World champion to continue winning ways in Filly Futurity?

Hightstown, NJ — After passing a test last week in the Bluegrass Stakes, Ohio Sire Stakes champion Herculisa will try to prove her strength against 11 harness racing rivals in Sunday’s $351,000 Kentucky Filly Futurity for 3-year-old female trotters at Red Mile.

Herculisa brings a three-race win streak to the Filly Futurity and is only a second-place finish from seeing that streak stand at seven. Last week, she competed on the Grand Circuit for the first time and posted a 1:53.1 triumph, beating Contested Hanover by 3-1/4 lengths over a sloppy surface at Red Mile. Only one of the remaining four Bluegrass divisions, two for the fillies and two for the boys, was won with a faster time.

As a result of her performance, owner Steve Finkelstein of Jesmeral Stable paid $50,000 to supplement Herculisa to the Filly Futurity. On Sunday, she will start from post one with Brett Miller driving for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. She is the 5-2 morning-line second choice behind Hambletonian Oaks champ Bella Bellini at 2-1.

“We wanted to see how she raced in the Bluegrass, and she passed the test,” Morgan said. “Steve Finkelstein is a great guy, a good owner and good for the business, and he thought she deserved a shot to race in the Futurity.

“She showed she’s competitive. She didn’t really trip out last week, she did the work. Brett drove her really good. They forced, let everybody settle, and then made a move at three-eighths and she did the work from there.”

Herculisa is a daughter of My MVP, who won the 2012 Kentucky Futurity, out of Herculotte Hanover. Last year, she won five of six races, with her only loss coming when she went off stride in the Ohio Sire Stakes championship.

“She just got a little claustrophobic around the last turn, a little crowded,” Morgan said. “She just needed some room and didn’t get it and lost her composure for a brief moment. Unfortunately, it cost her. It was just an unfortunate trip. She’s much more mature now. She was a little eager, a little antsy last year. Sometimes, she wanted to go from second gear to fifth gear like right now. She’s much more seasoned now.”

This year, Herculisa captured the Ohio Sire Stakes championship with the fastest mile in history for a 3-year-old on a half-mile track, 1:52.3 at Northfield Park. For the year, she has won seven of 10 races and pushed her career earnings to $439,595.

“She’s really tactical, and she has a real quick turn of speed,” Morgan said. “She’s won on the front end with some nice miles, and she’s won from off the pace with some nice miles. So, I think her strongest assets right now are her attitude and her versatility.

“I’ve been blessed to have some really nice trotters, and some really nice trotting fillies, throughout my career. She definitely ranks up there with them.”

The Kentucky Filly Futurity is race 10 on Sunday’s stakes-heavy card at Red Mile. The final race on the 12-race card is the $561,000 Kentucky Futurity for 3-year-old trotters. Jujubee is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the Futurity.

For more details about the entire Futurity Day, click here.

Racing begins at 1 p.m. (EDT). For Sunday’s complete entries, click here.

by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager