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Silmaril
Photo Credit: Jim McCue/MJC
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LAUREL, MD. 01-10-08---Silmaril has a chance to reach $1 million in earnings when she faces seven other fillies and mares in Saturday’s $80,000 What A Summer Stakes at Laurel Park. The 7-year-old is just $15,027 shy of becoming the 17th Maryland-bred and fifth mare in history to reach the milestone. A first or second place finish would allow the daughter of Diamond to join elite company. She is the defending champion of this event and has won eight starts at Saturday’s six-furlong distance.
“If she could go out a winner by reaching the million dollar mark that would be a dream come true,” said trainer Chris Grove.
Owners Stephen Quick and Christopher Feifarek have indicated the bay mare will be going to the breeding shed at Stephen and Sue Quick’s St. Omer’s Farm in Harford County immediately after reaching the million dollar plateau.
“She’s more than just a horse,” added Grove, who also conditions multiple stakes winners Lexi Star and Five Steps. “She is like part of the family. My wife calls her my girlfriend and I treat her accordingly. She is the one the kids always ask about and she is the one we always think first of when we make plans, even a family vacation. We have to plan it around her schedule. It is going to be heart-breaking when she leaves but she will go onto to do bigger and better things in the broodmare shed.”
Bowie-based Silmaril (2-1 on the morning line with jockey Jeremy Rose) has won fifteen races in thirty-five starts, including 11 stakes at five different distances. She had a chance to reach the million dollar milestone with victories in her last two starts of 2007, but finished second in both the Maryland Million Distaff (Oct 13) and a $42,000 allowance (Nov 7).
“Everybody has been asking if she is washed up, which is kind of crazy in my mind because she earned more than $400,000 ($405,820) last year,” Grove said. “On Maryland Million day, she was giving up nine pounds to Akronism and ran an incredible race. In her last start she bled very badly, which she had never done, and For Kisses has gone on to win a stakes race.”
Cigar tops the Maryland-bred list with earnings of $9,999,815. The mares ahead of Silmaril are Safely Kept (fifth-$2,194,206), Shine Again (10th-$1,271,840), Jameela (15th-$1,038,704) and Urbane (16th-$1,018,568).
“That is incredible company,” said Grove. “She is a celebrity on the racetrack and maybe a small portion of the Saturday crowd will be there to see her run.”
The program favorite on Saturday is not Silmaril, but the speedy 4-year-old filly Your Flame in Me (9-5), who has won four of six lifetime starts. The Mike Trombetta trainee has won three stakes during her career – the Gin Talking at Laurel, the Xtra Heat at Pimlico and the Lady Tak at Aqueduct. No one has ridden this filly except Jose Caraballo and he will put her on the engine on Saturday.
“A second place finish for Silmaril works for me,” Trombetta joked. “We have been able to duck her quite a bit but I have seen them come to town to try and beat her and fail. I am sure she’ll make an excellent broodmare. My horse has been really good and is as game as she gets. There are two types of speed-horses that like to be near the front and horses who like to be on the front. This is a very fast filly. She is ready to go.”
“It has been more than 60 days since Silmaril has run so she will not be too far back,” added Grove. “She will not be coming out of the clouds in this one which will help her establish that earlier run. It is going to take a big effort to catch Your Flame in Me. You have to worry about the pace because lone speed can be so dangerous.”
Richard Dutrow sends Baby Bird (3-1) from New York to challenge the top two. A four time winner, Baby Bird ran second in Laurel’s Anne Arundel Stakes when she was a 3-year-old but only started three times last year. Her last race was a sluggish eighth in the Grade II Top Flight Handicap. Horacio Karamanos picks up the mount.
Rounding out the field will be La Chica Rica (8-1), Andrea’s Pic (10-1), All Giving (12-1), Keep On Talking (20-1) and Scheing E Jet (20-1).
-MJC-