‘Cold’ Gets Hot: $75 Longshot Put Up Via DQ To Win Maryland Million

The longest shot on the board got elevated to victory via disqualification of the 5-1 rival who beat him by a neck in the featured $150,000 Classic S. on the 38th annual Jim McKay Maryland Million program Saturday at Laurel Park.

Ain't Da Beer Cold (Freedom Child), dismissed by the betting public at 36-1, led the field until the quarter pole under Jevian Toledo when Market Maven (Super Ninety Nine) seemingly put him away. But Ain't Da Beer Cold refused to quit, digging in and reclaiming the lead a half-furlong later.

Just after the dueling duo crested the eighth pole, Market Maven slanted inward after Carlos Lopez delivered two stern right-handed cracks of the whip. Then that gelding dropped farther toward the inside, bumping the rail-running Ain't Da Beer Cold once. The two continued in lockstep, bobbing noses as the line loomed, with the stubborn Ain't Da Beer Cold refusing to relinquish a slim advantage until the all-out Market Maven wore him down in the final six jumps to the wire.

The stewards never lit the inquiry sign but Toledo claimed foul, leading to the reversal of the finish positions and a jubilant trip to the winner's circle for the breeders/owners Matt Spencer and Kelly Jo Cox, plus co-owner Bonuccelli Racing and trainer Kenny Cox.

Ain't Da Beer Cold was a difficult horse to figure on paper. The 5-year-old had been beaten an aggregate 99 1/4 lengths in his last five starts. He had finished eighth in two previous editions of the Maryland Million Classic and hadn't won a race since the summer of 2022 at the Timonium fair.

“We just went in there hoping he would show up,” Cox said. “He's had terrible form. We've had a bunch of excuses, and I don't like making excuses.”

But after conferring with the owners, Cox decided to give Ain't Da Beer Cold one more shot in the Classic prior to a winter turnout.

“This is better than the [GI] Preakness [S.],” Spencer said post-win. “It's a dream come true. This horse is all heart. Toledo says he's going to the lead and let's see what happens. Let's see how far he can go. Thankfully we got put up. I didn't think it was going to happen. The racing gods were good to us today.”

The victory was Toledo's fourth on the Oct. 14 Maryland Million card and his third in that afternoon's eight stakes.

Timed in 1:52.39 over a dirt track that had been downgraded to “good” by rain after first being rated as “wet fast” and then “fast,” it was the slowest Maryland Million Classic since that stakes began being carded at 1 1/8 miles in 2009.

Yet the rain showers weren't enough to water down the turf course condition from “firm,” nor did the moisture dampen the chances of front-runners, who swept the two grass route stakes.

The $125,000 Turf over nine furlongs produced a deja-vu result. Last year Wicked Prankster (Mosler) cleared the field, looked certain to be swallowed up late, then resurged to win this same stakes by three-quarters of a length. Wicked Prankster had been 0-for-5 since, but the betting public backed him to second choice in the wagering (2.8-1) to repeat.

Jockey Yomar Ortiz, riding the 5-year-old for the first time for owner/trainer Sam Davis, sent his gelding to the lead and made sure he stayed on under pressure, again winning by three-quarters of a length, stopping the timer in 1:48.28.

“Sam told me to break good and get to the front, take it easy and relax,” said Ortiz. “I had a lot of horse left at the quarter pole. Turning for home, I knew I had it.”

Country Life Farm & Broken Trust Fund bred Wicked Prankster.

It was the same running style and same three-quarters winning margin in the $125,000 Ladies S. at nine furlongs on the lawn. Precious Avary (Divining Rod) shot straight to the front and never looked back in 1:49.53, extending her lifetime mark on the turf to 3-for-3 for owner/breeder Smith Farm & Stable, trainer Tim Shaw, and jockey Silvestre Gonzalez.

Off at 3.3-1 odds, the 3-year-old filly is a New Jersey-bred with a Maryland sire, so that gives her dual access to Maryland Million conditions and New Jersey-bred opportunities. Over the summer, Precious Avary won two restricted allowances and a “J-bred” stakes at Monmouth Park.

“I knew if she ran similar on the lead at Monmouth she would be tough today,” Gonzalez said. “She broke sharp with her ears perked and was happy. I was thinking she'd sit second as there might be speed from the outside, but she went on. Around the turn I asked her for run and she went about her business.”

