Hillwood Stable | Horse Racing Free Tips

Bandbox Yearling Named MHBA Champion

A Hillwood Stable homebred son of Bandbox was named grand champion of the 88th Maryland Horse Breeders' Association's Yearling Show, which was held at the Timonium Fairgrounds Sunday. The gray or roan colt is the third foal out of the Scrimshaw mare Dearie Be Good to win a class at the show–the colt's full-sister was reserve champion in 2018 and his half-sister by Great Notion was reserve champion in 2021. All are homebreds for Ellen Charles's Hillwood Stable, which also campaigned 2014 GIII General George H. winner Bandbox.

Bandbox, who stood his entire career at Northview Stallion Station before his death last year, also took home the Northview Stallion Station Challenge Trophy as the show's leading sire for the third time, thus retiring the trophy.

“It's special for Mrs. Charles to have a son of Bandbox win,” said JoAnn Hayden of Dark Hollow Farm, where the colt was born and raised. “We've loved this colt since birth. This one is big, robust, and looks very mature.”

Jonathan Thomas, who judged 59 yearlings at this year's show, concurred with Hayden's assessment.

“He was the best of a very good group. When you have to pick five finalists per class, you end up leaving out a bunch of good ones every time,” said Thomas. “Everyone looked very well-raised and prepared, but he had the best balance and substance.”

All yearlings who were judged are now eligible for the $40,000 premium award which is split annually, with $20,000 going to the exhibitors of the four show contestants who earn the most money as 2-year-olds during 2023, and another $20,000 divided among the exhibitors of the four highest-earning 3-year-old runners the next year

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Knicks Go Honored as Top Maryland-Bred of 2021

GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Knicks Go (Paynter) was honored as 2021 Maryland-bred Horse of the Year during the fifth annual Renaissance Awards held virtually throughout the week of Feb. 28. The awards, which are a collaborative effort between the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Maryland Jockey Club, were presented through the MHBA's social media accounts.

Also honored were champion 2-year-old male Joe (Declaration of War), champion 2-year-old filly Luna Belle (Great Notion), champion 3-year-old male Jaxon Traveler (Munnings), champion 3-year-old filly Street Lute (Street Magician), champion older female Hello Beautiful (Golden Lad), champion turf runner Field Pass (Lemon Drop Kid), and champion sprinter Aloha West (Hard Spun).

The late Robert T. Manfuso and Katharine M. Voss, breeders of 2021 Maryland-bred champion sprinter Aloha West, were crowned the Maryland Breeders of the Year, while their mare Island Bound, dam of Aloha West, was named Maryland Broodmare of the Year, and Northview Stallion Station's Great Notion took home the title of Maryland Stallion of the Year for the sixth consecutive year.

Other award winners for 2021 include Hillwood Stable LLC, Maryland Owner of the Year; Brittany Russell, Maryland Trainer of the Year; Jevian Toledo, Maryland Jockey of the Year. Julio Garcia was honored as the Pimlico Backstretch Worker of the Year, while Antoinette Charles Orellana earned the title of Laurel Backstretch Employee of the Year.

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Cordmaker Gets Seventh Career Stakes Win In Richard W. Small At Laurel

Hillwood Stable's Cordmaker, still going strong at the age of 6, overpowered several younger rivals including 3-year-old favorite Shackqueenking to register his seventh career stakes victory, a 1 ¾-length decision over Workin On a Dream in Saturday's $100,000 Richard W. Small at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The 21st running of the 1 1/8-mile Small for 3-year-olds and up, part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series, was the last of three $100,000 stakes on the program, preceded by the City of Laurel for 3-year-olds and Safely Kept for 3-year-old fillies, each sprinting seven furlongs.

Cordmaker ($12.20) ran second in last year's Small to Harpers First Ride, who went on to win the historic Grade 3 Pimlico Special, a race where Cordmaker finished third for the second consecutive year. The winning time Saturday was 1:50.48 over a fast main track.

“It's great for the horse and the barn and [owner] Mrs. [Ellen] Charles,” winning trainer Rodney Jenkins said. “It's a nice thing all around.”

