Dixiana Farms’ impressive Likely Exchange winner Icicles returns to face an accomplished field of nine older fillies and mares who were entered for next Saturday’s 38th running of the $125,000 Wintergreen Stakes at Turfway Park.
Run as Race 7, the field for the one-mile Wintergreen will go to post at 8:55 p.m. (ET). First post is 5:55 p.m.
Trained by John Ennis, the 4-year-old Icicles led the field wire-to-wire in the Likely Exchange on Jan. 13. The two-time winner broke her maiden by a resounding 9¾ lengths three starts ago at Churchill Downs over the dirt. When Ennis switched Icicles to Turfway Park’s Tapeta surface in late December she finished a game second to Hurry Up Hannah in a first-level allowance, which set her up for a 15-1 upset win in the Likely Exchange.
Jockey Adam Beschizza, who’s quickly become Ennis’ go-to rider at Turfway, has the return call aboard the homebred Frosted filly from post No. 3.
Two other top contenders are from trainer Brad Cox’s barn – recent 7¼-length allowance winner Flashy Gem and three-time winner Chop Chop, who was a game second behind her other stablemate Botanical three weeks ago in an allowance event at Turfway.
Flashy Gem, a 4-year-old Bolt d'Oro filly owned by Spendthrift Farm, is a four-time winner from 10 starts and has two victories over the Tapeta surface at Turfway. She’ll be ridden by Axel Concepcion out of post 6 while her Selective LLC-owned stablemate Chop Chop, a 4-year-old daughter of City of Light, will be piloted by current leading rider Luan Machado out of post 7.
Following is the complete field for the Wintergreen in order of post position (with jockey,trainer): Yes Day (Abel Cedillo, Glenn Wismer); Napa Candy (Martin Garcia, Vicki Oliver); Icicles (Beschizza, Ennis); Jungle Cat (Alex Achard, Rodolphe Brisset): Bali Belle (Fernando De La Cruz, Rusty Arnold); Flashy Gem (Concepcion, Cox); Chop Chop (Machado, Cox); Thisnameisokay (Joe Rocco Jr., Steve Cooper); Ladan (Albin Jiminez, Fergus Bogle).
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