DQ Elevates Jalen Journey to De Francis Dash Winner At Laurel

Wondrwherecraigis crossed the wire first, but it was Jalen Journey who had his picture taken in the winner's circle for the Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. The 6-year-old ridgling scored the win via disqualification after interference from Wondrwherecraigis compromised Jalen Journey in the stretch.

Kalu darted out to the lead in the first yards of the De Francis Dash, with Wondwherecraigis stalking on his outside, laying close throughout the first part of the race with Jalen Journey in third. Into the turn, Wondrwherecraigis closed in on Kalu and took over the lead as they entered the stretch. Jalen Journey moved out from behind the new leader into the center of the track to find running room as Wondrwherecraigis lugged out from the rail, causing Jalen Journey to check for an instant. The move was enough to keep Jalen Journey from catching Wondrwherecraigis in the race's final yards, the favorite holding on to win the G3 De Francis Dash by three-quarters of a length.

After the race, Feargal Lynch on Jalen Journey lodged a claim of foul against Jevian Toledo on Wondrwherecraigis. Laurel stewards disqualified Wondrwherecraigis to second for interference in the stretch, elevating Jalen Journey to winner of the G3 stakes.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:09.52. Find this race's chart here. 

Jalen Journey paid $4.60, $2.60, and $2.20. Wondrwherecraigis paid $2.20 and $2.20. Kalu paid $2.80.

Bred in Florida by Edward Pendray and Dennis Foster, Jalen Journey is by With Distinction out of the Congrats mare Petunia Face. He is owned by Rockingham Ranch and David A. Bernsen and trained by Steve Asmussen. The win brings Jalen Journey to a lifetime record of eight wins in 16 starts and career earnings of $503,674.

The post DQ Elevates Jalen Journey to De Francis Dash Winner At Laurel appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

MATCH Series Returns To Laurel With Four Saturday Stakes

The Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series (MATCH) returns to Laurel Park Saturday, Sept. 18, with four stakes and multiple opportunities for horses to solidify their positions in the 2021 standings.

On tap are the $200,000, Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt division); $100,000 Weathervane (Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division); $100,000 Polynesian (3-Year-Olds and Up Long—Dirt division); and the $100,000 Twixt (Filly and Mare Long—Dirt division). The two sprint stakes are the fifth of six in their divisions, while the other two are the fourth of six in their divisions.

The 11-race program kicks off at 12:40 p.m.

De Francis Dash Gr.3

Hillwood Equestrian Meadows' Laki, an 8-year-old Maryland-bred gelding by Cuba, will make his fifth series start, the most of any horse in the series this season. A fifth start carries with it 3 bonus points.

In his last start, Laki finished seventh in the Chesapeake Stakes at Colonial Downs in his first race on the dirt surface there. Trainer Damon Dilodovico said Laki didn't appear to care for it—it was a little harder than he likes—but has taken to the new dirt surface at Laurel since his return from Pimlico Race Course in late August.

Laki, who has more than $830,000 in career earnings, won last year's De Francis Dash, which was held at Pimlico. He won the Frank Whiteley Stakes at Pimlico in April and, though he hasn't won a MATCH stakes this year, he is second in the standings with 18 points—two behind Mucho, whose connections opted to prepare him for a graded stakes in Kentucky in early October.

“He tends to circle back every fourth start or so and really launches a good number,” Dilodovico said. “Hopefully he's sitting on one of those.”

Regular rider Horacio Karamanos will be aboard.

Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group and Bethlehem Stables' Wonderwherecraigis, trained by Brittany Russell, will make his MATCH Series debut. The Laurel-based 4-year-old Munnings gelding is three-for-four this year and in his last start won the Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Jevian Toledo will ride Wonderwherecraigis.

Weathervane Stakes

Larry Johnson's Never Enough Time rounded back into top form in two outings at Colonial, including a sharp second-place finish in the Seeking the Pearl Stakes, fourth leg of the division. Trained by Mike Trombetta, the 5-year-old Maryland-bred mare by Munnings will pick up 5 bonus points for her fourth series start—the most of any horse in the division.

Never Enough Time is based at Fair Hill Training Center and will make her first appearance on the new Laurel dirt surface.

