Stakes winners Cooke Creek, Joe, Local Motive, and Shake Em Loose, as well as Belgrade, who suffered his first career loss in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) last month, top a list of 21 nominees to the $125,000 Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds Saturday, April 16 at Laurel Park.
Contested at 1 1/8 miles, the 41st running of the Tesio headlines a Spring Stakes Spectacular program featuring four stakes worth $450,000 in purses. For the seventh straight year, the Tesio serves as a 'Win and In' qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1).
The 147th Preakness, Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, will be run Saturday, May 21 at historic Pimlico Race Course.
Shake Em Loose, owned and trained by Laurel-based Rudy Sanchez-Salomon, was among seven nominees to the Triple Crown made by the final March 28 deadline. The Shakin It Up gelding has won three of four starts since being claimed for $16,000, including the Heft in his juvenile finale and the 1 1/16-mile Private Terms March 19.
Bird Mobberley's Maryland-bred Local Motive, third in the Private Terms, is also a multiple stakes winner. The Divining Rod gelding won the Hickory Tree on turf and James F. Lewis III on dirt at 2, the latter at Laurel, where he also captured the one-mile Miracle Wood Feb. 19.
The Elkstone Group's Maryland homebred Joe, named for President Joe Biden, ran second as the favorite in the Private Terms, beaten 1 ¾ lengths. Maryland's champion 2-year-old of 2021, he won the Maryland Juvenile in December in his stakes debut and 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance Jan. 23 in his first try around two turns.
Cheyenne Stables' Cooke Creek won each of his first two career starts last fall, including the one-mile Rocky Run at Delaware Park. He has run three times since, finishing second in the Nashua (G3) and third in the Jerome, but was off the board last out in the 1 1/8-mile Withers (G3) Feb. 5 at Aqueduct.
Carl F. Pascarella and Yurie Pascarella's Belgrade is a chestnut son of Grade 1 winner Hard Spun trained by Graham Motion that debuted with a six-length maiden special weight triumph Dec. 18 at Fair Grounds. His last two starts have come at Tampa Bay Downs, winning a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance Feb. 19 prior to the Tampa Bay Derby, where he ran seventh following a wide trip to multiple graded-stakes winner Classic Causeway. Belgrade worked a half-mile in 49.20 seconds Sunday morning over the main track at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md.
Also prominent among Tesio nominees are Bright Future, a 4 ¾-length debut winner March 19 at Gulfstream Park for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher; South Street, a last-out maiden winner at Aqueduct trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott; Majestic Frontier and Heffner, respectively second and third in the Miracle Wood; Midnight Chrome, third to Mo Donegal in the Remsen (G2); Jerome runner-up Smarten Up; and Outkissed and Vine Jet, each riding two-race win streaks.
Co-headlining the Spring Stakes Spectacular program is the $125,000 Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies going about 1 1/16 miles, which offers the winner an automatic berth to the 98th running of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) Friday, May 20 at Pimlico.
Luna Belle, co-bred, co-owned and trained by Laurel-based Hamilton Smith, heads 16 nominees to the Weber City Miss. The bay Great Notion filly has won four straight races, all in stakes, starting with the Maryland Juvenile Fillies in mid-December. Maryland's champion 2-year-old filly of 2021 is 3-0 this year, taking the six-furlong Xtra Heat, seven-furlong Wide Country and one-mile Beyond the Wire to open her sophomore campaign.
Joseph Besecker's Bazinga C is also on a win streak, capturing back-to-back races for trainer Tim Kreiser, most recently a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance March 25 at Laurel. The Exaggerator filly was second in the one-mile White Clay Creek last October at Delaware in her second career start.
Allen Stable, Inc.'s Radio Days, trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, went 2-0 as a juvenile before running second by a length as the favorite in the seven-furlong Forward Gal (G3) Feb. 5 at Gulfstream. Last month she attended the pace before tiring to fourth in the one-mile Busher Invitational March 5 at Aqueduct.
Other nominees include Morning Matcha, placed three times in stakes before winning the March 8 Main Line at Parx; Wide Country runner-up She Is Wisky; Candy Light, second in the Beyond the Wire; stakes-placed Burano and Tap the Faith, unraced since a fifth in the 1 1/8-mile Demoiselle (G2) Dec. 4 at Aqueduct for trainer Christophe Clement.
Fillies and mares 3 and up will go one mile in the $100,000 Heavenly Cause, which returns to the Maryland stakes schedule for the first time since 2004 at Pimlico. A total of 22 horses were nominated including 2020 Go For Wand (G3) winner Sharp Starr and fellow multiple stakes winners Artful Splatter, Dontletsweetfoolya and Miss Leslie.
Also among the nominees are Leader of the Band, winner of the 2021 Monmouth Oaks (G3); Battle Bling, neck winner of the Jan. 16 Ladies at Aqueduct; Laurel-based Fille d'Esprit, eight-length winner of the seven-furlong Conniver March 19 over her home track; Kaylasaurus, winner of the Dec. 26 Willa On the Move at Laurel; Hashtag Lucky and Primacy, each with two straight wins; and Fraudulent Charge, a four-time stakes runner-up.
Rounding out the stakes action will be the $100,000 Frank Y. Whiteley for 3-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs, which kicks off the 2022 edition of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.
Most popular among horsemen, the Whiteley attracted 38 nominations led by 2019 Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Roadster; 2021 Salvator Mile (G3) winner Informative; 2020 Nashua (G3) winner Pickin' Time; multiple stakes winner No Cents, unraced since taking the 2020 Heft at Laurel; Air Token and Karan's Notion, the last two winners of the Maryland Million Sprint; stakes winners Beren, Dontmesawithme, Dreams Untold, Galerio, Royal Urn, Shackqueenking, Sir Alfred James, Threes Over Deuces, Timeless Bounty and Whereshetoldmetogo; War Tocsin, second in the Feb. 19 General George (G3); and 16-time career winner Bobby G.
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