Grandacious Tops Martha Washington

Nine sophomore fillies have been assembled for Saturday's $75,000 Martha Washington S. at Oaklawn Park, and a couple of top contenders, GRANDACIOUS (Grand Slam) and SUMMER SOIREE (War Front), will be seeking their first stakes victory in the one-mile event.

Grandacious reeled off a pair of wire-to-wire wins over maiden and allowance rivals before trying stakes company in the Delta Princess S. (G3) two starts back, and the bay miss nearly led all the way once again, weakening slightly to third in deep stretch, beaten less than a length. The Bret Calhoun runner was flattered when the Delta Princess winner, Bouquet Booth (Flower Alley), came back to capture the Silverbulletday S. at Fair Grounds in her next outing, and the runner-up, Niji's Grand Girl (Candy Ride [Arg]), posted a sharp allowance score at Gulfstream Park in her following appearance. Grandacious didn't display her customary speed when finishing second in the January 14 My Trusty Cat S. at Delta Downs last out, but the quick filly is eligible to set the pace Saturday under Jesse Campbell.