“She has been training very well, and I'm excited about running her in this race,” Trombetta said. “All is good. We hope to be in this race and the (final leg of the division Dec. 26 at Laurel).”

Regular rider Julian Pimentel is named aboard Never Enough Time.

The probable heavy favorite is Hello Beautiful, the Russell trainee who will make her third MATCH Series start and thus qualify for bonus money. Owned by Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables and Magic City Stables, Hello Beautiful has won seven of 11 starts and last out won the Alma North Stakes at Pimlico.

Russell earlier had said the 4-year-old Maryland-bred filly by Golden Lad prefers time between races, so the connections opted not to make the trip to Colonial. The Weathervane was the target, she said.

With 17 points, Hello Beautiful is second in the standings, three behind Chub Wagon. The latter raced in two stakes at Parx Racing within a two-week period in late August and early September and would need to compete in the final division leg at the end of the year to qualify for bonus money. Toledo has the call on Hello Beautiful as regular rider Sheldon Russell is out of action with a foot injury.

[Story Continues Below]

Polynesian Stakes

Hillwood Stable's Cordmaker took the division lead at 18 points with a win in the Victory Gallop Stakes at Colonial and is the only horse to have started in the first three legs of the division. The 6-year-old Maryland-bred gelding by Curlin will pick up 5 bonus points with a start in the Polynesian.

Cordmaker, who has won 10 times and is closing in on $700,000 in career earnings for trainer Rodney Jenkins, on Sept. 10 breezed four furlongs in :46.40, the fastest of 40 works at the distance that morning.

“He worked great and was very tough going to the pole,” said jockey Victor Carrasco, his regular rider. “He's doing very good.”

McElmore Avenue, second to Cordmaker in the Victory Gallop in his first MATCH Series start, will be ridden by Karamanos for Mary Eppler Racing Stable and RAM Racing Stable. Eppler trains the 4-year-old Maryland-bred gelding by El Padrino. McElmore Avenue was claimed by Eppler for $16,000 in November 2020 and since then has four wins and four seconds from nine outings. He is based at Pimlico and could be a division factor should he race in the Polynesian and the last two legs of the series.

Twixt Stakes

Mrs. Orb, owned by Ruggeri Stable, Richard Coburn, Script R Farm and trainer Mike Miceli, is entered in the Twixt and would make her second series start. The 6-year-old New York-bred mare by Orb is currently tied with two other fillies and mares at the top of the standings with 10 points.

Mrs. Orb won the Caesar's Wish Stakes at Pimlico in her first MATCH Series start. She has performed well at the one-turn-mile distance in New York and will be ridden by Karamanos, who was aboard in the Caesar's Wish.

Full of Run Racing and Madaket Stables' Dreamalildreamofu, trained by Brad Cox, was second in the first leg of the division, the Grade III Allaire DuPont Stakes at Pimlico in May. The 4-year-old Kentucky bred filly by Commissioner will be ridden by Toledo.

The next MATCH Series stakes at Laurel are the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go (Filly and Mare Long—Dirt division) Nov. 13 and the $100,000 Richard Small Stakes (3-Year-Olds and Up Long—Dirt division) Nov. 27. The series will conclude with all four divisions represented Dec. 26 at Laurel.

The post MATCH Series Returns To Laurel With Four Saturday Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Wondrwherecraigis Leads Field For De Francis Dash At Laurel

It's on to the $200,000 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash for newly minted stakes winner Wondrwherecraigis, who tuned up for his return to graded competition with an easy half-mile breeze Saturday morning at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables' 4-year-old gelding Wondrwherecraigis went four furlongs in :49 over Laurel's main track, which underwent a multi-million dollar reconstruction over the summer.

It was the second work for Wondrwherecraigis since earning his first career stakes victory Aug. 13 in the Tale of the Cat at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He also breezed a half-mile in :49.20 Sept. 3.

“That's all we wanted,” trainer Brittany Russell said of Saturday's work. “He's great. He's in good form. He's happy and he's training well. We have a lot going on at the moment, but it looks like we're going to move forward to next week.”

