Wonderment, She’s All Ready square off in Arctic Queen

Wonderment and She’s All Ready are each 0 for 1 at Finger Lakes, but on Monday they will be the top players in the $50,000 Arctic Queen, a six-furlong stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares.

The Arctic Queen has drawn a field of 11, which includes several sharp local runners. Victoria’s Fire, a nine-time winner since being claimed for $5,000 by owner-trainer Michael Sabine in May 2016, is fast and will start from the inside post. Bustin Hearts, who will break just to her outside, is 3 for 5 at the meet for trainer Jeremiah Englehart.

Wonderment and She’s All Ready, who will ship north from Belmont Park, are not as quick as those two. They have posts 10 and 8, respectively.

Trainer Ken McPeek and jockey Dylan Davis, who will team up with Wonderment, have had success individually and together at Finger Lakes the past two seasons. McPeek won this year’s Ontario County Stakes and last year’s Aspirant with Pat On the Back. Davis was aboard for both victories.

Davis is 5 for 13 at Finger Lakes in 2016-17 and 4 for 10 in stakes. In addition to Pat On the Back, he has won Finger Lakes stakes on Bonita Bianca for Rudy Rodriguiez and on Ribbonite for his father, Robbie Davis.

Wonderment won the sixfurlong Dancin Renee over a sloppy track at Belmont Park in June. She finished fourth in her most recent effort, the Union Avenue at Saratoga. Expect her to commence her bid from midpack in the Arctic Queen.

In her lone Finger Lakes appearance, Wonderment finished fourth in the 2016 New York Oaks.

She’s All Ready, who is trained by Jimmy Ryerson and owned by the Nirvana Stables of Michael Salerno, has more natural speed than Wonderment and may settle into a good stalking position off the early leaders. She has optionalclaiming and allowance wins at Monmouth Park and Parx Racing this season, and most recently finished third in a third-level optional claimer at Parx.

She’s All Ready was beaten three-quarters of a length when second in last year’s Arctic Queen. She is seeking her first stakes victory since winning the $200,000 Seeking the Ante at Saratoga as a 2-year-old in 2015.

Harry Hernandez, who as of Friday morning was fifth in the local jockey standings with 44 wins, will ride.

Trainer James Bond is sending Bee Noteworthy crossstate from Saratoga. She won a second-level statebred optional claimer at Aqueduct in April and then finished third over a sloppy track in the Critical Eye at Belmont. This will be her first start since May 29.

Rajiv Maragh, who has guided her in five straight races, will be in for the mount. Maragh has ridden only once before at Finger Lakes, finishing third in the 2013 Lady Finger Stakes on Irish Sweepstakes.