by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — When Richard Young went to take his seat for the $387,990 Fan Hanover final at Mohawk Racetrack, the gentleman that accompanied him remarked on how far away the duo was from the winner’s circle. Young immediately began to laugh as he did feel The Show Returns would be fortunate just to hit the board.

“I told him I wasn’t worried about pushing my way through the crowd when the race was over,” he said. “I also said, ‘My filly has the ten hole and is 113-1. I’m just glad she made the final and I have the chance to be here.’”

As the fillies were pacing down the stretch, however, Young began to think he just might be posing for a picture, as his filly paced a 26.3 final quarter to finish second behind Wrangler Magic.

“I don’t know if I have ever been that excited and I’ve watched a lot of races,” he said. “The trip set up perfectly for her and she made the most of it after getting good position with her gate speed. It looked like she was almost going to get there.”

Curtis Salonick photo

The Show Returns won her Lynch Memorial elimination in a time of 1:51.3.

On Saturday (June 27), the bettors became a bit wiser as The Show Returns went off at 4-1 in her $20,000 James Lynch Memorial elimination at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. They were definitely rewarded for their faith in her, as the filly just blew by Sassa Hanover in mid-stretch and paced home impressively to record her second triumph of the season and the sixth of her career.

“I can’t explain how thrilling it was to see her win that way,” Young said. “When you have the horse that is supposed to win and goes off at 1-9 it’s a relief when the race is over and you are in the winner’s circle. It is so much different with a horse that is not the favorite and people don’t expect to win.”

Despite her smashing victory last week, The Show Returns is the fifth choice on the morning line for the $300,000 James Lynch Memorial final on Saturday (July 4) at 6-1 behind Sassa Hanover (5-2), Stacia Hanover (3-1), Momas Got A Gun (4-1), and Divine Caroline (5-1). Saddled with yet another outside post (nine), the filly acquires the services of Tim Tetrick and will attempt to bring home the second Lynch trophy in three years for her conditioner, Chris Ryder, and owners, Richard and Joanne Young.

“That would be something wouldn’t it?,” Young said. “Although this filly is a full sister to Put On A Show, she is not her and she is not I Luv The Nitelife (the 2013 Lynch champion) either. ‘Show’ was just fine with coming first over because she didn’t want anyone getting in her way. Nitelife was just so fast she would keep pacing on the front and the other fillies couldn’t get to her.

“This filly has good gate speed to put herself in position and has had trips where she can lay third or fourth then pop out to come home. She has not come first over yet or been hard used in the middle of a race to win. When that happens we will know what kind of filly we have. She still has to prove herself.”

Purchased by the Youngs for $180,000 at the 2013 Lexington Selected Sale, The Show Returns, like her world champion older sister, is by Rocknroll Hanover and out of the fantastic mare Stienam’s Place. Even though they share the same parents, this filly looks nothing like Put On A Show. The Show Returns is much smaller than her sibling and does not possess quite the same majestic presence. Living up to what Put On A Show accomplished, such as collecting more than $2.4 million, owning a lifetime mark of 1:47.3, which at the time was the swiftest mile any mare had ever paced, and championship honors, are some pretty tough shoes for this filly to fill.

“She is not Put On A Show,” Ryder said. “People will always want to compare them because they are full sisters, but Put On A Show was exceptional. She was the best horse I have ever trained. We always thought this filly would be a nice stakes horse and her last three races have been very, very good, but she does need to come first over to show what she is made of. It has not happened to this point, but it will.”

As a 2-year-old, The Show Returns earned $125,908, established a mark of 1:52s and a record of 11-4-1-0. Her biggest win came in a $108,152 Champlain Stakes division at Mohawk. The filly also competed in the $100,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes final (fifth) and the $377,360 Three Diamonds final (fourth) before finishing her year with a sixth place finish in her $25,000 Breeders Crown elimination.

“She was just a peanut last year,” Young said. “I was pleased with how she raced until the end of the year, but being a June foal and on the small side could explain why she was a little tired by the time the Breeders Crown came along. She is not all that much bigger this year, but Chris was very pleased with how she was training down when she came back in. I asked him if I should make the stakes payment for the Mistletoe Shalee and he didn’t tell me not to, so she is eligible for everything.”

Ryder said there is another issue that was a factor in the filly’s races last year and early this year, as she was fourth and fifth in New Jersey Sire Stakes company before annexing the $100,000 final in a lifetime best of 1:51 on May 30.

“She’s a feisty one,” he said. “She used to get very nervous the minute she stepped on the track and would wash out before she made it to the gate. I’ve found with horses that do that, once they continue to race this kind of thing stops. She has gotten a lot better in her last couple races and that is probably one of the main reasons she has improved.”

With stakes season in full swing, Young likes the exact position The Show Returns is in, but is still not sold she is of the same quality as her older sibling, dam and champion I Luv The Nitelife.

“There is still a ways to go in the year and she still has a lot to do to be in the same company as Stienam’s Place, who I think was just an amazing mare and should be in the Hall of Fame, Show and Nitelife,” Young said. “But we know she is a nice filly and if she continues to race like she has in her last three starts, we might have something even better on our hands. We will just wait and see.”

Following is the Lynch Memorial field in post order with drivers, trainers and morning line odds:

1. Bettor Be Steppin, Corey Callahan, Joe Holloway, 10-1
2. Deli Beach, John Campbell, Brett Bittle, 12-1
3. Stacia Hanover, Scott Zeron, Steve Elliott, 3-1
4. Sassa Hanover, Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke, 5-2
5. Divine Caroline, David Miller, Joe Holloway, 5-1
6. Momas Got A Gun, Jim Morrill Jr., Virgil Morgan Jr., 4-1
7. Single Me, Brian Sears, Ross Croghan, 15-1
8. Wicked Little Minx, Brett Miller, Nancy Johansson, 20-1
9. The Show Returns, Tim Tetrick, Chris Ryder, 6-1