Kicking off the stakes action on Saturday was the $100,000 Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies for 2-year-old fillies going 1 mile on Polytrack. 8-1 Palanka City contested the pace with 4-1 Sky Mom and 6-1 Kadira through fractions of 23.24, 46.69, and 1:11.18 while as many as 2 1/2 lengths clear of the rest of the field. Entering the stretch, Palanka City tired and dropped from contention allowing Sky Mom to inherit the lead. 15-1 Mims Eppi, who had raced near the back of the field down the backstretch, had plenty of run through the lane but encountered traffic trouble, as Sky Mom was able to hold her off late to win by 3/4 length in 1:38.11. It was another 3/4 length back to Kadira in third, while 2-1 favorite Latest Scoop raced midpack the whole way but showed no rally late, finishing 6th.
Winning jockey Terry Thompson said, "I was comfortable laying off horses early and I knew Steve (Asmussen, trainer) would have her ready at the 1/4 pole onward. I let her go and knew the wire would come up in time."
Winning owner Heather Stark added, "This is very exciting. I kept think was she going to be able to keep going on the lead. She started to pull away, I was running the last part with her. I don't know about her last race, but we don't bring them unless their ready."
Results chart