With regular rider Victor Carrasco aboard, Cordmaker settled in third as 17-1 long shot Workin On a Dream and Shackqueenking led the way, going the opening quarter-mile in :24.58 and a half in :47.59. Racing in the clear, Cordmaker closed the gap after six furlongs went in 1:11.84 and swooped to the front at the top of the stretch, running a mile in 1:37.14.

“I wanted him to stay closer. We've been taking him, not way out of it, but pretty far and that's a lot of ground to make up in a stakes race,” Jenkins said. “I told Victor, 'Keep him up in there and make them run,' and he did. Victor gave him a great ride.”

Shackqueenking finished third, with two lengths separating him from runner-up Workin On a Dream and Forewarned in fourth. They were followed by Informative, Tappin Cat, Mischief Afoot, Treasure Trove, Bustoff, and McElmore Avenue.

Cordmaker, a gelded son of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin, added to his lead in the MATCH Series' 3-year-olds and up long dirt division with his 11th career victory from 33 starts, pushing his lifetime bankroll over $700,000 and bouncing back from being disqualified from second to sixth for interference in the Sept. 18 Polynesian at Laurel.

“His last race, when he had that [incident] down here, you never know how they're going to react the next time, and that made me nervous,” Jenkins said. “But he came around great.”

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 G1 Breeders' Cup Classic 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.

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Cordmaker’s Richard Small Win Gives Him Lead In MATCH Series

Hillwood Stable's Cordmaker, a mainstay in the Maryland stakes ranks for several years, pulled away late to win the $100,000 Richard Small Stakes at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., Nov. 27 and in the process took the lead in the overall standings for the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships (MATCH) Series heading into the championship leg Dec. 26 at Laurel.

With regular rider Victor Carrasco aboard, Cordmaker broke well in the 1 1/8-mile stakes and found himself in a good spot in third behind Workin On a Dream and Shackqueenking, who raced one-two, respectively, until a duel developed on the far turn. Cordmaker, nursed along by Carassco, rallied three-wide on the turn, reached the front in the final eighth of a mile, and pulled away to win by 1 3/4 lengths for his third stakes victory of the year.

Workin On a Dream, a blowout winner of an allowance race at Laurel in his last start for owner Steven Walfish and trainer Robin Graham, held gamely for second under jockey Forest Boyce. Shackqueenking, who had won his last two starts in allowance company at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., for owner Pocket 3's Racing and trainer Gary Capuano, easily held for third under Jaime Rodriguez as the favorite.

Cordmaker, who cleared the $700,000 mark in career earnings with his 11th win in 33 starts, paid $12.40 to win as the fourth choice in a field of 10. The 6-year-old Maryland-bred gelding by Curlin was bred by Robert Manfuso and Katy Voss and purchased as a yearling for $150,000 by Hillwood Stable, which is operated by longtime Maryland Thoroughbred owner Ellen Charles.

“I wanted him to stay close early,” trainer Rodney Jenkins said after Cordmaker won his second MATCH Series stakes in the 3-Year-Olds and Up Long—Dirt division in 2021. “I didn't want him to have a lot of ground to make up. I told Victor, 'Keep him up there and make them run.' This is a great result for the horse, the barn and Mrs. Charles.”

Cordmaker, who has started in all five legs thus far in his division, won the Victory Gallop Stakes at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., in August. He returned in the Polynesian Stakes at Laurel in September and crossed the finish line in second but was disqualified and placed sixth for drifting out near the three-sixteenths pole. Despite the setback, he picked up 5 MATCH bonus points in the Polynesian and padded his division lead.

“He broke well and we had a great trip,” Carrasco said. “I followed (Shackqueenking) because I thought he was the only horse who could beat us. As soon as we passed the five-sixteenths pole, I said, 'Go,' and he responded nicely. He got the job done.”

Cordmaker entered the Richard Small with 24 points. He earned 10 points for the victory and another 2 bonus points for making his fifth start in the division. That gives him 36 points, nine more than Hello Beautiful, who leads the Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division with 27 points.

The division winners and the overall champion will be decided at Laurel the day after Christmas, when the final stakes for each of the MATCH Series' four divisions will be run.

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