Daffodil Sweet can erase any doubt

Daffodil Sweet paid $36.80 when she won her debut July 2 at Emerald Downs. Considering the 8 1/2-length margin of victory in the 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race, she is going to be a considerably shorter price when she makes her second start in a first-level allowance race for fillies and mares at the Auburn, Wash., oval Thursday.

Post time for the first of 11 races is 5 p.m. Pacific. We will get to see if Daffodil Sweet’s impressive victory was a fluke, or if she is the real deal when she runs in the third race, with post time of 5:55. She will be facing five horses in the sixfurlong race.

With Juan Gutierrez riding for trainer Chris Stenslie, Daffodil Sweet broke alertly from

post 3 in her debut and made the lead without a lot of urging. She was under pressure while posting a 22.15-second quartermile time. Without being hard ridden by Gutierrez, she started to draw off from her rivals turning for home. However, she was racing greenly in the stretch, and Gutierrez had to tap her a couple of times to keep her mind on business.

It was an impressive performance, and the 72 Beyer Speed Figure she received is the top figure for a 3-year-old filly at the meet. Plus, the race came back live with a couple of nextout winners.

“We were pleasantly surprised,” Stenslie said. “She had done everything right, but you never know how they are going to perform under pressure in a race. Juan really liked the way she worked, so that was a good thing.”

A California-bred daughter of Ministers Wild Cat, Daffodil Sweet figures to move forward with the experience behind her.

“I’m not sure how much she learned because she went right to the front,” Stenslie said. “She did come out of the race in excellent shape, and it seems like she knew she won because she’s been strutting around since then.”

Gutierrez will be aboard when she breaks from post 4.

It will be a good test for Daffodil Sweet, especially with the speedy For You Only breaking from post 2 with Jennifer Whitaker riding.

Trained by Howard Belvoir, For You Only won the $54,000 Angie C in her second start as a 2-year-old last year. She did not win in three subsequent races in 2019, but she is coming off a strong performance in her first start as a 3-year-old on July 1. With Whitaker aboard, For You Only set a fast pace and held on well to finish second in a firstlevel allowance race for fillies and mares. The race was won by Windy Point, who was the local juvenile filly champion last year.

The Kay Cooper-trained Magical Spell did not fire as the favorite in the same race For You Only exits. The lightly raced 4-year-old could make a big impact if she reverts to last year’s form, which included a runner-up finish in the $50,000 Washington Cup Filly or Mare.

O. K. So Far should be rolling late for trainer Robert Meeking.