The two juvenile stakes, both carded at six furlongs, produced clockings only one-hundredth of a second apart, with the fillies (track “fast”) fractionally edging the boys (track “good”).

The $100,000 Lassie S. for 2-year-old-fillies stood out from a “bombs away” perspective, with Miss Harriett (Blofeld), the lone first-time-starter in a field of 13, igniting the tote board at 62-1.

Piloted by Jean Briceno, Miss Harriett forced the pacemaker from post 12, took over at the quarter pole, braced for the challenge of the dead-aim favorite, lost the lead at the sixteenth pole, then determinedly clawed it back in the shadow of the wire to score by a neck in 1:12.23.

The win represented the third straight Maryland Million juvenile stakes score for Blofeld, whose progeny swept both 2-year-old events in 2022. Miss Harriett was bred by David Baxter, is owned by Narrow Leaf Farm, and is trained by Brandon McFarlane.

The companion $100,000 Nursery S. for 2-year-old males featured a polished performance by Catahoula Moon (Golden Lad) that belied his relative inexperience and 4-1 odds.

Locked and blocked but full of run behind a wall of five horses at the head of the stretch, Xavier Perez deftly guided Catahoula Moon's distinctively jagged-blazed head off of heels of the frontrunners, then knifed the colt through an opening to pulse on past, leaving the field (and Perez's dropped crop) 4 3/4 lengths behind in 1:12.24.

Bred by Angela Coombs, Catahoula Moon is owned by Super C Racing and trained by John Robb.

In the $100,000 Distaff S. at seven furlongs, even-money Intrepid Daydream (Jess's Dream) seized the lead at the top of the stretch and sprinted clear to run her lifetime record to 6-3-1 from 12 starts. The three-length triumph in 1:24.62 was her third straight win for breeder/owner Paul Fowler Jr. and trainer Gary Capuano. Toledo rode.

The 4-year-old filly might have had a more difficult time drawing into the race than she did winning it, requiring scratches to get in.

“I didn't know we were going to be in. I was rushing around trying to get here and see the race,” Fowler said. “She ran like we expected. She usually shows speed and today she took back a little bit, relaxed and went on with it. It's pretty amazing, because it's a long road.”

In the $100,000 Sprint S. at six furlongs, Seven's Eleven (Bandbox) pressured the pacemaker, then brushed and bumped with that rival in upper stretch before strong-arming him into submission and widening a winning margin to five lengths in 1:10.49.

The 3-year-old gelding is a homebred for Cottonwood Stable. Carlos Mancilla trains, and Angel Cruz rode. The gray was coming off an 8 1/2-length allowance romp over seven furlongs and had little trouble shortening to three-quarters of a mile at 4.9-1 odds.

In the $100,000 Turf Sprint S. over 5 1/2 furlongs, Witty (Great Notion), a 4-year-old half-brother to last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint victress Caravel (Mizzen Mast), pounced from last at the quarter pole and barreled up a wide-open rail, blasting past four contenders at the sixteenth marker to run his record to 6-7-0 record from 18 starts. The winning time was 1:02.64.

Bred, owned, and trained by Elizabeth Merryman, Toledo was aboard for the 1 ¼-length score at 7-10 odds.

Witty's victory represented the continuance of an impressive 14-year streak set by Great Notion, the state's leading stallion by progeny earnings every year since 2018 (and the runaway leader so far this season). His offspring have now won at least one Maryland Million Day stakes in every running of the event since 2010.

Witty's older sister, Caravel, will try to complete a sibling stakes double at Keeneland on Sunday. She's the 9-5 morning line favorite in the GII Franklin S.

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Maryland Million: Ain’t Da Beer Cold Looks To Give Trainer Kenny Cox Reason To Celebrate In Classic

Kenny Cox took out his trainer's license in 1987, the year after the Maryland Million was launched. Though based in the state throughout his career, which includes a pair of state meet titles and several stakes winners led by Flaming Emperor, he has yet to win a race at the event.

Cox is hoping to change that this year in the biggest race of all, Saturday's $150,000 Classic at Laurel Park, with long shot Ain't Da Beer Cold, a 3-year-old gelding owned by Matt Spencer, Cox's wife Kelly Jo, and Charlie Bonuccelli.

