By J.N. Campbell
2nd-CD, $134K, OC, 3yo, f, 6f, 6:28 p.m.
A pair of fillies will look to stay unbeaten in their third career starts at Churchill Downs on Friday evening.
'TDN Rising Star' SUNDAY SHOES (Pioneerof the Nile) came from off the pace breaking her maiden sprinting at Turfway Park Feb. 15, then got up by 3/4 of a length in Florence Apr. 1 in the Serena's Song S. over next-out stakes winner Jill Jitterbug (Cross Traffic). The $500,000 Keeneland September Yearling sale purchase trained by Wesley Ward counts among her female family Grade I winners like third dam Easy Now (Danzig) and her half-brother, Easy Goer (Alydar).
Another filly with a perfect record is the WinStar-bred and Juddmonte-owned Dazzling Blue (Into Mischief) from the barn of Brad Cox. She comes out of the same sale and went for the same price as her rival here, but her debut victory came under the Twin Spires late in her juvenile campaign when she won by 4 1/2 lengths before winning the Letellier Memorial S. Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds.
Opposing them is a more experienced layoff runner from trainer Larry Rivelli's shedrow with Jareth Loveberry aboard. Back to Ohio (Midshipman) sold last year for $385,000 at the OBS April sale and broke her maiden during the summer at Presque Isle Downs. She then proceeded to win three of her next four races in minor stakes along the Ohio-Pennsylvania circuit with the last coming around two turns Oct. 29 in the Best of Ohio John W. Galbreath S. at Mahoning Valley by 7 1/4 lengths. TJCIS PPS
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