Hansel filled with untested 2-year-olds

You’re excused if you confused the $40,000 Hansel, first stakes of the 2020 Colonial Downs meet, with a maiden race.

The Hansel, the featured third on a nine-race Tuesday program, is carded at 5 1/2 furlongs on dirt and is for Virginia-bred, Virginia-sired, and Virginiacertified 2-year-olds. The race drew eight entrants, five of whom have never have started.

One of those first-time starters, Guillaume, is likely to vie for favoritism with Sky’s Not Falling, who won his career debut in an open maiden special weight sprint at Delaware Park.

Guillaume debuts for David Ross’s DARRS Inc. and effective first-out trainer Mike Stidham. The son of Hard Spun and Paradise Bound, by Pulpit, has worked steadily at Fair Hill in Maryland since mid-May.

“He’s probably not suited for the 5 1/2 furlongs and wants to go farther,” Stidham said. “But he’s been impressive in the morning – outworked a bunch of our 2-year-olds – and we feel like he’s very live in this race.”

Sky’s Not Falling, an R. Larry Johnson homebred by Seville out of Sky Copper, by Sky Mesa, closed steadily on the outside to win going away in a five-furlong maiden race July 1. He earned a solid 61 Beyer Speed Figure and ought to benefit from the added halffurlong Tuesday.

Merchant of Hope, by Bayern out of Musical Rhythm, by Smart Strike, also notched a debut win showing speed in a 4 1/2-furlong sprint July 15 at Charles Town.

Another 2-year-old on the card, Amsden, makes his career debut in race 2 and merits attention.

Amsden seems certain to be heavily favored in this fivefurlong maiden turf race as he ships in from Keeneland for trainer Wesley Ward. Amsden is by American Pharoah out of Tessie Flip, by Grand Slam, making him a half-brother to the Ward-trained Jo Jo Air, a turf sprint stakes winner. Last summer, Ward shipped another American Pharoah 2-year-old first-time starter, Four Wheel Drive, to Colonial, where he won the Rosie’s Stakes en route to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita.

Race 6, a first-level turfroute allowance race, has a potential value play in Vigilantes Way, who last saw racing action May 14 at Gulfstream Park, where she was beaten 14 lengths in the Hollywood Wildcat Stakes. Vigilantes Way, trained by Shug McGaughey, makes her turf debut Tuesday night and has the pedigree to move up on the surface switch.

By Medaglia d’Oro, Vigilantes Way is out of Salute, who has produced several turf stakes winners including the sire Mr Speaker, who won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational in 2014.