laurel park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Monday Morning Qb ‘Raring To Go,’ Could Target Preakness Stakes

Cash is King and LC Racing's stakes-winning 3-year-old Monday Morning Qb, a game second behind undefeated Happy Saver in the Federico Tesio Sept. 7 at Laurel Park off a seven-month layoff, is under consideration for the 145th Preakness Stakes (G1) Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course.

The 1 3/16-mile Preakness, run this year as the final jewel in a refashioned Triple Crown while serving as a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), anchors a weekend of 16 stakes, nine graded, worth $3.35 million in purses Oct. 1-3.

Monday Morning Qb earned his lone stakes victory last December in the seven-furlong Heft at Laurel Park and was briefly on the Triple Crown trail, finishing fourth in the 1 1/8-mile Withers (G3) Feb. 1 at Aqueduct. The sizeable Maryland-bred son of Imagining was given time after that race to mature and develop, returning to trainer Robert E. 'Butch' Reid Jr. last month.

He was entered but unable to draw into the field for a one-mile turf allowance Aug. 28 at Laurel and wound up launching his comeback in the 1 1/8-mile Tesio, the traditional local prep for the Preakness. He set solid fractions of 24.76 seconds, 48.82 and 1:13.13 before being overtaken at the head of the stretch by Happy Saver but battled on despite failing to switch leads, finishing 1 ½ lengths behind the winner but nine lengths clear of Big City Bob in third.

“He ran very well considering the layoff. To come back going a mile and an eighth was not an easy task, so we were very pleased with his effort,” Reid said. “He came out of it well. He's been back to the track and he looks happy and raring to go. He was definitely tired afterwards but after a couple days he bounced right back. We're real happy with him.

“I think if he switched leads, I'm not saying we would have beat that horse but he'd have been a lot closer I believe,” he added. “He's got a little bit of a concentration problem that we have to work on to get him to switch leads turning for home. He's kind of always had that habit. It's unfortunate because he does it perfectly in the morning.”

The Tesio was Monday Morning Qb's second straight race at two turns. His sire was a multiple graded-stakes winner going long on the grass including the 2014 Man o' War (G1) for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, and earned nearly $1.2 million in purses.

“We felt all along he'd get two turns,” Reid said. “We really think he's going to route on turf is what he's going to end up being. We'll think about getting him on the turf. I would like to try that before the end of the year, for sure.”

To that end, Reid said the connections are also considering the $100,000 James W. Murphy on the Preakness undercard. The Murphy, also for 3-year-olds, is contested at a mile on the grass.

“We're looking at both races. We still haven't ruled out the Preakness, to be honest with you,” Reid said. “The Murphy for straight 3-year-olds going a mile on the turf [is interesting]. We'll definitely make him eligible for both of those races and pick our best spot from there.”

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Stronach 5 Features Full Fields, $100,000 Guarantee On Friday

The Stronach 5, with an industry-low 12-percent takeout and $100,000 guaranteed pool, will feature races Friday from Laurel Park, Gulfstream Park and Golden Gate Fields.

The first race in the sequence will be Laurel's seventh race, a six furlong event for a dozen 2-year-old fillies. Post time is 3:58 p.m.

Friday's sequence has the last four races scheduled on the turf, including a 5 ½ furlong allowance test at Laurel with a $42,000 purse for 3-year-olds and up, and a $25,000 maiden event for 3-year-olds and up at Gulfstream Park. The sequence wraps up at Golden Gate with a competitive mile turf event for maidens 3-year-olds and up.

Friday's races and sequence

· Leg One – Laurel Park 7th Race: (12 entries, 6 furlongs) 3:58 ET, 12:58 PT

· Leg Two –Gulfstream Park 9th Race: (10 entries, 1 mile turf) 4:14 ET, 1:14 PT

· Leg Three –Laurel Park 8th Race: (11 entries, 5 ½ furlongs turf) 4:31 ET, 1:31 PT

· Leg Four –Laurel Park 9th Race: (12 entries, 5 ½ furlongs turf) 5:02 ET, 2:02 PT

· Leg Five –Golden Gate Fields 3rd race: (11 entries, 1 mile turf) 5:25 ET, 2:25 PT

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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Happy Saver Stays Perfect With Federico Tesio Triumph: Preakness ‘On The Radar’

Wertheimer and Frere's homebred Happy Saver, stepping up to stakes company for the first time, kept his perfect record intact through three starts with a popular and professional 1 1/2-length victory in Monday's $100,000 Federico Tesio at Laurel Park in Maryland.

The 39^th running of the 1 1/8-mile Tesio for 3-year-olds was the third of five $100,000 stakes on a special 10-race Labor Day holiday program that capped Laurel's Preakness Prep Weekend. For the fifth straight year, the Tesio served as a 'Win and In' event to the 145^th Preakness (G1) Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course.

Seven-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, watching from Saratoga where he won the training title, said the Preakness would be on the radar for Happy Saver, a chestnut son of Super Saver, who in 2010 gave Pletcher his first of two Kentucky Derby (G1) wins. Not Triple Crown nominated, Happy Saver would need to be supplemented for $25,000 to run.

“It's hard to win any races, much less your first three and step up in distance in your second start and into a stake in your third start. It's impressive he's been able to do that on three different surfaces, so I'm really pleased with his progress,” Pletcher said. “He's three-for-three and if he comes out and trains accordingly we'll consider stepping up and taking a shot.”

