Three winners for Michael Trombetta

LAUREL, MD— “She's okay, this filly,” assistant trainer Tana Aubrey said last fall after Hark Theangelssing rallied from last to win a first-level allowance race.

She’s now a stakes winner after capturing her seasonal debut, Sunday’s $100,000 Stormy Blues Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 5 ½ furlongs on Laurel Park’s Bowl Game Turf Course.

Hark Theangelssing brushed with The Town Tempter out of the gate but recovered quickly to move between horses and prompt pacesetting Gerrards Cross through an opening quarter in 22.19 seconds.

Jockey Ismerio Villalobos set Hark Theangelsssing down for the long stretch run, and they reached Gerrards Cross with three-sixteenths of a mile to go.

Gerrards Cross drifted in at that juncture, perhaps intimidating the rail-skimming Just Philtored and allowing Hark Theangelssing to take the lead.

Gerrards Cross was a game competitor, but Hark Theangelssing used her momentum to propel herself to the wire, a neck in front of the pacesetter. Tap Into Grace rallied well for third, a head behind. Just Philtored, the odds-on favorite Only for Now, The Town Tempter, and River Escape followed.

After covering the distance in 1:02.04 on firm turf, Hark Theangelssing returned $24.40 as the sixth choice in the betting. She was the third Sunday winner trained by Michael Trombetta, who saddled And Sum ($4.80) and Suremeanttobe ($7.20) earlier in the afternoon. Both And Sum and Suremeanttobe were ridden by Mychel Sanchez.

“That was awesome,” Aubrey said. “She's been training really well. She's grown a bit. She's filled out both mentally and physically. She's going to keep getting better.”

Hark Theangelssing raced once more last year after that impressive allowance win, finishing a troubled fourth in the Stewart Manor Stakes at Aqueduct. The Stormy Blues was her first start in 219 days.

“I did get an opportunity to get her out on the course, and let her work here,” Trombetta said. “I think that really helps. [It’s important] to have a horse that’s cooperative, and to have enough time, and we had enough of both things going for us.”

Trombetta didn’t expect Hark Theangelssing to be close to the pace.

“I told [Villalobos] to break well and then let her settle,” he said. “I watched the break. I didn’t see her. I looked to the back. I didn’t see her again. I wondered where she went, but she was outrunning [uncoupled stablemate Just Philtored], which really surprised me. I think she just had a nice break and fell out of there ready to run.”

Trombetta conditioned Hark Theangelssing’s first two dams, both bred by the late R. Larry Johnson. The second dam, Kelly’s Question, won a five-furlong turf sprint at Colonial in 2003. Hark Theangelssing’s dam, Questionoftheday, won three dirt sprints.

A homebred owned by Johnson’s Estate, Hark Theangelssing is a daughter of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Mendelssohn. She rallied from midpack to win her career debut, a five-furlong maiden special weight race on turf at Colonial on July 19.

Hark Theangelssing currently boasts a record of three wins from five starts, with $168,900 in earnings.

What’s next?

“I think we'll take her to Colonial, and maybe she'll warrant a start at Saratoga,” Trombetta concluded.

*Around the track:

Trainer Lacey Gaudet won two races on Sunday afternoon. The second-generation horsewoman won the opener with Forrest City ($22.20), then returned in the third race with Bushido ($5). Tais Lyapustina rode Forrest City, while Forest Boyce piloted Bushido.

Live racing resumes Friday with an eight-race card featuring two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout. The first post time is 12 pm ET.

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