Darlin's Delight wins at 1-9

World champion Darlin’s Delight did just as expected at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway on Thursday night by scoring an easy win in her New York Sire Stakes division. Bet down to 1-9 odds, the crowd buzzed as the filly went to the gate and applauded her as she entered the winner’s circle after tripping the timer in a leisurely 1:57.3.

“I just wanted to give her an easy race; she just raced five days ago,” said regular driver Yannick Gingras, alluding to her 1:50.1 world record over the five-eighths mile track at Pocono Downs on Saturday. “She is just a great filly and I didn’t want to make her go too fast tonight.”

Gingras eased Darlin’s Delight out of the gate mid-pack and she made her move in the second turn to storm to the top of the field and lead the rest of the way home. She easily held off a challenge in the last turn from Parapanalia, who eventually finished third. SG’s Delight was second.

Darlin’s Delight is a homebred for owner Joe Parisi’s White Birch Farm and is trained by Jeffrey Stafford. The connections plan to follow the New York Sire Stakes circuit in addition to national stakes engagements this summer, so the Bettor’s Delight filly needed this Sire Stakes start to be eligible to the final in September. She now has career earnings of more than $567,000.

Locally-owned and trained Dandy’s Jewel, a Space Shuttle filly, won the fourth race Sire Stakes division in 1:56.3 in a field marred by breaking horses. Ed Gilligan’s Syscomp Leasing of Greenfield Center owns and bred the filly out of his world champion broodmare Dandy Promise. Saratoga-based Mickey McGivern trains the winner of three races in eight starts this year.

“She’s such a big filly that she had to grow into herself so she didn’t race last year,” explained Gilligan. “Dan (Cappello Jr.) drove her a tremendous race tonight because he missed all the trouble out there.” (NYSS)

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