The 1 1/8-mile Classic for 3-year-olds and up headlines a 12-race card featuring eight stakes and four starter stakes on 'Maryland's Day at the Races,' celebrating the progeny of stallions standing in the state. Carded as Race 11, the Classic will have a post time of 5:10 p.m. EST.

First race post time Saturday is 11:30 a.m. EST.

With 2020 victor Monday Morning Qb absent, this marks the second straight year but only the seventh time in the past 24 years and 10th in event history that the Classic will not have either the previous year's winner or a past champion in the lineup.

On paper, Ain't Da Beer Cold was well-beaten in his only two starts this year, both sprints, the most recent coming Sept. 17 at Laurel. Listed at 20-1 on the morning line, he didn't open his sophomore season until Aug. 14 at historic Pimlico Race Course in a similar conditioned allowance, contested at six furlongs.

Cox, a native of Gallupville, Md. near old Bowie Race Course, delved deeper into Ain't Da Beer Cold's form and noted his success the only two times the son of Freedom Child went a route of ground, winning an open optional claiming allowance last November and being beaten a nose in the Howard County a month later, both going 1 1/16 miles at Laurel.

“It's not out of the question this horse could run real big in the Classic, actually,” Cox said. “He's really training good. He's a route horse and last time it was a very disappointing effort the way he got eased. But, he's a horse that doesn't want dirt in his face. He kind of got some dirt and backed out. We did some bloodwork and he had some issues going on and we addressed those.

“He worked the other day and [jockey] Angel [Cruz] came and worked him. I said if this horse works decent, then we'll run him in the Classic,” he added. “He's never worked as good as he did [that day] in his entire career that I've had him, even as a baby when he was in his best form. He worked in 47 [seconds], went out with a ton of horse and he's usually not a good work horse by himself. Angel said he couldn't have asked him to do any more. He was just sitting on him, and he had a ton of horse.”

Despite breaking on the far outside in his season debut, Ain't Da Beer cold found traffic trouble and wound up seventh at Pimlico, and didn't fare any better when stretched out for his most recent race. He will be reunited in the Classic with Cruz, who was aboard for both his career wins as well as the near miss in the Howard County.

“He's a horse that, when he's in front, he's really tough to beat. He's just game and he'll give you everything he has. But he's a horse that does not want to be in tight, he does not want dirt,” Cox said. “The first race I ran him off the layoff, I knew he needed the race and I wanted to get one in him before trying to get going for the Maryland Million, because this was our goal bringing him back. I thought he would run better second start but … he's a horse that really wants to be very close with having things his way.”

Ain't Da Beer Cold, bred by Spencer and Kelly Jo Cox, stumbled at the start of last year's Maryland Million Nursery and lost all chance, finishing eighth. Cruz has been enlisted to ride in the Classic from Post 5.

“It would be big for everyone. This is what Maryland's about. It's the day. I've never really had live chances going in like I think I do this weekend so I'm pretty excited,” Cox said. “I grew up 10 minutes from Bowie. The owner [Bonuccelli], he grew up in Bowie, so it's a big deal for us to be there and to have real live chance going into it.

“I had a horse named Flaming Emperor that I bought at the sale that probably would have won the Classic more than one time. Turf and dirt, he could do everything,” he added. “He never got to run in one Million. It never opened up to Maryland-breds so he never got the opportunity. It's kind of been something that's been in the back of my mind and ate at me a little bit, but it is what it is. We're going to take our best chance. It's something you always think about. At the right time, it'll happen.”

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Non Stop Stable's Tappin Cat, exiting his eighth career victory and first in a stakes, will put his three-race win streak on the line in the Classic, where he is the 6-5 program favorite. The 5-year-old Tritap gelding has been a model of consistency, finishing third or better in 20 of 27 lifetime starts and sitting less than $800 shy of $400,000 in purse earnings.

Having sprinted last summer and into the spring, Tappin Cat has thrived since being stretched out. In five straight starts at a mile or longer, Tappin Cat ran second twice before launching his current stretch of wins in optional claiming allowances going 1 1/16 miles Aug. 13 at historic Pimlico Race Course and a mile and 70 yards 17 days later at Delaware Park.

