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Landing Zone Ready To Start New Streak in Allaire Du Pont Stakes At Laurel

BB Horses' Landing Zone, who lost for the first time in five races in her most recent start, will get the chance to start a new streak when she lines up for her graded-stakes debut in Saturday's $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3) at Laurel Park in Maryland.

The 27^th running of the 1 1/8-mile du Pont for fillies and mares 3 and up, the last graded event on the East Coast in 2020, headlines a Christmastide Day program of eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses.

Landing Zone, trained by Claudio Gonzalez, strung together four consecutive wins from Aug. 13 to Oct. 18, all facing older horses, at distances ranging from one to 1 1/16 miles. She made her stakes debut in the seven-furlong Safely Kept Nov. 28 at Laurel, running third behind multiple stakes winner Hello Beautiful.

“The last race I tried her at seven-eighths and I believe it's too short for her. Still, she didn't run bad, because the winner is a nice filly,” Gonzalez said. “Now we'll try her long and, for me, it's going to be much better for her. She'll love it.”

Landing Zone, a 3-year-old daughter of Grade 1-winning millionaire Morning Line, drew Post 3 in a field of seven where all six of her rivals are already stakes winners. Angel Cruz will ride.

“She's a nice filly. She's always improving. The last few races she's run really big,” Gonzalez said. “She's more relaxed. She was very nervous in the paddock before and now she's relaxed, she's more mature. Hopefully as a 4-year-old she's going to be much better.”

Another of Gonzalez's sophomores, Euro Stable's multiple stakes winner Lebda, will take on his elders for the first time looking to snap a four-race losing streak in the $100,000 Dave's Friend for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs.

Winner of the Miracle Wood and Private Terms at Laurel to open 2020, he finished off the board in the Ohio Derby (G3) and Haskell (G1) and, most recently, the Chick Lang (G3) Oct. 1 at Pimlico Race Course. Scratched from the seven-furlong Concern Nov. 28 at Laurel with a minor foot issue, he will race for the first time as a gelding.

“He had to scratch last time but he came back good. We breezed him [Dec. 20] and he breezed good,” Gonzalez said. “The last time he had a problem with his feet. I put glue-on shoes on him and he was doing better and he breezed good. That's why we decide to run. It would be beautiful to see him win again but it's a tough race. It's the first time he's going to run against older horses and there's some tough horses in there. We're going to be happy if he tries and he comes back good.”

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Trainer Brittany Russell Could Make History In Race For Laurel’s Fall Title

The 2020 Thoroughbred season is drawing to an historic close in Maryland, and not just for a pandemic that paused racing for 2 ½ months from mid-March to late May.

With three racing days left in Laurel Park's fall meet that began Oct. 8, Brittany Russell and Claudio Gonzalez are tied atop the trainer standings with 22 wins apiece. Live racing returns Saturday, Dec. 26 with the Christmastide Day program of eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses led by the $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3).

Laurel will also host live cards Sunday, Dec. 27 and Thursday, Dec. 31 before opening its 2021 winter meet Friday, Jan. 1. Post time is 12:25 p.m.

Gonzalez, a 44-year-old cancer survivor, has won 11 of the last 12 meets in Maryland dating back to Laurel's 2017 spring stand, and owns or shares 14 titles overall. He will finish with the most wins in the state for a fourth consecutive year.

Russell, meanwhile, is in position to join an exclusive club in just the third year since going out on her own. Only two women have ever led the trainer standings in Maryland – Karen Patty (1992 Pimlico Race Course spring) and Mary Eppler (2016 Laurel fall).

“It's funny, because a lot of people ask us about it. We're just trying to stay humble. We're trying to focus on the horses and walk them over there ready to go,” Russell, 31, said. “Each individual getting a win is more the goal as opposed to winning a meet. Yeah, it would be fantastic to win the meet and a huge feat for me from a career standpoint, but we're just trying to stay humble and focus on each horse.”

Russell has three starters on Laurel's nine-race card Saturday – Out of Sorts in the $100,000 Gin Talking for 2-year-old fillies, Reassured in the $100,000 Howard County for 2-year-olds, and Whereshetoldmetogo in the $100,000 Dave's Friend for sprinters 3 and up – and one starter on Sunday.

Gonzalez will run Miss Leslie in the $100,000 Anne Arundel County for 2-year-old fillies, Lebda in the Dave's Friend, Harpers First Ride in the $100,000 Native Dancer for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles and Landing Zone in the du Pont. Leading the meet in starters (116) and purse earnings ($794,790), he has three more entered for Sunday.

