Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship | Horse Racing Free Tips

Jaxon Traveler A Perfect 3-For-3 After Maryland Juvenile Futurity

West Point Thoroughbreds and Melvin Delfiner's Jaxon Traveler, pressed from the gate by stakes winner Singlino, shook off his pursuer at the top of the stretch and once again approaching the wire to remain undefeated with a three-quarter length triumph in Saturday's $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity at Laurel Park in Maryland.

The 39th running of the Futurity shared top billing on the nine-race program with Street Lute's victory in the 34th renewal of the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, both for Maryland-bred/sired horses sprinting seven furlongs.

Jaxon Traveler ($2.60) completed the distance in 1:25.07 over a fast main track to improve to 3-0 lifetime in his stakes debut. Based in New York with Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, he has raced exclusively in Maryland where he was bred by Dr. and Mrs. A. Leonard Pineau.

“It's been a real treat to watch him develop. Each time he's shipped down to Maryland he's been a total professional,” said Dawn Lenert, West Point's chief of marketing and director of partner relations. “We're very lucky to have a horse like this. Our partners have come out to watch him and cheer for him, both here and on TV. It's just been a super treat for them to be associated with this type of horse.”

The margin of victory was the smallest for Jaxon Traveler following a 10-length maiden special weight romp in debut Sept. 25 at Pimlico Race Course and a four-length optional claiming allowance score Oct. 23 at Laurel. All three of his wins have come in front-running fashion.

“This was the closest a horse had hounded him in his career and there was definitely a couple of nervous moments, but he showed his colors and stayed in front,” Lenert said. “He's definitely a little more tired today than he's been. I kept saying, 'Where's the wire?' ”

Sent off at 1-5 in a field of seven, Jaxon Traveler had First State Dash winner Singlino at his right hip through a quarter-mile in 22.56 seconds and a half in 45.61, with Maryland Million Nursery runner-up Alwaysinahurry, Doubleoseven and Ain't Da Beer Cold leading the second flight.

Jaxon Traveler and jockey Johan Rosado got the jump on Singlino turning into the stretch and created some separation before Singlino came with another surge. Latin Spice rallied to be third, followed by Ain't Da Beer Cold, Alwaysinahurry, Doubleoseven and Hunter Joe.

“We'll talk to Steve. I know we wanted to see how he did today at seven [furlongs],” Lenert said. “We could stretch him out in the Jerome going a mile; however, Laurel just put up that Spectacular Bid going seven furlongs in January. He proved he could go seven today, we'll see what he does next time.”

The newly created $100,000 Spectacular Bid for 3-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs is among six stakes worth $550,000 in purses scheduled for the Jan. 16, 2021 program at Laurel.

Street Lute Too Tough in $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship
Lucky 7 Stables' Street Lute sat a perfect stalking trip before powering to the lead and pulling clear, avenging the only loss of her career with her second straight stakes victory and fourth overall in Saturday's $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship.

Ridden by Xavier Perez for trainer Jerry Robb, Street Lute ($6) is a neck shy of being undefeated through five starts, caught at the wire when second in the Oct. 24 Maryland Million Lassie by Miss Nondescript, who never threatened Saturday and finished seventh.

“Everything worked perfectly. Jerry was on the phone with me. He told me he wasn't going to be able to make it,” Perez said. “The race before the horse went to the lead and kept going and he asked me to go the lead if we can without using her. That was the plan and then the other two horses went to the lead. I know my filly can settle and she did. We had just a perfect trip.”

Street Lute settled in third as Liam's Missy, a 10 ¼-length maiden special weight winner last out at Belmont Park, and Lassie third-place finisher Trip to Freedom battled through splits of 22.70 and 45.29 seconds for the half. Perez tipped Street Lute to the center of the track once straightened for home and hit the wire 1 ¾ lengths in front.

Juror Number Four, fourth to Street Lute in the Small Wonder Sept. 26 at Delaware Park, trailed the field early before coming with a late rally on the far outside for second. Maxine's Tap Room, Buckey's Charm, Targe, Liam's Missy, Miss Nondescript, Heartful and Trip to Freedom completed the order of finish.

“She's getting better. This week I was getting on her every morning and I got to know her a little more. She's just improving every single day,” Perez said. “This means a lot because Jerry has stood by me for my ups and downs and he put me on the map again. I've been riding for him for three years now and he trusts me and I trust him. Hopefully it stays like this for a long time.”

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Multiple Stakes-Winning Filly Hello Beautiful May ‘Take A Shot’ In Saratoga’s Test

All but one of eight career starts have come over her home track of Laurel Park, including a pair of juvenile stakes victories, but standout 3-year-old filly Hello Beautiful may hit the road for her next, and biggest, race yet.

Trainer Brittany Russell said Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stable and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful is under consideration for the seven-furlong Test (G1) Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course.

It would be the first time in graded company for Hello Beautiful, the highest-earning offspring of second-crop sire and multiple graded-stakes winner Golden Lad bred in Maryland by Ellen Charles' Hillwood Stable.

“It looks like we're going to take a look at the Test. It's going to depend on who comes. There's been some good fillies running the last few weeks and it's just going to kind of depend on where they go,” Russell said. “She's going to have the big test up there if we go. We'll nominate and take a look and if she's doing well we might take a shot up there.”

Hello Beautiful owns four wins, two seconds and a third for purse earnings of $199,360, having raced exclusively in Maryland since her unveiling last May at Pimlico Race Course. She captured the Maryland Million Lassie and Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship last fall at Laurel by a combined 15 ½ lengths.

