Will she be a delight in Fan?

Darlin's Delight recorded the first off-the-board finish of her career in the Mistletoe Shalee final, but trainer Jeff Stafford has confidence in the flashy Bettor’s Delight miss as she heads into this Saturday evening's eliminations for the $709,100(C) Fan Hanover Stakes, which will be raced on Aug. 26 at Mohawk Racetrack.

"I think she's heading into (the eliminations) well," Stafford, a 36-year-old resident of Bordentown, N.J. said. "We gave her a few days off after the Mistletoe Shalee because I guess you could say she was a little tired. But she was back to her normal self this morning."

Stafford has listed George Brennan to pilot the White Birch Farm homebred and they will leave from post position six in a 10-horse field, scheduled as the fifth race on a 13-race docket.

In the midst of shipping his charge to the farm of trainer Scott McEneny, Stafford commented about Darlin's Delight's performance in the $325,000 Mistletoe Shalee final, won by a Jimmy Takter trainee, Armbro Dancer, in a stakes record 1:49.3.

"She got a rough trip. She was first-over for a large majority of the mile," Stafford said. "The second quarter went in :26.2, so she would've had to go :25.2 to make the front and it was just too much at that point in the race."

Darlins Delight, a winner of 13 of her 21 races, and seven second-place finishes, has banked $687,919 in her career

"It looks like we caught a break with the draw because we've got a good post and have drawn into the easier division."

Armbro Dancer and the 2005 Dan Patch Award winner My Little Dragon drew into the second division, and will have their first rematch since they finished one-two in the Mistletoe Shalee final. (WEG)

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