The six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up headlines four stakes worth $500,000 in purses Saturday, Sept. 18 at Laurel, which launched its calendar year-ending fall meet Thursday. Joining the De Francis are the $100,000 Weather Vane for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting six furlongs and a pair of $100,000 stakes going one mile, the Polynesian for 3-year-olds and up and Twixt for females 3 and older.

All four races are part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

Named for the late president and chairman of both Laurel and historic Pimlico Race Course, the De Francis' illustrious roster of winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster, fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo and Benny the Bull, and Lite the Fuse, the race's only two-time winner (1995-96) honored with his own stakes race in Maryland.

Wondrwherecraigis has won each of his last two starts, both in front-running fashion. Saratoga meet champion Luis Saez was aboard in the six-furlong Tale of the Cat, beating fellow De Francis nominee My Boy Tate by 2 ¾ lengths in 1:10.09. He was a popular 5 ¾-length winner of a July 18 optional claiming allowance at Pimlico under Russell's husband, jockey Sheldon Russell.

The connections will need a new rider as Sheldon Russell suffered a broken foot after being thrown from his horse during the post parade of Thursday's opening day finale at Laurel and will be out indefinitely.

Other jockeys to have ridden Wondrwherecraigis include Jose Lezcano and Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, the latter in the 2020 Grade 2 Amsterdam last August where they ran fourth in the Munnings gelding's only previous graded-stakes attempt.

Sheldon Russell is also the regular rider for six-time stakes winner Hello Beautiful, trained by his wife and owned by Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables and scheduled to start in the Weather Vane. Hello Beautiful, who gave Russell his 1,500th career victory in the July 31 Alma North at Pimlico, breezed a half-mile in :48.60 Sept. 8.

“We'll just regroup here the next couple days and see what we're going to do,” Brittany Russell said.

[Story Continues Below]

Other De Francis nominees breezing Saturday were Mucho, four furlongs in :50.80 at the Churchill Downs' Trackside training center for trainer John Ortiz; and Gary Capuano-trained stablemates Band On Tour (:48.20) and Threes Over Deuces (:48.40) at Delaware Park.

Band On Tour, 4, exits a six-furlong optional claiming allowance win Aug. 7 at Pimlico. Threes Over Deuces is a stakes winner that has run second or third in six others including a runner-up finish to Grade 1 winner Firenze Fire in the 2020 Grade 3 General George at Laurel.

Mucho leads the 3-year-old and up dirt sprint division of the MATCH Series with 20 points, two more than defending De Francis champion and fellow nominee Laki. Winner of the July 31 Challedon at Pimlico, Mucho is also tied with Chub Wagon for the overall MATCH Series championship.

Kentucky-based Ortiz said Saturday that Mucho is being pointed to the Grade 2 Phoenix Oct. 8 at Keeneland, an automatic qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“I know we're sitting so close to winning the MATCH Series, but when a horse is doing this well you have to take advantage,” Ortiz said. “Kentucky being our home and his home track and Lexington being my hometown, I just think it's best to get a 'Win and You're In' while things are going the right way.”

The post Wondrwherecraigis Leads Field For De Francis Dash At Laurel appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Yaupon, Jackie’s Warrior Lead List of De Francis Dash Nominees

Defending champion Laki and Grade 1 winners Jackie's Warrior and Yaupon are among 25 accomplished older sprinters nominated to the $200,000 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Saturday, Sept. 18 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The 30th running of the six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up headlines four stakes worth $500,000 in purses, joined by the $100,000 Weather Vane for fillies and mares 3 years old and up, also at six furlongs; $100,000 Polynesian for 3-year-olds and up, and $100,000 Twixt for females 3 and older, both going one mile.

Honoring the late owner of Laurel Park and historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., the De Francis' distinguished roster of past winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster and fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo, and Benny the Bull.

Hillside Equestrian Meadows' 8-year-old gelding Laki rallied to capture last year's De Francis by a nose over Eastern Bay for his first graded-stakes triumph. Trained by Damon Dilodovico, who also won an ungraded De Francis with Immortal Eyes in 2013, Laki has lost four starts since extending his streak to five straight years with a stakes victory in the April 24 Frank Whiteley at Laurel.

