For Mike and Vicki McGowan of Xtreme Racing Stables, their multiple stakes winner Sir Wellington has been a pleasant surprise. He fetched a mere $55,000 during Fasig-Tipton's 2020 Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, a year before the owners made Xtreme Gem a $625,000 session topper at the same post-Preakness Stakes (G1) auction.
While Xtreme Gem – a Tapit filly whose grandsire, Uncle Mo, was a champion and whose mare, Gomo, a Grade 1 winner – went winless in four career starts, the more modestly bred Sir Wellington has gone on to register six wins including stakes victories at 2 and 3, five seconds and one third and bank more than $400,000 in purse earnings from 21 races.
“He has absolutely exceeded our expectations,” Mike McGowan said. “He won his first race and I think at that time we knew he was a pretty good horse. It seemed like he was going to be built for the short track and not the long track, but we were OK with that.”
Sir Wellington can write another chapter in his success story Saturday at Laurel Park in the $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash, the headliner on a 10-race program featuring five stakes worth $500,000 in purses.
First race post time is 12:10 p.m. The De Francis, a six-furlong dash that attracted seven older sprinters including Grade 3 winners Wondrwherecraigis and Lightening Larry, is carded as Race 9 (4:53 p.m.).
Though bred in Louisiana, trained by Canterbury Park Hall of Famer Mac Robertson and currently based at Delaware Park, Sir Wellington is no stranger to Maryland. Five months after going through the Timonium sales ring, he ran second at odds of 12-1 to subsequent Grade 3 winner Jaxon Traveler in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance Oct. 23, 2020 at Laurel, his second career start.
A respective son and grandson of multiple graded-stakes winning millionaires Palace and Graeme Hall, Sir Wellington won the Louisiana Juvenile against state-breds at Fair Grounds in his 2-year-old finale, and defeated Jaxon Traveler and multiple graded-stakes winner Cazadero in the 2021 Gazebo at Oaklawn Park, his second start at 3.
“At the time Jaxon Traveler was on top of his game. Cazadero was the favorite in that race, and he ended up taking fourth,” McGowan said. “That was a fun race. I still remember that one.”
Sir Wellington opened his 4-year-old campaign April 1 at Oaklawn, his first start in 6 ½ months, and was sixth to Straight No Chaser, who came back to win the Maryland Sprint (G3) May 20 at historic Pimlico Race Course on the Preakness undercard. He has since alternated firsts and seconds, most recently finishing 1 ½ lengths behind Lightening Larry in the six-furlong Alapocas Run July 1 at Delaware.
“I think he's matured a little bit, even though he's 4. I wouldn't say he's a late bloomer because he had done pretty well early, but I think that he's gotten better this year,” McGowan said. “When we had him down at Oaklawn to start the year, he ran a decent race. He got stuck and ended up finishing sixth.
“Those allowance races at Oaklawn are pretty good races and when he came back the next time, he ended up winning that with a 103 speed figure from Equibase,” he added. “His last three races have been even above that, so he's improving.”
Sir Wellington's most recent win, a determined front-running neck allowance triumph May 25 at Delaware, came 19 days after he ran second to Count Fleet (G3) winner Skelly in the Lake Hamilton at Oaklawn, a race where he pressed the winner throughout but was unable to get by.
“With him, he needs to get out of the gate and he needs to be up in front,” McGowan said. “It seems like if you go through all his races over the last three years, if he's behind he's got a hard time getting up the energy to go chase somebody down. But, boy, when somebody's chasing him, he's usually in pretty good shape.”
Xtreme is based in Minnesota, where McGowan and his wife reside and where Sir Wellington spent last summer at Canterbury. This year, they decided to keep him with a small string at Delaware to take advantage of the numerous opportunities throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
“We made the decision after Oaklawn that we were going to go to Delaware and try to find as many nice stakes races in that region to get him in and get him racing,” McGowan said. “The trainer knows when he's in good shape and in good form and ready to go. He's had a few weeks since his last race, so he's probably ready to go.”
Kevin Gomez, aboard for the last two races at Delaware, returns to Laurel to ride in the De Francis from Post 4.
“We got beat by that Lightening Larry in Delaware [but] it was a pretty close race,” McGowan said. “Do I think Wellington is good enough to win this race? I do. I think that if he gets a good break at the gate, between him and a couple others it could go any way.”
Also Saturday, Nimitz Class goes for his fifth straight stakes win at Laurel in the $100,000 Deputed Testamony for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles. He captured the 2022 Robert T. Manfuso and opened this year with victories in the John B. Campbell, Harrison E. Johnson Memorial and Native Dancer before having his overall win streak snapped at five in the June 17 Salvator Mile (G3) at Monmouth Park.
Stablemates Princess Kokachin and Street Lute, who have combined to win 22 races, 10 stakes and $1.168 million in purses from 49 starts, and Grade 3-placed Beguine are entered in the Alma North, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3 and older.
Rounding out the stakes action is a pair of $75,000 events for Maryland-bred/sired horses sprinting seven furlongs – the Star de Naskra for 3-year-olds with a field that includes multiple stakes winner Coffeewithchris and the improving It's Viper, and Miss Disco for 3-year-old fillies featuring the return of Maryland's 2022 juvenile filly champion Malibu Moonshine.
In addition to a stakes-filled program, Laurel will also serve up Tacos & Tequila starting at 1 p.m. in the apron tent. Individual tickets cost $50 and include all you can eat tacos; margaritas; non-alcoholic beverages; $2 betting voucher; daily program and a front-row seat to live racing action.
Persons must be 21 and older to attend. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit: https://am.ticketmaster.com/marylandjockeyclub/tacosandtequila
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