Tappin Cat returned to Delaware Sept. 25 for the one mile, 70-yard Governor's Day Handicap. In that race, he pressed the pace for a half-mile before taking over the top spot and prevailing by a head following a prolonged duel up front. Tappin Cat did not race in last year's Classic after finishing third in 2019.

Jevian Toledo, up for that race, gets the return call from Post 8.

Non Stop stablemate Dashing Lou (30-1) is also entered. The 7-year-old gelding returns to the dirt after three unsuccessful tries on the turf, where he is 1-for-15 lifetime. The five-time winner has raced in Maryland Million before, finishing off the board in the 2019 Turf Starter Handicap.

Cash is King and LC Racing's Dream Big Dreams (4-1) will be making his stakes debut and facing elders in the Classic. Trained by Brittany Russell, the 3-year-old son of Grade 3 winner Bandbox was a rallying half-length winner last out in a 1 1/16-mile open allowance over older horses Sept. 25 at Laurel.

Two of his three career wins, including a maiden special weight triumph in his third start March 14, have come in three tries at Laurel, where he also ran second in debut last December.

“He seems to like Laurel. He's done some good running there,” Russell said. “He's 3; I know he's got a lot to prove. He's going to have to run against some experienced horses that run big races every time, but it might just be one of these things where it sets up and he gets a piece of it. It being Maryland Million day, we're going to take a swing at it.”

Dream Big Dreams has been worse than third just three times in nine lifetime races, two of those coming in his only times away from home – a maiden special weight in February at Aqueduct to launch his 2021 campaign, and a spin on the turf July 24 at Saratoga. He lost back-to-back races by a half-length at Pimlico in the spring under Russell's husband, injured jockey Sheldon Russell.

“The horse has really done nothing wrong. To be fair, the couple spots on his form where you're like, 'Oh,' those are my fault. I can take the blame for that,” Russell said. “We tried him on the turf in a race at Saratoga that didn't work out. The day we shipped him to New York, he didn't want any part of that.

“Even Sheldon has said in times he ran good races at Pimlico and got beat, he comes back and said he's still the right type of horse. He's going to win some big races,” she added. “It might not be as a 3-year-old, either. You might see the best of him in coming years, but I think he's in good form right now and he likes Laurel so we're going to go for it.”

Feargal Lynch gets the riding assignment from Post 6.

G. J. Stable's homebred 6-year-old gelding Prendimi (12-1) will be making his third straight start in the Classic, having run second in 2019 and seventh last year. He has not won in seven tries since the most recent of his three career stakes wins, the Charles Hesse III Handicap last August at Monmouth Park where Luis Carvajal Jr. – trainer of retired Grade 1-winning sprinter Imperial Hint – is based.

Bred, owned and trained by Robert Vukelic, 6-year-old Crouchelli (10-1) returns for another try at the Classic after finishing eighth in 2019 and fifth in 2018. He comes into the race off back-to-back wins in an open 1 1/8-mile allowance June 26 at Pimlico and a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance Sept. 3 at Timonium. He is the most experienced of any horse in the race with 41 prior starts.

Deborah Greene and trainer Hamilton Smith's The Poser (6-1), fifth in the 2019 Maryland Million Nursery, goes after his first stakes win in the Classic. In his most recent start, the 4-year-old Bandbox gelding was beaten a head when second in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance Sept. 3 at Timonium.

Torch of Truth (4-1), trained by Mike Trombetta for his wife, Marie, stretches out in his first run since determined nose triumph in a a 6 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance sprint Aug. 27 at Timonium. Trombetta is approaching his 2,000th career victory and, like Smith, ranks among the all-time leading trainers by wins in Maryland Million history but has yet to win the Classic.

Maryland-breds on the also-eligible list, based on money won since last year's Classic, are, in order: Cordmaker, McElmore Avenue, Closer Look, Dr. Ferber and Alwaysmining.

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Laurel Runs First Lasix-Free Races For 2-Year-Olds

Hope H. Jones' Tiz Ferguson put her speed on display in Maryland's first race for 2-year-old fillies of 2020, blazing to a popular front-running five-length score over first-time starter Miss Marley in Saturday's opener at Laurel Park.