Russell's wins have come with just 45 starters at the meet (49 percent).

“It's fun, it's satisfying. This is why we all do it. We all work very hard and we try and have the horses as right as we can every time they walk over,” Russell said. “If I enter a horse, we're entering it because it's doing well and we're trying to put it in a spot where we think it can win. It's rewarding for the team. Everybody wants to win. That's' why we show up every day, to try and help this horses win. Hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

Russell worked for trainers Brad Cox, Jimmy Jerkens, Ron Moquett and Hall of Famer Jonathan Sheppard before going out on her own, winning with her first career starter, Oh My, on Feb. 25, 2018 at Laurel. A former amateur rider married to Laurel's leading jockey Sheldon Russell, she has seen her number of starters, winners and purse earnings increase each year, topping the $1 million mark in 2020.

Brittany Russell has 43 wins from 153 starters in 2020 led by stakes winners Hello Beautiful and Whereshetoldmetogo. She has enjoyed particular success with 2-year-olds, going 15-for-39 (38 percent) this year and finishing in the top three 31 times (79 percent).

“I was lucky this year, they just sent me some nice horses. We do have some good stock in the barn,” Russell said. “I'm not the type to try and push a horse to have them ready for when the first 2-year-old races come out. In 2020, with the first 2-year-old races kind of showing up later, they were just kind of all coming around and getting ready when those races were starting to be written anyway.

“It hasn't been anything special, just good horses and they're ready at the right time. I have good clients and they let me take my time,” she added. “When you start getting pressure and feeling anxious about getting a horse to the races that's when you start doing things and I think if you just let the come along the way they want, it just pays off.”

Sheldon Russell holds a 42-33 lead over Jevian Toledo in the race for the fall meet riding title. Toledo has won with seven of his last 16 mounts, including a four-win day Dec. 20, to close the gap.

Both riders are represented by agent Marty Leonard. Russell was Maryland's overall leading rider in 2011 and owns seven meet titles, the most recent being Laurel winter 2015. Toledo led all local riders in wins in 2015 and 2017 and five meet titles, all at Laurel, the last coming in spring 2018.

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Weekend Lineup Presented by Christmastide Day At Laurel Park: Showdown In The Malibu

Saturday marks opening day at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and racing secretary Chris Merz has put together an outstanding 11-race program that drew 104 entries (9.5 per race) and features six stakes races, including three Grade 1 contests: the Runhappy Malibu for 3-year-olds going seven furlong, the La Brea for 3-year-old fillies going seven furlongs, and the American Oaks for 3-year-olds going 1 1/4 miles on turf.

Santa Anita has an early 2 p.m. Eastern/11 a.m. Pacific first post on Saturday.

The highlight will be the Malibu, a race won by such outstanding Thoroughbreds as Round Table, Buckpasser, Damascus, Spectacular Bid, Ferdinand, Shared Belief, Runhappy and City of Light. Omaha Beach won the 2019 renewal.

Six were entered in this year's Malibu, but most eyes will be on the big two: unbeaten morning line favorite Nashville, who made his stakes debut for trainer Steve Asmussen on the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup undercard at Keeneland, winning the Perryville Stakes by 3 1/2 lengths and setting a track record of 1:07.89 for six furlongs; and Charlatan, first in all three of his starts by a combined 22 lengths for trainer Bob Baffert but disqualified from a win in the G1 Arkansas Derby because of a failed post-race drug test for lidocaine.

Unlike last year, when inclement weather pushed opening day back by two days, the forecast is for sunny skies and a high of 69 degrees in Arcadia, Calif.

Laurel Park in Maryland will be a bit colder for its big Christmastide Day program featuring eight stakes races, highlighted by the G3 Allaire duPont Stakes at 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares, three and up. The forecast calls for clear skies and a high of a brisk 34 degrees on Saturday.

Christmastide Day kicks off at 12:25 p.m. Eastern with the $100,000 Heft Stakes for 2-year-olds going seven furlongs. That race is followed by seven successive stakes, each carrying a $100,000 purse, the $150,000 duPont being the lone exception.

Gulfstream Park has no graded stakes this weekend, but Saturday's card features three turf stakes: the two-mile H. Allen Jerken Stakes and the Tropical Park Derby and Oaks for 3-year-olds and 3-year-old fillies, respectively, at 1 1/16 miles (11, 12, and 13 runners were entered in the respective races). Cool weather prevails at Gulfstream with a high of 64 but the track will be fast and turf course firm.

