Lithe Spirit headlines Queen S.; Arrest Me Red takes Big Daddy
Turfway Park stakes advance, recap by publicist Kevin Kerstein (Coady Media photo above of Lithe Spirit winning the Wishing Well)
FLORENCE, Ky. (Sunday, March 9, 2025) – Bradley Thoroughbreds, Gainesway Stable, Laura Leigh Stable, Scott Estes, and Cambron Equine’s Lithe Spirit will attempt to add another stakes victory to her resume when she faces a solid field of 11 fillies and mares entered in Saturday evening’s $125,000 Queen Stakes at Turfway Park Racing & Gaming.
Run at six furlongs, the Queen is carded as Race 6 on the 10-race program with a post time of 8:25 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post is 5:55 p.m.
Lithe Spirit, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, won the Wishing Well Stakes in late January and will face a familiar challenge from the second and third-place finishers of that race, Nice as Pie and Awesome Treat. A daughter of Speightstown, Lithe Spirit has won five of her nine starts and will break from post No. 7 under jockey Joe Ramos.
Dede McGehee’s Nice as Pie, a five-time Turfway Park winner, also returns for the Queen Stakes. A multiple stakes winner, the 4-year-old filly captured last year’s Valdale Stakes and Serena’s Song Stakes over Turfway’s Tapeta surface for trainer Kelsey Danner. Adam Beschizza has the call from post 9.
Kumud and Rakesh Sikand’s Awesome Treat, who sprang a 37-1 upset in the Holiday Inaugural Stakes, will seek her seventh career victory in the Queen Stakes. The 7-year-old mare, trained by Justin Wojczynski, will break from post 10 under Sophie Doyle.
The Queen Stakes field from the rail out (with jockey and trainer):
- Always Wanting (Fernando De La Cruz, Michelle Elliott)
- Sickle Dance (Irving Moncada, Danner)
- Cloudwalker (Gerardo Corrales, Brendan Walsh)
- Get Twisted (Santo Sanjur, Anna Navarrete)
- These Apples (Alex Achard, Eric Foster)
- Girl of My Dreams (Constantino Roman, Anna Meah)
- Lithe Spirit (Ramos, Asmussen)
- Moonlit Lady (Luan Machado, Mike Maker)
- Nice as Pie (Beschizza, Danner)
- Awesome Treat (Doyle, Wojczynski)
- High Fashion Kate (Alberto Burgos, Marcelino Salas)
Live racing continues Wednesday through Saturday at Turfway Park, with daily first posts at 5:55 p.m. Saturday will be the final 10-race program scheduled for the Winter/Spring Meet. The remainder of the season will be eight-race cards excluding Wednesday, March 19 (nine races) and Jeff Ruby Steaks Day on Saturday, March 22 (13 races).
For more information, visit www.Turfway.com.
BIG DADDY STAKES SHOWDOWN GOES TO ARREST ME RED – Lael Stables’ homebred Arrest Me Red dictated the pace from start to finish in Saturday’s $123,750 Big Daddy Stakes at Turfway Park Racing & Gaming, turning back Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (GI) winner Nobals for a gate-to-wire victory.
The 7-year-old Arrest Me Red now has won three straight at three different Kentucky tracks, albeit somewhat spread out, including an Aug. 31 Kentucky Downs allowance race and Oct. 23 Keeneland allowance. The winner of Churchill Downs’ 2022 TwinSpires Turf Sprint (G2), the gelded son of Pioneerof the Nile has won at least at each of Kentucky’s five racetracks with the exception of Ellis Park, and Arrest Me Red was by a scant head in the Henderson track’s Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Sprint before embarking on his current streak.
Breaking sharply from the inside post, Arrest Me Red was sent straight to the lead under Corey Lanerie, setting an opening quarter-mile in :22.35 while 2023 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Nobals dueled to his outside. The two held their positions down the backstretch, with Gerardo Corrales urging Nobals for more run around the far turn. In the stretch, Arrest Me Red never relinquished his advantage, crossing the wire a half-length in front while completing six furlongs in 1:11.84. The win earned Arrest Me Red a 91 Brisnet Speed Rating.
Pure Panic finished 2 ¼ lengths back in third, followed by Mischievous Rogue and One for My Brother. Nobals’ stablemate One Timer was scratched.
Sent off as the 2-1 second choice, Arrest Me Red returned his backers $6.18.
Trained by Wesley Ward, Arrest Me Red improved his record to 10 wins from 24 starts, boosting his earnings to $1,314,961. He was second by a half-length as the favorite behind Casa Creed in Belmont Park’s Grade 1 Jaipur in 2022.