Ridden by Lauralea Glaser for trainer Cal Lynch, Tiz Ferguson ($5) completed five furlongs over a fast main track in 57 seconds – more than a second faster than the gelding Ain't Da Beer Cold ran (58.11) in winning Maryland's first race for 2-year-olds Friday.

It was Glaser's fourth win this summer in her first 12 tries for Lynch, to go along with three seconds and two thirds.

“Very pleased. [Tiz Ferguson] did everything right today and Lauralea got the job done again,” Lynch said. “She started galloping for us a few months back and she gets along with a lot of these fillies that are a little quirky. She's got a good set of hands and she's very teachable, but luck is everything. I'd rather be lucky than good.”

Tiz Ferguson, a bay daughter of Tiznow out of the Limehouse mare Amy Limehouse, was lucky to avoid trouble right out of the starting gate when Who's Your Daddy, breaking two stalls to her right, broke inwardly squeezing back Proper Attire and bumping Tiz Ferguson. Glaser quickly righted the filly and sent her to the front, where she led through a quarter-mile in 22.36 seconds and a half in 45.58.

Proper Attire recovered to press Tiz Ferguson for the opening quarter before Miss Marley and Betcha by Golly took up stalking spots around the turn. Tiz Ferguson straightened for home with a 3 ½-length lead and steadily expanded it through the lane as Miss Marley kept 2 ¾ lengths between her and show finisher Betcha by Golly.

Proper Attire, My Dream Girl, Runaway Monet, Honor Your Mother, Who's Your Daddy, Kens Lady and Nine Mast completed the order of finish.

Purchased for $90,000 as a yearling last fall at Keeneland, Tiz Ferguson was making her second career start Saturday. She finished a gutsy second in her July 4 debut at Monmouth Park, getting up by a neck for the place, two lengths behind winner My Beautiful Belle in the 4 ½-length maiden special weight sprint.

“With babies, you'd rather run them home like this out of their own stall. I thought she was very professional and did everything right that day,” Lynch said. “We were very proud of the way she handled the ship and everything up there. She ran a very game second. She probably doesn't want to go 4 ½, she wants to go further, and she'll want to go further than five.”

As the boys did Friday, all 10 fillies ran Saturday without having the medication Lasix administered within 48 hours of post time. Tiz Ferguson did run on Lasix in her debut.

“We scope everything after they work and after they breeze, but we don't like to give an advantage away and I feel Lasix is definitely an advantage to run with than not. If everybody else is running on it, it's probably a disadvantage to yourself,” Lynch said. “But I don't think it's a big deal for her.”

Notes: Jockey Tais Lyapustina was unseated during Saturday's second race when her mount, 3-year-old filly My Lila, broke down in mid-stretch while on the lead and drifted inside, avoiding other horses but catapulting the rider over the inner rail. Lyapustina was taken to a local hospital for observation. My Lila was euthanized.

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Stronach 5: Longshot Juvenile Winner Triggers Payouts Of $7,492 To 13 Ticket Holders

There were 13 winning tickets in Friday's popular Stronach 5, each worth $7,492.20.

Featuring races from Laurel Park and Gulfstream Park, a $100,000 guaranteed pool and industry-low 12-percent takeout, the Stronach 5 started with Laurel's sixth race, which was also the first 2-year-old race of the year in Maryland. The 5 furlong event was won by Ain't Da Beer Cold, a 15-1 longshot who returned $32 for trainer Kenneth Cox and jockey Angel Cruz.

The second leg of the Stronach 5 also produced an upset winner when Tench (6-1) caught favored Go Gone Gone at the finish line to win Gulfstream's eighth race and return $14.20. The sequence concluded with even-money favorites winning Gulfstream's ninth race, the fourth leg of the sequence, and Laurel's eighth race, the final leg of the Stronach 5.

Friday's races and sequence

· Leg One – Laurel Park 6th Race: Ain't Da Beer Cold $32

· Leg Two –Gulfstream Park 8th Race: Tench $14.20

· Leg Three –Laurel Park 7th Race: Si Mamacita $6.40

· Leg Four –Gulfstream Park 9th Race: Tony Small $4.20

· Leg Five –Laurel Park 8th race: Tappin Cat $4.20

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

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