Here's a brief look at some of the graded stakes (all times Eastern)

Saturday, Dec. 26

3:36 p.m. – $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile at Santa Anita

Smooth Like Strait was nailed on the money by Chad Brown-trained Domestic Spending in the G1 Hollywood Derby last out, but the Midnight Lute colt is going in top form for trainer Michael McCarthy. Mike Maker sends Field Pass west from Kentucky again after the colt by Lemon Drop Kid finished third behind Smooth Like Strait in the G2 Twilight Derby in October.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA4-EQB.html

3:53 p.m. $150,000 Allaire duPont Stakes at Laurel Park

Eres Tu just won the Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes at Laurel for trainer Arnaud Delacour and the daughter of Malibu Moon is favored to earn her first graded stakes victory. Ice Princess comes off a runner-up effort in the G3 Comely at Aqueduct for trainer Danny Gargan and the New York-bred by Palace Malice figures to be running late. Stakes veteran Another Broad is 3-for-7 at Laurel and returns to Maryland after a third-place finish at Churchill Downs for trainer Steve Asmussen in the G2 Falls City.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/LRL122620USA8-EQB.html

5:09 p.m. – $200,000 San Antonio at Santa Anita

Mucho Gusto stepped up to win the G1 Pegasus World Cup in January for trainer Bob Baffert, then finished fourth in the inaugural Saudi Cup. He's making his first start since that effort and will have to contend with the versatile Sharp Samurai, a multiple graded stakes winner on turf for trainer Mark Glatt who ran second on dirt behind Maximum Security in the G1 Pacific Classic and third behind Knicks Go in the G1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland. Contention runs deep in this eight-horse field of older runners.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA7-EQB.html

5:43 p.m. – $300,000 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita

Chad Brown sends Motivated Seller west to try to reverse a narrow loss to Bob Baffert-trained Merneith in the Fort Springs Stakes on the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup undercard at Keeneland, but the Into Mischief filly will also have tepid morning line favorite Finite, from Steve Asmussen's barn, to contend with. The latter has won 6-of-11 with three thirds and comes off a sharp score in the G3 Chillukki at Churchil Downs Nov. 21.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA8-EQB.html

6:17 p.m. – $300,000 American Oaks at Santa Anita

Four fillies shipped from the East Coast for this G1 contest, including two from the barn of multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown – English-bred Capital Structure, making her stakes debut under Joel Rosario, and Duopoly, who gets Flavien Prat in the saddle after winning the Winter Memories at Aqueduct Nov. 15. Graham Motion-trained Sharing, coming off a fourth-place finish to her elders in the G1 Matriarch at Del Mar, won over this course as a 2-year-old when taking the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and is favored in the morning line. Second choice Luck Money is the “now” horse for trainer Arnaud Delacour, coming off back-to-back wins at Keeneland and Belmont. These four appear to have the local runners over a barrel.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA9-EQB.html

6:51 p.m. – $300,000 Runhappy Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita

Nashville and Charlatan, two 3-year-old sons of Speightstown, both have shown to be dyed-in-the-wool front-runners in their combined six starts, though Charlatan's last two races were around two turns. Like most Baffert runners coming off layoffs or making their debuts, Charlatan has been through a demanding training schedule and doesn't figure to be “short” in his return. Nashville debuted at 6 1/2 furlongs in September at Saratoga, then blitzed rivals at six furlongs in his next two starts. If Charlatan makes him work early, that additional furlong might be a challenge and could set things up for someone like Collusion Illusion, a late-running sprinter who had a terrible trip in the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint, or Independence Hall, coming off a sharp allowance score for Michael McCarthy after more than six months on the shelf.

https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA122620USA10-EQB.html

Sunday, Dec. 27

6:51 p.m. – $100,000 Robert J. Frankel at Santa Anita

Chad Brown sent Irish-bred Miss Teheran to Santa Anita from Florida in search of his first Robert J. Frankel win, named for his late mentor. Winless in two U.S. starts, Miss Teheran will have Joel Rosario in the irons as she takes on, among others, the former Brown runner Altea, now trained by Michael McCarthy. They'll both have the California-bred Mucho Unusual to beat, however. The Mucho Macho Man filly won the G1 Rodeo Drive over the same course Sept. 26, then was no match for Audarya in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland.