The combination of a planned break and a 2 ½-month pause in live racing from mid-March to late May amid the coronavirus pandemic pushed Hello Beautiful's sophomore debut to a June 1 sprint over Laurel's world-class turf course, where she faded to seventh, her only time off the board. She rebounded with a front-running 8 ¼-length allowance romp 19 days later on a sloppy and sealed main track.

“She's certainly answered each question on the dirt for us, and that's what we have to stick with. She's a good dirt filly, and if she's going to be that kind she's going to have to run against good horses,” Russell said. “So there's no time like the present, as long as she's doing well.”

Hello Beautiful has had one timed work since her most recent race, a half-mile breeze in 49.40 seconds July 8. Russell plans to give Hello Beautiful another work this weekend over Laurel's main track, which was closed for training July 12-14 to undergo routine maintenance.

“We're moving forward, just kind of doing the same thing I did with her going into the Maryland Juvenile [Filly] Championship. She works about every 10 days,” Russell said. “We'll just try and keep it simple, but she's doing really well and that's all we can really ask.”

“[The Test is] not for a couple weeks, and a lot can happen in a couple weeks,” she added. “We just have to focus on keeping her happy so at least we can take a fresh, happy filly up there and see what we can do.”

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Hello Beautiful: Russell-Trained Multiple Stakes-Winning Filly Earns Shot At Grade 1 Test

Rebounding off a disappointing start to the season with one of the best races of her career, multiple stakes-winning 3-year-old filly Hello Beautiful is expected to take a step up in competition for her next start.

Laurel Park-based trainer Brittany Russell said Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stable and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful earned a shot at a graded-stakes following her 8 ¼-length allowance romp June 20.

“I'm going to talk to the guys. We're going to definitely give her at least six weeks. She deserves it. Last year we spaced her races out pretty well and she really responded to that. We'll just see what the schedule looks like and how it fits timing-wise,” Russell said.

“I think we'll try and find something in graded company and see if she can step up outside Maryland. You're only 3 once, and if she's good we might as well take a shot soon,” she added. “It's exciting to have one that we feel like we can do big things with.”

Her regular rider, Russell's husband Sheldon Russell, hustled Hello Beautiful to the front for the six-furlong sprint and the dark bay or brown daughter of Golden Lad did the rest, keeping Fifteen Royals at bay through a half-mile in 45.85 seconds before opening up by five lengths at the head of the stretch. Despite being geared down approaching the wire, Hello Beautiful finished up in a sparkling 1:09.88 over a sealed, sloppy main track.

“She likes to run on the engine early on, so I wanted to make sure I got the good break,” Sheldon Russell said. “As soon as she gets in front she pricks her ears, and I just felt like she traveled nicely in my hands. I was never really worried, but it was nice for her to show that she's improved and she's trained on. Hopefully she stays healthy and we can have some fun with her this year.”

Bred in Maryland by Ellen Charles' Hillwood Stable, Hello Beautiful got a belated start to the year, first by design and then extended by the coronavirus pandemic which paused live racing in Maryland for 2 ½ months until late May. Anxious to get her going, the connections tried a 5 ½-furlong sprint on the grass June 1 where she ran seventh, the worst finish of her career.

“I don't really know what the options were for races, but Brittany opted to give her a run on the grass and I was just maybe a little too confident,” Sheldon Russell said. “I know it was short back and I know a couple people were worried about that, but she came out of that turf race like she hadn't even run. We worked her last week, she put in a bullet workout, and we had no options but to run her. Brittany and her team had her ready.”

For the effort, Hello Beautiful earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure, second only to the 95 she was assigned following her 11 ¾-length score in the seven-furlong Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship Dec. 7 to close her 2-year-old campaign. She won the six-furlong Maryland Million Lassie one start earlier in her stakes debut.

“There's high expectations naturally after her 2-year-old year, and we kind of got off on the wrong foot with the turf race. You just had to toss that and just have to forget that that's even on her page now. It was one of those things where we wanted to see her [rebound] that so we know how to move forward,” Brittany Russell said.

“She was the most proven one of the bunch so she should win like that, given her 2-year-old races. So, seeing that was a bit of a relief. You feel like we have the same filly and she's taken a step forward, which is what you want to see as a 3-year-old,” she added. “She ran a big number, too. That's encouraging. That makes us feel like now we can try something bigger.”

The allowance win was the fourth victory from eight starts for Hello Beautiful, who was serenaded through the stretch by Maryland Jockey Club announcer Dave Rodman's call: “Here she is … a thing of beauty! Hello, beautiful!”

Though the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks (G1) has been rescheduled for Sept. 4, Brittany Russell said the plans call for keeping Hello Beautiful going short and targeting some of the bigger sprint races.

Among the options is the Aug. 8 Test (G1) at Saratoga, contested at seven furlongs and coming seven weeks out from her most recent win.

“She's proven that she can go seven-eighths. Some of the better races are seven-eighths, the sprints, so I think we're just going to do that right now. It'll look good for her if we can get a big one, even if she runs second or third,” Brittany Russell said. “With the Oaks being later in the year this year, you kind of hope that for some of them, that's their goal, so maybe the sprints will be off their radar. Hopefully things just work out for us.”

Her trainer said Hello Beautiful exited the race in good order and would have a couple of easy days before going back to the track by mid-week.

“We always go everything after they run just to make sure there's nothing jumping out at us that you wouldn't know until they go back to the track. She looked great,” she said. “That's kind of why we decided to run her back as quick as we did from the turf race, because I walked her a couple days and took her out and just tried to give her a jog day and she was jumping out of her skin so much I turned around and galloped her, just to keep her happy. We'll just see what her energy level is like and let her tell us what she wants to do.”

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