Mopo Racing's Alwaysinahurry is set to return to action later this month for the first time since his impressive upset victory over Grade 3-winning favorite Mighty Mischief in the July 4 Concern Stakes at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.
Trainer Dale Capuano said the Great Notion gelding is being considered for both the $75,000 Star de Naskra Aug. 21 at Pimlico as well as the $150,000 Robert Hilton Memorial Aug. 27 at Charles Town in Charles Town, W. Va., contested at six and seven furlongs, respectively. Both races are restricted to 3-year-olds.
The Star de Naskra is among four $75,000 stakes for Maryland-bred/sired horses on Pimlico's Maryland Pride Day program, along with the Miss Disco for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs on the main track, 1 1/16-mile Find for 3-year-olds and up, and 1 1/16-mile All Brandy for fillies and mares 3 years old and older, each on the turf.
“He's doing well. We're looking at the race at Charles Town, possibly the Star de Naskra. We're just going to play it by ear,” Capuano said. “We'll take a look at things and see how it shakes out.”
Bred in Maryland by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Quin Bowman, and Rebecca Davis, Alwaysinahurry burst from beneath the shadow of his multiple stakes-winning stablemate Kenny Had a Notion with a 4 ½-length triumph in the Concern at odds of 9-1. Mighty Mischief, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, had won three straight races including the May 15 Grade 3 Chick Lang at Pimlico.
The six-furlong Concern was only the second race this year for Alwaysinahurry, who needed five tries to break his maiden and raced eight times at 2 with two wins and a second to Kenny Had a Notion in the Maryland Million Nursery, one of his three runner-up finishes. Alwaysinahurry came back six months later to run fourth in a Delaware Park starter allowance as a tune-up for the Concern.
“It was impressive, wasn't it? He did it the right way,” Capuano said. “I always felt this horse could run. It took a little while for him to come around, so, hopefully, he's gotten it together now. We'll see what happens.”
Alwaysinahurry has worked three times at Pimlico since the Concern, with bullets going four and five-eighths and, most recently, an easy five-furlong move in 1:02.80 Aug. 6.
“Hopefully, he'll just improve a little bit more and get a little bit better as we go on,” Capuano said. “Time will tell.”
Louis Ulman and Neil Glasser's Kenny Had a Notion won stakes on turf and dirt as a 2-year-old and opened his 3-year-old season with a neck triumph over favored Maythehorsebwithu in the seven-furlong Spectacular Bid Jan. 16 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. He got a break after running third in the one-mile Miracle Wood Feb. 20 and was sixth to Wondrwherecraigis in his July 18 return at Pimlico.
Capuano put Kenny Had a Notion back on the grass for his most recent start, a five-furlong dash July 30 at Pimlico, where he raced between horses early before tiring to be seventh behind Mamba On Three.
“He ran OK the other day on the turf,” Capuano said. “He just hasn't come back to himself. It's a bit disappointing.”
Capuano said he plans to run Taking Risks Stable's Cannon's Roar in the Find. The 7-year-old gelding, second in the 2020 Maryland Million Turf and third in the July 8 Sussex at Delaware Park, was third to Logical Myth and Monarchs Glen in the West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker's Cup Aug. 7 at Mountaineer Park in New Cumberland, W.Va.
“He ran a big race, so my plan is to back in the Find,” Capuano said. “He ran his race and ran terrific. The two favorites beat him. He got beat a length and a half. They just outran him. He did everything right, he just wasn't quite good enough. The Maryland-bred race hopefully will be a little bit easier, and we won't have to ship six hours to get there.”
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