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Pimlico Special Winner Harpers First Ride Aiming To Close Out 2020 With Native Dancer Win

MCA Racing Stable's Harpers First Ride, winner of the historic Pimlico Special (Grade 3) over Preakness (G1) weekend in October, will get one more chance to add to what has been a spectacular season in the $100,000 Native Dancer Saturday, Dec. 26 at Laurel Park.

The 53^rd running of the 1 1/8 mile Native Dancer, first held at old Bowie Race Course in 1966, is among three stakes for 3-year-olds and up on the undercard of a Christmastide Day program featuring eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses led by the $150,000 Allaire du Pont (G3).

Sprinters three and older will go six furlongs in the $100,000 Dave's Friend for males and $100,000 Willa On the Move for fillies and mares. Post time for the first of nine races is 12:25 p.m.

A gelded 4-year-old son of G1 winner Paynter, Harpers First Ride has won six of 10 starts with two seconds, one third and more than $435,000 in purse earnings in 2020. Three of those wins have come in stakes – the 1 3/16 mile Pimlico Special Oct. 2 at Pimlico Race Course and the Sept. 5 Deputed Testamony and Nov. 28 Richard W. Small, each going 1 1/16 miles at Laurel Park.

Maryland's three-time defending year-end training champion Claudio Gonzalez claimed Harpers First Ride for $30,000 out of a Sept. 14, 2019 win at Churchill Downs in his third career start, and he has amassed a lifetime record of 9-2-1 and a $513,055 bankroll in 16 races.

“Everybody likes to dream, but all the time he proves he can run with the good horses. He showed class since the day we claimed him,” Gonzalez said. “He came into the barn and every day he improved. He got better and better and he has never been a problem for us.”

Harpers First Ride has won three of his last four races, the exception being a runner-up finish to Monday Morning Qb in the 1 1/8 mile Maryland Million Classic Oct. 24 at Laurel, beaten 3 ¼ lengths. He bounced back with a three-length triumph in the Richard Small that produced the second-highest speed figure of his career.

“He had a perfect trip the last time. The time before he was on the outside the whole race and the last time it was much better,” Gonzalez said. “For me, the distance is not a problem. He's the kind of horse that can run all day.

“I cannot say anything bad about him. He does everything right. He's more mature,” he added. “Even when he breezes, if you ask him a little, he goes, and if you relax with him, he relaxes. You can see it in the races. When he runs, if you push him he can take the lead or he can come from behind. The horse is just a nice horse.”

Harpers First Ride will face a familiar foe in Hillwood Stable's Cordmaker, a fellow multiple stakes winner that he beat in the Deputed Testamony, Richard Small and Pimlico Special, the latter a race where Cordmaker has run third two consecutive years, beaten three lengths combined. Winless in seven tries this year, the 5-year-old son of Hall of Famer Curlin is one of three horses in the field to have banked more than a half-million dollars, the third being Tri-Brook Stables Inc.'s G3-placed Forewarned.

Air Token, owned and trained by Jose Corrales, takes a three-race win streak into the Native Dancer, the most recent coming Dec. 13 in a 1 1/16 mile optional claiming allowance at Laurel against older horses. The 3-year-old Golden Lad gelding's only previous try at 1 1/8 miles came on the grass, when he ran second in the Maryland Million Turf Starter Handicap Oct. 24 after taking a 5 ½ length lead into the stretch.

“I think the horse will be fine. He's been running the distance and he's also run the short distances,” Corrales said. “I think the horse is going to perform OK. He's got enough air for that. I think the first race that he ran on the grass he opened up too much and he just got caught.”

Included in Air Token's win streak is a victory in the seven-furlong Concern Stakes Nov. 28 at Laurel by a neck over Francatelli. He came off the pace to win that race as well as a restricted allowance against his elders one start prior, but last out won in front-running fashion. Air Token has four wins, two seconds and a third from nine starts since being claimed by Corrales for $10,000 out of an Aug. 1 win at Laurel.

“He doesn't need to be in front. He's a horse that if he can sit back he'll have a kick at the end,” Corrales said. “I'm just going day by day with this horse. This horse is showing me something every time. When I claimed this horse for [$10,000], I'm thinking if he can win for [$16,000] I'll be happy or I'll drop him back for [$10,000]. But he's getting better. Horses to me are like people, they need opportunity. You never know how far you can go and this horse has done that.”

Hall Pass, Saratoga Jack and V.I.P. Ticket complete the field.

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