(April 23, 2009) - K K & Vilasini Jayaraman’s Affirmed Truth, trained by Tim Ice, will be looking for her third consecutive win in Saturday’s 13th running of the $50,000 Richland Hills Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 6 furlongs over the main track at Lone Star Park. She will have five rivals in the sixth of 11 races on the card, which has a scheduled post time of 3:55 p.m.

Winner of the $50,000 Rainbow Miss at Oaklawn Park in her last race on March 28, Affirmed Truth, the 3-year-old daughter of Proudest Romeo out of the Affirmed mare Encore Amour, will have visiting rider Chris Rosier in the irons. The chestnut filly, 7-2 in the morning line, has won three of six lifetime starts and has $75,000 in career earnings.

“She’s had a really nice year so far,” said trainer Tim Ice, “and we just wanted to get an easy maintenance work into her for Saturday’s race. She came out of the work really good.”

Chief among her rivals should be the 9-5 morning line favorite Kays and Jays, owned by Zayat Stables, who will be running for trainer Mike Mitchell for the first time since being claimed from Bill Mott when she won an $80,000 Optional Claimer at Santa Anita on March 21. The 3-year-old daughter of Macho Uno has two wins and two seconds in five starts with career earnings of $120,200. Jockey Jose Lezcano will be aboard.

Two other contenders are Padua Stables Shining Moment, trained by Lone Star Park all-time leading trainer Steve Asmussen and Sharon Pittman’s Smokin Again, conditioned by Charles Hukill. Lone Star Park’s second-leading jockey last year, Luis Quinonez, has the mount on Shining Moment, who has three wins and has hit the board in six of eight starts with $119,380 in lifetime earnings while jockey Glen Murphy will be looking to guide Smokin Again to her third win in her ninth start and adding to her $135,150 in earnings.

The field from the rail out, with jockey and morning line odds listed in parenthesis, consists of: Affirmed Truth (Chris Rosier, 7-2); Shining Moment (Luis Quinonez, 3-1); Gilded Score (Eddie Martin, Jr., 20-1); Capote Attraction (Cliff Berry, 6-1); Smokin Again (Glen Murphy, 9-2); and Kays and Jays (Jose Lezcano, 9-5).

Atlantic Slick Seeks First Stakes Win in Grand Prairie Turf Challenge

A field of 12 is set to contest the 13th running of the $50,000 Grand Prairie Turf Challenge, for 3-year-olds, to be run at one mile over turf on Saturday at Lone Star Park. The rapidly improving Atlantic Slick, owned by Don Eberts and trained by Morris Nicks, will look to secure his first stakes victory coming off an impressive win following a layoff sprinting over turf at Fair Grounds on March 29.

Atlantic Slick improved his record to two wins from six starts in recording back-to-back victories leading up to the Grand Prairie Turf Challenge and appears to be primed for his first stakes test with Luis Quinonez doing the riding.

“We were looking for a longer race for him off of the layoff, but we had trouble finding a good spot, and it ended up working out really well for him in that turf sprint,” said Morris Nicks. “He’s doing well coming into Saturday’s race.”

Out to spoil Atlantic Slick’s bid, will be the Steve Asmussen-trained Southern Region, who broke his maiden sprinting over turf at Fair Grounds on March 29 to up his record to a win, three seconds and a third in six tries. Jockey Chris Landeros will try to get Asmussen to the winner’s circle for Grand Prairie Turf Challenge for the third time. His two previous winners were Jazzy Gallop in 2005 and Beta Capo in 2007.

The field from the rail out, with jockey and morning line odds listed in parenthesis, consists of: Ticfaw (Eddie Martin Jr., 6-1); Messy Marvin (Martin Escobar, 30-1); Face Off (Richard Eramia, 30-1); Tamqeen (Roberto Villafan, 5-1); Encolure (Bryan McNeil, 15-1); Cashinmywranglers (Glen Murphy, 12-1); Southern Region (Chris Landeros, 3-1); Atlantic Slick (Luis Quinonez, 7-2); Harbour City (Bobby Walker Jr., 15-1); Jake Wil Gallop (T. L. Collier, 15-1); Har D Boy (Cliff Berry, 12-1); and And Music Came (Jose Figueroa, 10-1).

Scheduled as race eight on the 11-race program, the Grand Prairie Turf Challenge has an approximate post time of 4:23 PM.

13th Running of Irving Distaff Draws Field of 11 Saturday at Lone Star Park

The 13th Running of the Irving Distaff for fillies and mares, 3-years-old and up, will match 11 rivals in the 7 1/2-furlong turf contest to be run as the ninth race at 5:19 p.m. at Lone Star Park on Saturday.

Love to Tell, owned by Lucas Downs Ltd. and trained by Dallas Barton, has been made the 5-2 morning line favorite by Lone Star Park odds maker Rick Lee. The 4-year-old daughter of Stage Colony, who will be ridden by leading newcomer Chris Landeros, will be seeking a second consecutive stakes win following her victory in the $125,000 Bayou Handicap at Fair Grounds in New Orleans on Feb. 21. Love to Tell has five wins in 14 lifetime starts for earnings of $214,173.

California invader Everlasting Beauty, owned by Zayat Stables LLC and trained by Mike Mitchell, is the second choice in the morning line at 7-2 and could be a factor in establishing the early pace. A winner of an allowance optional claiming race in her last at Santa Anita on April 3, the 4-year-old Stormy Atlantic filly, who will have Jose Lezcano aboard, comes into the race with three career wins from 10 starts and $93,090 in earnings.

Making her stakes debut, the Bret Calhoun-trained Sweet Lemonade comes into the Irving Distaff after winning two, including her maiden, and finishing second twice in her last four races at Fair Grounds. The Darley Stable-owned, four-year-old daughter of Lemon Drop Kid is two-for-six with $71,240 during her career.

“She has a chance to develop into a pretty good filly and we think that two turns over turf is what she really wants to do,” said trainer Bret Calhoun about the daughter of the 1999 Belmont Stakes winner, who will have Lone Star Park’s leading rider from last year Cliff Berry in the irons.

The field from the rail out, with jockey and morning line odds listed in parenthesis, consists of: Love to Tell (Chris Landeros, 5-2); Everlasting Beauty (Jose Lezcano, 7-2); Nice Inheritance (Eddie Martin, Jr., 8-1); R Charlie’s Angel (Paco Lopez, 10-1); Sweet Lemonade (Cliff Berry, 4-1); Cigar Starter (Richard Eramia, 30-1); La Poli (Martin Escobar, 30-1); Plan Nine (Glen Murphy, 20-1); Hotlantic (Jose Figueroa, 30-1); Wasted Tears (Eguard Tejera, 15-1); and Pretty Squall (Luis Quinonez, 8-1).