Sweet Repent, Trip for A. J. Set to Meet

Buongiorno A. Tutti Stable’s 5-year-old Sweet Repent and Peter Fuller’s 4-year-old Trip for A.J. are the most accomplished older fillies and mares on the main track stabled at Calder Casino & Race Course this season, and appear set to match up as the favorites in the $75,000 Stage Door Betty Handicap going 1 1/16 miles on Sat., Sept. 24.

Trained by Dave Braddy, Sweet Repent has won nine of 14 career starts and eight of her last nine over three seasons for earnings of $575,000. The daughter of Repent has won all three of her races this year, most recently the $75,000 Nancy’s Glitter Handicap on July 23, a race in which she finished third as the 1-to-5 favorite in 2010. Her last loss before that came in 2009 when sixth in an allowance in her only try on turf.

Trip for A.J. is a Florida homebred daughter of Trippi and highly-accomplished on dirt and turf with seven victories, two seconds and two thirds in 15 starts for trainer Milt Wolfson, most recently drawing off to win the ‘off the turf’ Ms. Brookski overnight on July 30 only a week after finishing fourth behind Sweet Repent in the Nancy’s Glitter. Trip for A.J. won the Nancy’s Glitter in 2010.

The ‘wild card’ in the Stage Door Betty could be Live Oak Plantation’s 4-year-old Florida homebred filly Successful Song, who finished a distant second to Awesome Maria in the Rampart Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park early this season. The daughter of Successful Song is back at Calder after spending the summer at Monmouth Park where she finished third twice and fourth once in stakes events for trainer Eddie Plesa, Jr.