TIM: Six to seek first stakes win in Shine Again

The $75,000 Shine Again Stakes, restricted to fillies and mares who have never won a stake, headlines Saturday’s program at Timonium and has drawn a competitive field of six to go 6 ½ furlongs.

Chapa, the 9-5 morning line favorite, comes in off a pair of recent third-place finishes behind the classy $500,000 earner Carmelina, including in the Unique Bella at Parx. The Pennsylvania-bred Medallist mare, trained by T. Bernard Houghton for Sylmar Farm, has been a model of consistency with five wins and six seconds from 17 starts, and she looks well spotted to break through with her first stakes victory.

Discreet Ops won the Laurel Park winter meet closing day feature. Photo by Jim McCue.

Her main threat may be Discreet Ops, who returns from a layoff for trainer Ben Feliciano Jr. The four-year-old Army Mule filly ran fourth in this race last year and has proven herself capable against tougher, including a near-miss in the Safely Kept last November and a solid third in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness of 2024. She has three wins from 12 starts and could be poised to fire fresh.

Happy Clouds brings perhaps the deepest résumé, having regularly kept company in tougher stakes. Most recently, she rallied for second in the $102,000 Love Sign Stakes at Colonial Downs, and her six wins and nearly $280,000 in earnings, plus multiple wins at Charles Town, could make her a major player on the Timoniums bullring.

I’m a Cutie Pie ran fourth in the Barbara Fritchie earlier this year, and she arrives off a sharp allowance win at Delaware Park. With five career victories, the Ontario-bred could be dangerous if she handles the quick turnaround.

Ginger Girl, a nine-time winner with more than $260,000 earned, will try to improve on her sixth-place finish in this race a year ago. Trained and owned by Joanne Shankle, she had a productive spring with a two-race win streak and would be a factor if she recaptures that form.

Longshot Touisset completes the field. The Mosler mare has struggled in recent starts but hails from a productive family, being a full sister to multiple stakes winner Quint’s Brew.

With a mix of proven class, hard-knocking veterans, and horses looking for their first stakes breakthrough, Saturday’s Shine Again is set up as a wide-open contest over Timonium’s tight turns.

SHINE AGAIN STAKES ENTRIES

PostPositionHorseOddsJockeyTrainerOwner
1I’m a Cutie Pie6-1Perez XEubanks Annette MRising Sun Racing Stables, Inc.
2Touisset20-1Cruz AAllard Edward TPaul Berube, Karen Linnell, & Heather B.
3Ginger Girl10-1Lyapustina TShankle JoanneJoanne Shankle
4Happy Clouds5-2Araujo D VGillespie Ryan ATimothy Freitag
5Chapa9-5Cora DHoughton T BernardSylmar Farm
6Discreet Ops2-1Lopez C EFeliciano Ben M JrCharles J. Reed

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