Drillit facing familiar pair in Southern Park Stakes

Another sign that spring arrived this week is the return of stakes action to Ohio. Mahoning Valley cards the Buckeye State’s first stakes of the season on Saturday, the $75,000 Southern Park Stakes for statebred 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs.

The standout in the field is Drillit, who won the John W. Galbreath Stakes by 16 1/4 lengths last October on the annual Best of Ohio program. That concluded a solid 2-yearold campaign in which she

also won the Tah Dah Stakes, finished second in the Hoover Stakes against males, and was third in the Miss Ohio Stakes.

Drillit, trained by Robert Gorham for Mast Thoroughbreds, returned from a fivemonth winter break March 11 to finish third in an allowance sprint at Mahoning Valley behind Totally Obsessed and Candy Lane, both of whom she meets again here. Drillit will have regular rider Terry Houghton aboard as she breaks from post 2.

Totally Obsessed finished second to Drillit in the Galbreath last fall. Trained by Gary Johnson, Totally Obsessed has won both of her starts at Mahoning. Candy Lane, also trained by Gorham, was the runner-up to Totally Obsessed in that March 11 allowance race in her first start since finishing second in the Miss Ohio nearly eight months prior.

Market Success has only a maiden win, but did finish third behind Drillit in the Tah Dah. Maiden winners Cinder Queen, Dolly Dear, and Pearls in Charge round out the field.

Mahoning Valley’s next and final stakes of its meet will be a pair of $75,000 events for 3-yearolds on April 13, the Howard B. Noonan and the Austintown Filly Sprint. The track closes its meet April 24 before returning this fall, and will host the rotating Best of Ohio program in late October. Ohio racing continues through the spring and summer at Belterra Park, which opens April 26, and Thistledown, which opens April 30.