Jackie's Warrior and Yaupon both exit Grade 1 triumphs on the Aug. 28 card at Saratoga for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, North America's all-time leading trainer by wins that has a total of four De Francis nominees. J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior captured the seven-furlong H. Allen Jerkens by a neck one race after Yaupon edged fellow Grade 1 winner and De Francis nominee Firenze Fire in the seven-furlong Forego.

While Jackie's Warrior has never raced in the state, Yaupon is 2-0 in Maryland having won the 2020 Grade 3 Chick Lang and the Lite the Fuse on July 4, both at Pimlico. Asmussen also nominated West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner's Jaxon Traveler, a four-time winner in Maryland including the Star de Naskra last out Aug. 21 at Pimlico, and Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen's Grade 1-placed Jalen Journey.

Since winning the six-furlong Grade 3 Tom Fool March 6 at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., Michael Dubb's Chateau has run fourth in the Grade 1 Carter, second in the Grade 3 Runhappy at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., and most recently third behind Yaupon and Laki in the Lite the Fuse. The 6-year-old gelding is based in New York with trainer Rob Atras.

Multiple stakes winners nominated to the De Francis include Florida-based Double Crown, second to Yaupon in the Chick Lang; Francatelli, third by a head in the Aug. 31 Grade 3 Parx Dash; Just Might, Grade 2 placed on turf and a stakes winner on grass and dirt riding a three-race win streak; My Boy Tate, Threes Over Deuces, and Whereshetoldmetogo. Wondrwherecraigis was a front-running winner of the six-furlong Tale of the Cat Aug. 13 at Saratoga for trainer Brittany Russell.

The Weather Vane, named for the Maryland-bred champion older filly of 1998 that won 17 of 36 career starts and 14 stakes including the 1997 Grade 3 Safely Kept, also attracted 25 nominations. Prominent among them are Hello Beautiful, who earned her sixth career stakes victory in the July 31 Alma North at Pimlico and is 7 for 11 lifetime at Laurel, and four-time stakes winner Chub Wagon, who lost for the first time in nine lifetime starts when second in the Dr. Teresa Garafalo Memorial Aug. 23.

Other Weather Vane nominees include Ain't No Elmers, second in the 2020 Grade 3 Miss Preakness and third in the July 28 Grade 2 Honorable Miss at Saratoga; Casual, second to Chub Wagon in the May 15 Skipat at Pimlico; Club Car, third in the Grade 3 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie and second in the Grade 3 Chicago this year exiting a stakes win at Mountaineer Park Aug. 7; Garafalo Memorial winner Don't Call Me Mary, trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher; and multiple stakes winners Honey I'm Good, Casual's Asmussen-trained stablemate; 2020 Grade 3 TCA winner Inthemidstofbiz; Needs Supervision; and Never Enough Time.

[Story Continues Below]

Most popular among horsemen with 31 nominations was the Polynesian, stretched out beyond a sprint for the first time since returning to the stakes calendar in 2017 following a 17-year absence. Its first 12 runnings, alternating between Laurel, Pimlico, and Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., were contested at 1 1/16 or 1 1/8 miles.

Nominees include 2019 Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Roadster, unraced since a fourth in the April 30 Alysheba; West Will Power and Phat Man, respectively 2-3 behind Code of Honor in the Aug. 21 Grade 3 Iselin at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.; June 12 Grade 3 Salvator Mile winner Informative; 2019 Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf winner Mr Dumas; Aug. 27 Robert Hilton Memorial winner Exculpatory; and local multiple stakes winners Alwaysmining and Cordmaker.

The Twixt attracted 30 nominees led by May 2 Grade 2 Ruffian winner Vault and stakes-winning Brad Cox-trained stablemate Dreamalildreamofu, second in the May 14 Grade 3 Allaire du Pont at Pimlico; Off Topic, third in the 2019 Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks; Chilean Group 2 winner Cheetara; and stakes winners Artful Splatter, Josie, Kiss the Girl, Malibu Beauty, Miss Leslie, Mrs. Orb, Needs Supervision, Saracosa, and Trolley Ride.

Laurel Park's 59-day fall meet is scheduled to run Thursday, Sept. 9 through Friday, Dec. 31.

The post Yaupon, Jackie’s Warrior Lead List of De Francis Dash Nominees appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights