Prominent New York-bred horses will shine in four stakes races on Monday at Finger Lakes, headlined by the $100,634 Lady Finger Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and the $99,615 Aspirant Stakes for 2-year-old males.
The racing card also features two $50,000 six-furlong contests for 3-year-olds: the Ontario County Stakes for males and the Niagara Stakes for fillies.
The stakes action kicks off early, with the 5 1/2-furlong Lady Finger Stakes scheduled as the second race of the nine-race program. Post time for the first race is 12:55 p.m. (ET).
Sun Kissed Bliss, the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the Lady Finger, impressed by winning her only career start — a maiden special weight race restricted to state-breds at Saratoga by 5 1/2 lengths on August 30. Jockey Kendrick Carmouche will return to ride for trainer Joe Sharp, having previously won the New York Oaks at Finger Lakes aboard Venetta in July.
Trainer Sharp praised Sun Kissed Bliss, noting she exceeded expectations in her debut and that the upcoming race’s distance and timing suit her perfectly. The filly also posted a strong workout at Belmont on September 14.
Paul Barrow will enter two key contenders in the Lady Finger Stakes: Pwr of Persistence, a Bolt d’Oro filly, and Sweet Sugar Pie, sired by Central Banker. Both captured victories in their career debut races at Finger Lakes.
Jockey Paco Lopez, who leads the nation in wins this year with 274 as of September 19, makes his first appearance at Finger Lakes in the Aspirant Stakes, riding 2-1 favorite D I Wire in the sixth race, also run at 5 1/2 furlongs.
D I Wire, a Yaupon colt trained by Kelly Breen, won his debut at the same distance at Saratoga on July 12 but faded to fifth after setting early pace in the $200,000 Funny Cide Stakes over six furlongs on September 7.
Breen noted that using D I Wire’s front-running speed in the Funny Cide might have been a misstep and is optimistic about Monday’s race, as on paper there appears to be little early speed among the entries.
Hall of Famer Javier Castellano also joins the Finger Lakes card to ride Covered Option, the 5-2 second choice trained by Lisa Bartkowski. Covered Option finished third in his debut at Saratoga on July 19 before winning by 8 1/4 lengths in a state-bred maiden special weight on August 27.
Returning to competition in the Niagara Stakes, the sixth race, is last year’s Lady Finger winner Oh, trained by Mike Maker. She was 2-for-3 as a 2-year-old but has been sidelined since a poor effort in a New York Stallion Series race at Aqueduct in early December. Reylu Gutierrez will make his first trip aboard Oh, who is listed as the 3-1 morning-line choice but drew the challenging outside post seven.
Galileans Girl, trained by Linda Dixon and ridden by Nazario Alvarado, is the early favorite for the Niagara. The daughter of Galilean is 2-for-5 this year, showing consistency with two second-place finishes in sloppy conditions against tougher competition at Finger Lakes.
In the seventh race, the Ontario County Stakes, Stickupwithoutagun is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for trainer Ilkay Kantarmaci with Christopher Elliott riding. Claimed for $75,000 out of Kenny McPeek’s barn on August 14 at Saratoga, the McKinzie colt quickly stepped up in class, finishing fourth against strong competition in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial two weeks later.
Lord King, the 5-2 second choice making his stakes debut, has compiled three wins and three runner-up finishes in six starts this year at Finger Lakes and will again be ridden by his usual jockey, Reylu Gutierrez, for trainer Luis Gutierrez.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on September 20, 2026, where it first appeared in their News section. Readers can add the Paulick Report as a Preferred Source for the latest updates.
Fan Take: This preview highlights some of the most promising New York-bred horses, giving local fans an exciting look at emerging young talent that could soon influence the broader racing scene. Showcasing state-bred stakes and top jockeys at Finger Lakes helps strengthen regional racing circuits and promotes the future of the sport beyond the major national tracks.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
