Happy Go Lucky Stable, Inc.'s Ournationonparade, who debuted for new connections with a dominant victory in the Maryland Million Classic last month, returns to Laurel Park looking to extend his overall win streak to five races in Saturday's $100,000 Richard W. Small.
The 22nd running of the 1 1/8-mile Richard Small for 3-year-olds and up is the third of three $100,000 stakes on a nine-race post-Thanksgiving Day program following the Safely Kept for 3-year-old fillies and City of Laurel for 3-year-olds, both sprinting seven furlongs.
First race post time is 12:15 p.m.
Bred in Maryland by John Williamson, Ournationonparade was claimed for $50,000 out of a sprint victory at Churchill Downs in late September and pointed to the Classic – contested over the same track and distance as the Small – by trainer Jamie Ness.
The 5-year-old Cal Nation gelding was kept in the clear by jockey Jaime Rodriguez on both turns, moved up from mid-pack to take a comfortable lead into the stretch and opened up through the lane to win by 5 ¾ lengths. It was the second win in three tries for Ournationonparade at Laurel, the other coming in the 2019 Maryland Million Nursery.
“It was definitely 'Holy cow.' He trained that good and he ran like he trained. The guy that had him before had him in good form and we just tried to keep him the same way, and we did. Now we're looking to go and do it again,” Ness said. “He's giving us all the same indications he did before the last race. It seems like we're all ready to go.”
Ournationonparade was entered in the $175,000 Claiming Crown Jewel Nov. 12 at Churchill but a combination of the far outside Post 10 and a sloppy, sealed track was enough for Ness to scratch as one of the top contenders and await the Small.
“We were going to go [but] we drew a bad post and there was some really nasty weather coming in, so it wasn't too hard to say, 'Let's just sit and wait for this race.' I'm glad we did it, in hindsight,” Ness said. “He worked the other day and worked good. I like the distance for him, and he likes the track.”
Rodriguez gets the return call from Post 1 in a field of nine for the Small, which includes a pair of Grade 3 winners – Cordmaker and Ridin With Biden.
Hillwood Stable's Maryland-bred fan favorite Cordmaker won last year's Small to kick off a four-race win streak, all in stakes, capped by his first graded triumph in the Feb. 19 General George (G3). The 7-year-old gelding was given a well-earned break and didn't return to the races until Nov. 4, finishing sixth in a one-mile optional claiming allowance.
Trainer Rodney Jenkins said over the weekend he planned to wait for an allowance race next month at Laurel for Cordmaker, who owns 14 career wins, 11 at Laurel and 10 in stakes, and remains less than $10,000 shy of $1 million in lifetime earnings.
Like Ournationonparade and Cordmaker, Cash is King and LC Racing's Ridin With Biden has won going the Small distance at Laurel, notching a front-running 6 ¼-length triumph in the Deputed Testamony July 30. Two starts later he stretched out to 1 ½ miles to capture the Greenwood Cup (G3) over his home course at Parx, also in gate-to-wire fashion.
Ridin With Biden is cross-entered in Wednesday's Turkey Trot Handicap going a mile and 70 yards at Parx.
“We're going to take a look and try and pick our best spot,” trainer Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr. said. “What's intriguing about the mile and an eighth race is, if there's not a ton of pace where he can slow it down, he can certainly go a long way.
“I was really impressed with the way he ran the last time [at Laurel],” he added. “He doesn't need the lead, but he just needs to be comfortable the first part of it. It was nice to ship there and we know he can handle the track well, so that's a little bit of an advantage for us.”
Frankie Pennington is named to ride from Post 5.
Well-traveled multiple stakes winner Forewarned; American d'Oro, a winner of two straight at Laurel by 16 ¾ combined lengths; stakes winners Armando R and Treasure Trove, each cross-entered in a stakes-quality optional claiming allowance on Laurel's Thanksgiving Day card; Thomas Shelby, second in the Feb. 12 Razorback (G3) at Oaklawn Park; and Wish for Peace are also entered.
Formerly run as the Broad Brush, the multi-millionaire and four-time Grade 1 winner he trained, the Richard W. Small was renamed following the beloved horseman's death from cancer in 2014. Baltimore-born 'Dickie' Small served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War as a Green Beret before becoming a trainer, also campaigning Broad Brush's son, 1994 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Concern. He won at least one stakes race in Maryland every year but one between 1974 and 2014 and is also known for helping launch the riding careers of female jockeys such as Andrea Seefeldt, Jerilyn Brown, Rosie Napravnik and Forest Boyce.
The post Richard Small Stakes: Ournationonparade Giving ‘All The Same Indications’ As Before Maryland Million Classic Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
