Lady Finger, Aspirant Top Sept. 21 Card at Finger Lakes

Classy New York-breds will take center stage in four stakes events on Monday at Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack (FLGR), including the $100,634 Lady Finger Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and the $99,615 Aspirant Stakes for 2-year-old males.

The card also is bolstered by the $50,000 black-type, six-furlong races for 3-year-olds, the Ontario County Stakes for males and the Niagara Stakes for fillies.

The stakes action starts early, with the 5 1/2-furlong Lady Finger carded as the second race on the nine-race program. First-race post time is 12:55 p.m.

Sun Kissed Bliss is the 8/5 morning-line favorite. The daughter of Mind Control romped in her only career race, winning a maiden special weight contest for state-breds at Saratoga by 5 ½ lengths on Aug. 30. Kendrick Carmouche will make the trip Upstate to again ride for trainer Joe Sharp.

Carmouche won the $75,000 New York Oaks at Finger Lakes aboard Venetta in July.

"She exceeded expectations in her maiden win. The timing and distance looked perfect as the next steppingstone for her," Sharp said. "She also worked great on September 14 at Belmont."

Trainer Paul Barrow will saddle two of the other top contenders in the five-horse field: Pwr of Persistence, a daughter of Bolt d'Oro, and Sweet Sugar Pie, who was sired by Central Banker. Both won their career debuts at Finger Lakes.

Entries: Lady Finger S.

Finger Lakes, Monday, September 21, 2026, Race 2

• STK
• 5 1/2f
• Dirt
• $100,634
• 2 yo Fillies
• 1:24 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Authentic Gini (NY)	Luis E. Perez	120	M. Anthony Ferraro	6/1
2	2Pwr of Persistence (NY)	Andre Shivnarine Worrie	120	Paul W. Barrow	3/1
3	3Sweet Sugar Pie (NY)	Jeremias Flores	120	Paul W. Barrow	7/2
4	4Cozzy Trickstress (NY)	Kevin Navarro	120	Paul W. Barrow	8/1
5	5Sun Kissed Bliss (NY)	Kendrick Carmouche	120	Joe Sharp	8/5
6	6Beltandsuspenders (NY)	Emanuel De Diego	120	Rachel Sells	5/1

Jockey Paco Lopez will make his first appearance at Finger Lakes one race later when he rides 2-1 morning-line favorite D I Wire in the Aspirant, also a 5 ½-furlong test. Lopez leads all riders in wins with 268 this year.

The Yaupon colt, trained by Kelly Breen, won his career debut at 5 ½ furlongs at Saratoga on July 12 and then set the early pace before fading to fifth in the six-furlong, $200,000 Funny Cide on Sept. 7.

"Using his front speed in the Funny Cide maybe backfired on us," Breen said. "He came back like he didn't even run (in the Funny Cide). We're not going to reinvent the wheel on Monday," noting on paper there doesn't appear to be much front speed entered.

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano also makes the trip to Farmington to ride Covered Option, the 5-2 second choice for trainer Lisa Bartkowski. Covered Option ran third in his debut on July 19 at Saratoga before romping by 8 ¼ lengths in a state-bred maiden special weight affair in his next start on Aug. 27.

Entries: Aspirant S.

Finger Lakes, Monday, September 21, 2026, Race 3

• STK
• 5 1/2f
• Dirt
• $99,615
• 2 yo
• 1:53 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Covered Option (NY)	Javier Castellano	121	Lisa Bartkowski	5/2
2	2Regal Envoy (NY)	Chris Russell	121	Jacqueline Falk	15/1
3	3All About Soul (NY)	Joel Cruz	121	M. Anthony Ferraro	6/1
4	4D I Wire (NY)	Paco Lopez	121	Kelly J. Breen	2/1
5	5Bajan Sugar (NY)	Jacqueline A. Davis	121	Linda K. Dixon	12/1
6	6Big Poppy (NY)	Luis E. Perez	121	M. Anthony Ferraro	7/2
7	7Comical Mischief (NY)	Keiber J. Coa	121	M. Anthony Ferraro	5/1

Last year's winner of the Lady Finger, the Mike Maker-trained Oh, will make her first start since December when she returns to run in the Niagara, which is the sixth race on the card.

She was 2-for-3 as a 2-year-old but hasn't raced since she was distanced in a New York Stallion Series race at Aqueduct on Dec. 5. Reylu Gutierrez will ride Oh for the first time. Listed at 3-1 on the morning line, she drew the far outside post seven.

Galileans Girl is the early favorite for trainer Linda Dixon and jockey Nazario Alvarado. The daughter of Galilean is 2-for-5 this year, running second in the slop in her past two outings against much more seasoned rivals at Finger Lakes.

Entries: Niagara S.

Finger Lakes, Monday, September 21, 2026, Race 6

• STK
• 6f
• Dirt
• $50,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 3:20 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Annagenda (NY)	Oscar Gomez	118	Paul W. Barrow	12/1
2	2Rubies for Olivia (NY)	Joel Cruz	120	Jonathan B. Buckley	4/1
3	3Sugartown Sweetie (NY)	Jeremias Flores	120	Paul W. Barrow	8/1
4	4My First Dinah (NY)	Olaf Hernandez	120	Eduardo E. Jones	7/2
5	5Galileans Girl (NY)	Nazario Alvarado	122	Linda K. Dixon	2/1
6	6Into the Unknown (NY)	Christopher Elliott	118	Rachel Sells	12/1
7	7Oh (NY)	Reylu Gutierrez	124	Michael J. Maker	3/1

In the Ontario County, the seventh race, Stickupwithoutagun is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for trainer Ilkay Kantarmaci. Christopher Elliott will ride.

Claimed for $75,000 out of the Ken McPeek barn on Aug. 14 at Saratoga, the son of McKinzie stepped into the deep end of the pool when he raced in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkins two weeks later at the Spa. He finished fourth in the five-horse field, beaten by just under 20 lengths by the ultra-talented Englishman.

Lord King is the second choice on the morning line at 5-2 while making his stakes debut. The son of King for a Day has three wins and three seconds in his six starts this year at Finger Lakes. Gutierrez, his regular rider, will again be aboard for his father and trainer Luis Gutierrez.

Complimentary Equibase programs for every Finger Lakes card are available.