Hark Theangelssing closes late to win Stormy Blues at Laurel Park

Hark Theangelssing turned a routine summer turf stakes into a breakthrough Saturday at Laurel Park, closing late to win the $100,000 Stormy Blues by a neck and collect her first stakes victory. The Mendelssohn filly covered 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.04 on firm turf and returned $24.40 as the sixth choice, a price that reflected how much upside was still sitting in her form.

The Stormy Blues was Race 7 at 3:14 p.m. ET, drew 42 nominations and was run with the temporary rail set at 17 feet. That setup mattered, because the race was not just another Maryland stakes. It was the first of 16 stakes worth $1.5 million in purses during Laurel Park’s 33-day summer meet, which began May 31 and runs through Aug. 18, and it marked the track’s return to stakes racing after the Preakness.

What made the performance more compelling than the margin was how Hark Theangelssing did it. Ismerio Villalobos kept her within range, and Equibase’s chart showed her on the leader’s hip for much of the race, stalking in the two path before angling outside in the final furlong to get up at the wire. That is a valuable profile in a division where early speed can be fragile and pace pressure can change everything in a hurry. Michael Trombetta had asked Villalobos to break well and then let the filly settle, and that is exactly what happened.

The win also gave her campaign a cleaner shape. Hark Theangelssing had already taken a first-level allowance at Laurel on Oct. 3, then came back to finish fourth in the Stewart Manor Stakes on Nov. 7 after a troubled trip. This time, she showed that the allowance win was not a one-off. She handled stakes company, handled the trip and handled the kind of close finish that often separates a useful turf filly from one ready to climb.

The pedigree piece is just as strong. Hark Theangelssing, a gray or roan filly foaled March 29, 2023, in Virginia, is by Mendelssohn out of Questionoftheday, by The Factor. The victory made her Mendelssohn’s 50th black-type stakes winner, a number that gives the sire another real runner in the female turf sprint and mile ranks. For owner Estate of R. Larry Johnson and the late breeder R. Larry Johnson, it was a sharp reminder that the family bloodlines are now showing up where they count: on the track.