California-based trainer Leonard Powell hopes to make it two stakes victories in a row with Golden Poppy Stakes winner Avenue de France (FR) as she takes on multiple-graded stakes placed Park Avenue in the $200,000 Ouija Board Distaff at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, on the upcoming Lone Star Million Day card on Memorial Day.
Avenue de France, the three-time stakes winning French bred mare by Cityscape, put in a gutsy performance to come home a winner by a nose at the wire last time out at Golden Gate Fields in the $75,000 Golden Poppy Stakes on the turf. The Powell trainee also was victorious in the $65,900 Luther Banks Stakes in August of last year, as well as showing her versatility in winning on the all weather track on Golden Gate Fields in December of 2021 in the Miss America Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.
Breeders' Cup Classic winning trainer John Sadler ships into Lone Star Park with 4-year old Quality Road filly Park Avenue, to take on eight rivals in the Ouija Board Distaff. In January of this year, Park Avenue was soundly beaten in her second-place effort to As Time Goes By in the La Canada Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita, before finishing fourth in her next start on the dirt in the Santa Monica Stakes (G2) in February.
In an allowance optional-claiming event in March on the turf at Santa Anita, Sadler watched Park Avenue go wire-to-wire to record a three-length victory in her first and only attempt on the turf. After putting out a solid 5-furlong work at Santa Anita on May 21, Sadler decided to ship the Hronis Racing LLC owned filly to take on eight other rivals in stakes company on the grass in the Ouija Board Distaff. Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza has the riding assignment aboard Park Avenue.
The field for the 2022 $200,000 Guaranteed Ouija Board Distaff:
- PRETTY IN PINK – Kelsi Purcell – H. Ray Ashford – 30/1
- SHIRLEY'S TEMPLE – Stewart Elliott – Mindy J. Willis – 5/1
- BRANDONS BABE – Iram Vargas Diego – Karen E. Jacks – 20/1
- LAVENDER (IRE) – Jose L. Alvarez – Shawn H. Davis – 15/1
- IT'SFIFTYSHADETIME – Leandro D. Goncalves – David C. Gomez – 30/1
- ISLAND HIDEAWAY (GB) – Ry Eikleberry – Karl Broberg – 8/1
- AVENUE DE FRANCE (FR) – Florent Geroux – Leonard Powell – 5/2
- QUINN ELLA – Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez – Cesar Govea – 8/1
- PARK AVENUE – Victor Espinoza – John W. Sadler – 7/5
The $200,000 Ouija Board Distaff is scheduled as the tenth race on the Memorial Day card with an approximate post time of 6:30 p.m. CST. The remainder of the Lone Star Million Day card on Memorial Day at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas contains five additional stakes events worth a combined purse of $1,000,000. The $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile (G3) headlines the card of stakes events that also includes the $300,000 Texas Derby for 3-year-olds going 8.5f on the dirt. The three other stakes events on the card are the $100,000 Chamberlain Bridge Stakes, the $100,000 Memorial Day Sprint, and the $100,000 Speightstown Sprint.
The first post-time of the twelve-race Memorial Day card at Lone Star Park is 1:40PM CST, with a vehicle giveaway of an all-new 2022 Ford Escape, as well as live music on the Courtyard of Champions stage from 1pm to 6pm, featuring Emerald City's Party Machine.
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