved to the front. Aim South and Remarkable Man both tired from their early efforts, but Thoroughbred had dead aim on the leader. He ran down So Big Is Better in the stretch and won going away by 2 ¾ lengths in a time of 2:06.87. MD Blue Chip, owned by Michael and Sandra Macey, easily got up for third followed by Remarkable Man, Intryge, Aim South, Cool Sand Luke and Frysk Me Now.

Trained by Ron Martino for owner Guy Neivens, the now 6-year-old Thoroughbred was bred by Shaikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed. He is the best runner by Hall of Fame legend T C Tomtyr. His dam is multiple stakes winner Vaness Du Loup who has also produced Cromwell, a graded stakes-placed winner of over $38,000.