HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The unbeaten fillies Tapit Jenallie and Denim and Pearls will both attempt to close 2023 in perfect form Sunday in the $200,000 Year’s End at Oaklawn Park. The one-mile stakes is the richest offering on a card of 10 races for 2-year-olds. The offerings include the $150,000 Renaissance at six furlongs that drew Valentine Candy. Tapit Jenallie has won both of her starts by a combined margin of 13 1/4 lengths, her most recent out a victory in the $100,000 My Trusty Cat at Delta Downs. Denims and Pearls is making both her two-turn and stakes debut after winning both of her starts in overnight races in Kentucky. The horses are part of a field of seven fillies in the Year’s End, which also drew top Indiana-bred runner Ice Cold, a 16 1/4-length debut winner in Floating Beauty, and Kentucky maiden winners Neom Beach, Pula, and Asternia. “It’s an interesting race,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Neom Beach. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Tapit Jenallie was a front-running winner of a maiden special weight sprint in her career debut Sept. 30 at Remington Park. From there, she shipped to Delta and after a slow start closed with a flourish for a 5 1/2-length win in the My Trusty Cat. “It was two turns – going seven-eighths,” said trainer Eddie Milligan Jr. “That was kind of our plan going down there, to have a two-turn race to try to get her ready for this race. “She had such a poor break. It was sloppy down there, the lights had a glare over the wetness of the racetrack, and it looked like to me that when she left there she tried to jump that glare and kind of stumbled. It didn’t put her in the best of positions. She was able to overcome it. That’s what I really liked about her race.” Cristian Torres has the mount on Tapit Jenallie, who will break from post 2. She races for her breeder, Willis Horton Racing. Tapit Jenallie is a daughter of Tapit and the mare Take Charge Tressa, who is full sister to Arkansas Derby winner Omaha Beach and a half-sister to champion Take Charge Brandi. Denim and Pearls won over a mile last out at Churchill Downs, in a one-turn allowance. The move to two turns will be something of a gradual one for the daughter of Into Mischief as the Year’s End finish line will be at the sixteenth pole. Flavien Prat has the mount from post 7 for Red White and Blue Racing and trainer Brad Cox. Ice Cold was second in the same allowance as Denim and Pearls, and before that was a 10-length winner of the Miss Indiana. The Miss Indiana for statebreds was run around two turns Oct. 4. “This is a good open-company race for her,” said trainer Kenny McPeek, who won last year’s Year’s End with eventual Grade 1 winner Defining Purpose. “Her last two races have been super. Maybe she can put another one together.” McPeek said Ice Cold comes from off the pace. Neom Beach has speed and could get an ideal tracking trip. “She’s pretty handy,” Asmussen said. Asmussen has the horse to beat in the seven-horse Renaissance in Valentine Candy. He is coming off a 6 3/4-length win in the $150,000 Advent on Dec. 8 at Oaklawn. “We were extremely pleased with his race,” Asmussen said. “I think he ran back to his first race and showed how good he can be. Obviously, we would like to see more of the same.” Valentine Candy won his debut at six furlongs at Saratoga in July, with a Beyer Speed Figure of 85. He earned an 84 in the Advent, which ranks as the best last-race number in the Renaissance. Joel Rosario has the mount from post 2. Others making up the field include Tejon Pass, supplemented off a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Bob Hope at Del Mar; General Shipman, winner of the Prairie Meadows Freshman; and Booth, who popped a Beyer of 96 for a maiden sprint win at Keeneland. Asmussen loaded with juveniles Sunday’s card drew 116 juveniles, with 11 landing on also-eligible lists. Asmussen has runners in eight of the races, more than any other barn. “You like the opportunity,” he said. “I think it’s very good from a timing standpoint, because you’re wanting the maidens to graduate to the allowances and the allowances to graduate to the stakes. It helps the whole program. You can measure their progress and at Oaklawn, with the [rich] purses, you get paid for it.” Asmussen’s starters on the undercard include Guarani. The half-brother to Switzerland, a Group 1 winner of $2.3 million, debuts in a maiden special weight sprint that also drew Irish Ransom, a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Stilleto Boy, and Henro, a half-brother to Grade 1-winner Street Band. In the opener, Bold Appeal, a half-sister to Grade 2 Rebel winner Concert Tour, debuts. In the finale, Ava’s Look, a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Hoosier Philly, launches her career. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.