Happy Saver ($2.40), out of the Distorted Humor mare Happy Week, completed the distance over a fast main track in 1:49.15 – the fastest nine-furlong Tesio since Marciano won the 2001 edition in 1:49 when it was held at Pimlico Race Course. The Tesio was contested at 1 1/16 miles from 1981-91 and 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015. It was not run in 2012.

It was the second career Tesio win for both Pletcher and jockey Trevor McCarthy. Pletcher won in 2002 with Smoked Em, while McCarthy was first with Bodhisattva in 2015.

“He really turned it on that last eighth of a mile, the last quarter. They were running,” McCarthy said. “This horse is all class. Everything you want to do, he'll do for you. It was just a big privilege to be on him today. I have to thank Todd and his whole crew for doing such a great job.”

Winner of the Heft Stakes last December at Laurel but unraced since a fourth-place finish in the Withers (G3) Feb. 1 at Aqueduct, Monday Morning Qb broke sharply and was intent on the lead, rolling through a quarter-mile in 24.76 seconds and a half in 48.82 while Amen Corner chased along the rail and McCarthy kept Happy Saver in the clear three wide in third.

Monday Morning Qb was still there after going six furlongs in 1:13.69 when McCarthy began to move on Happy Saver and the top two gained distance from the rest of the field. Happy Saver nudged a head front once straightened for home and was set down for the drive while Monday Morning Qb determinedly kept on to his inside.

“He really warmed up well for me today. I was really impressed with the way he warmed up. He broke really strong and those speed horses on the outside didn't break very well. I knew [Monday Morning Qb] would break good off the layoff. I didn't know how fit that horse would be today but I just left him alone and let my horse get in a great stride and a great rhythm,” McCarthy said. “When [Monday Morning Qb] came to him galloping out, he rebroke. He was pretty impressive.”

Monday Morning Qb was a clear second, nine lengths ahead of late-running Big City Bob, followed by Mexican Wonder Boy, Amen Corner and Letmeno, who stumbled out of the gate and trailed throughout. Plot the Dots was scratched.

Happy Saver went unraced at 2, breaking his maiden at first asking in a seven-furlong sprint June 20 at Belmont Park then stepping up to open allowance company July 26 at Saratoga to win by four lengths at 1 1/8 miles. The Tesio was his first race against straight 3-year-olds.

“I just kind of told Trevor a little bit about the horse and told him he can ride him tactically however he wanted. He won first time out going wire to wire basically seven-eighths and then he came from off the pace and got some good education his second start so I told him to just use his best judgment,” Pletcher said. “He was in the clear, stalking. That was the horse that I felt like we had to beat. The horse put up a good fight but our horse was able to keep finding a little more.”

The Tesio is named for the noted Italian breeder, owner and trainer whose hombreds Nearco and Ribot dominate Thoroughbred bloodlines around the world. Tesio died in Italy in 1954 at age 85.

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‘TDN Rising Star’ Happy Saver Stays Perfect in Federico Tesio

‘TDN Rising Star‘ Happy Saver (Super Saver) ran his record to a perfect three-for-three with a workmanlike success in Monday’s Federico Tesio S. at Laurel.

The 1-5 chalk was off well enough and took up an outside stalking role as Monday Morning Qb (Imagining) called the plays up front. Put to an all-out drive by Trevor McCarthy, the Wertheimer homebred took a few strides to hit his top gear, but he reeled in the pacesetter a furlong down and edged clear.

An impressive debut winner on the Belmont S. undercard June 20, the chestnut did his best work late en route to a four-length allowance victory going nine panels at Saratoga July 26. The Tesio winner is guaranteed a spot in the gate for the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Oct. 3 if connections so choose.

Happy Saver, whose dam cost $600,000 as a Keeneland September yearling in 2008, counts blue-hen Weekend Surprise as his great-granddam, whose legendary produce include Horse of the Year A.P. Indy, GI Preakness S. winner Summer Squall, MGSP Honor Grades and the dam of GI Breeders’ Cup Mile hero Court Vision, sire of champion Storm The Court. Happy Week is the dam of a yearling Candy Ride (Arg) filly and a foal full-sister to Happy Saver named Happy Charger. She was most recently bred to Sky Mesa.

Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

FEDERICO TESIO S., $100,000, Laurel, 9-7, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49.15, ft.
1–HAPPY SAVER, 120, c, 3, by Super Saver
1st Dam: Happy Week (MSP, $228,674), by Distorted Humor
2nd Dam: Lassie’s Legacy, by Deputy Minister
3rd Dam: Weekend Surprise, by Secretariat
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-Wertheimer Et Frere (KY); T-Todd
A Pletcher; J-Trevor McCarthy. $60,000. Lifetime Record:
3-3-0-0, $135,900.
2–Monday Morning Qb, 120, c, 3, Imagining–How My Heart
Works, by Not For Love. ($25,000 Ylg ’18 EASOCT). O-Cash is
King LLC & LC Racing LLC; B-Bowman & Higgins Stable & Cary
Frommer (MD); T-Robert E Reid Jr. $20,000.
3–Big City Bob, 124, c, 3, Shanghai Bobby–Southern Accents, by
Birdstone. ($72,000 RNA Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $140,000 2yo ’19
OBSAPR). O-Colts Neck Stables LLC; B-Buck Pond Farm Inc (KY);
T-Jorge Duarte Jr. $10,000.
Margins: 1HF, 9, 1HF. Odds: 0.20, 4.70, 28.60.
Also Ran: Mexican Wonder Boy, Amen Corner, Letmeno. Scratched: Plot the Dots.

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