Flurry Racing Stables and Hoffman Family Racing's Key of Life is scheduled to seek her second straight graded stakes victory in the $150,000 Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) at Pimlico Race Course May 19.
The daughter of Mo Town is prominent in a field of seven 3-year-old fillies entered in the six-furlong sprint, one of five supporting stakes to the $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) on Friday's card.
Key of Life has won five of eight career starts, including a gutsy front-running victory in the seven-furlong Beaumont Stakes (G2) at Keeneland April 16. The filly previously finished third in her 2023 debut in the Dixie Belle Stakes at Oaklawn Park before capturing the Purple Martin Stakes, also at Oaklawn.
"She's a grade 2 winner. Cutting back from the Beard Course (seven furlongs and 184 feet) to three-quarters definitely seems what she wants to do, as opposed to the extended seven-eighths race where she just barely held on," trainer Brad Cox said.
Key of Life graduated in her second career start last August at Churchill Downs before going on to win an optional claiming allowance by 6 1/4 lengths and the Myrtlewood Stakes, both at Keeneland going six furlongs. The Kentucky-bred filly concluded a productive juvenile campaign with a troubled third-place finish in the 6 1/2-furlong Fern Creek Stakes at Churchill Downs.
"She's won three stakes. We're backing her up to six furlongs, which is probably what she wants to do," Cox said. "She's going good. She's had time to recover from the Beaumont."
Flavien Prat has the return call on Key of Life.
Maryland-based trainer Brittany Russell is represented by two fillies in the Miss Preakness field, Black Cloud Racing Stable's Bound by Destiny and Madaket Stables' L Street Lady.
Bound by Destiny is scheduled to make her first start for Russell in her 2023 debut. The daughter of Lord Nelson won her first four races before finishing off the board in her 2022 finale in the Nov. 12 Smart Halo Stakes at Laurel Park.
"She's coming off the layoff. She was down training in Middleburg. They were legging her up down there. Actually, Madison Meyers had her for me and she put some works into her. I brought her in and I worked her, and she worked really well. I thought, 'Wow, she's a little more ready than I thought she might be,'" Russell said. "Then she and L Street Lady both worked together Friday, and it was a very nice work for both of those fillies. They galloped out well and came out of it well. They both seem to be in a good place considering they're both coming off a little time."
L Street Lady will return to action off a three-month layoff since an off-the-board finish in the Feb.18 Wide Country Stakes at Laurel, which was preceded by a victory in the Xtra Heat Stakes.
"We love L Street. She had a very good excuse out of that last run. We were really disappointed," Russell said. "Unfortunately, you never want to find something wrong, but she did have an excuse and we got her fixed up. We hope she can rebound and run a big one."
Sheldon Russell has the call aboard Bound by Destiny while Jevian Toledo will ride L Street Lady.
The field is completed by Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt and Jackpot Farm's Topsy; Maple Leaf Mel, making her graded stakes debut; WinStar Farm's Afternoon Tea, entering off just two career starts; and Timothy Freitag's Happy Clouds, seeking her first stakes victory.
Pimlico Race Course, Friday, May 19, 2023, Race 10Entries: Miss Preakness S. Presented by Case Tractor (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1L Street Lady (KY) Jevian Toledo 120 Brittany T. Russell 20/1 2 2Key of Life (KY) Flavien Prat 124 Brad H. Cox 1/1 3 3Happy Clouds (KY) Arnaldo Bocachica 118 Anthony Farrior 15/1 4 4Afternoon Tea (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 118 Rodolphe Brisset 8/1 5 5Topsy (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 118 Steven M. Asmussen 8/1 6 6Maple Leaf Mel (NY) Joel Rosario 122 Jeremiah C. Englehart 8/5 7 7Bound by Destiny (KY) Sheldon Russell 120 Brittany T. Russell 30/1
