Opening day at the Spa kicks off with a trio of stakes races including the Schuylerville Stakes in race 9. Going six furlongs on the dirt for two year old fillies, this race is a stepping stone for some of the top up-and-coming runners in the country, with this year’s field of eight already demonstrating their top end talent. A few enter here off of monster debuts and second tries, while the seven breaking Costa Linda will enter as an under the radar 10/1 morning line long shot from the John Robb barn. Even with her seven and three quarter length win at first asking, this Maryland bred filly will need to improve to tackle the best here as she adds another furlong and a half to her lone try.

At face value, any win with a near eight length margin of victory would appear to be impressive, especially at the shorter sprint distance of four and a half furlongs. Costa Linda was able to go gate to wire against a lesser maiden field at Laurel Park on May 1st, but did so by controlling very modest early fractions for the distance. A final time of 54 ^3/5 and a lower speed figure than the others here would indicate that a stronger performance is needed to compete. Costa Linda does see the return of Xavier Perez to the irons in this second start, and should be well rested off the bench in this spot. By Frosted – Anna’s Bandit, by Great Notion, this grey filly hopes to follow in her sire’s footsteps by running her best over this track. Frosted had some of his best career efforts at Saratoga, never missing the board in five tries while also capturing the Grade I Whitney Stakes a decade ago. Costa Linda certainly has big shoes to fill and will take a major step up in class in just her second try as she looks to kick off the meet for Midlantic breds in style. Bred by No Guts No Glory Farm, Costa Linda is owned by her trainer John Robb and his wife Gina.

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