Laki Headlines Field For Dave’s Friend On Laurel’s Dec. 26 Card

Hillside Equestrian Meadows' Laki, unraced since finishing sixth in defense of last fall's Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash victory, is set to return for his 39th career start in the $100,000 Dave's Friend Dec. 26 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The 18th running of the Dave's Friend for 3-year-olds and up and 11th renewal of the Willa On the Move for fillies and mares 3 years old and up, both sprinting six furlongs, are among six $100,000 stakes on a nine-race Christmastide Day program.

In addition to Dave's Friend and Willa On the Move, the Robert T. Manfuso for 3-year-olds and up at about 1 1/16 miles and the 1 1/8-mile Carousel for fillies and mares 3 and older close out the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series in their respective divisions.

Laki broke outwardly and was never able to get into contention in the six-furlong De Francis Sept. 18 at Laurel, winding up well behind first-place finisher Wondrwherecraigis, who would be disqualified to second for interference but go on to win the G3 Bold Ruler in his subsequent start.

The 8-year-old Cuba gelding was given plenty of time to recover by trainer Damon Dilodovico, not returning to the work tab until Nov. 21. His last two breezes have come since Laurel's main track underwent renovations in early December.

“I'm glad we were able to get a second breeze on the new surface. I think that will help,” Dilodovico said. “Maybe that will work out as an advantage for those of us that are stabled here.

“He seems ready. We gave him a little break after the Dash, which he always seems to come back well from. We're pretty happy with where he is right now,” he added. “He earned the time off. He's a warrior.”

Laki is 11-for-38 lifetime, including 19 for 24 in the top three at Laurel, with $833,162 in purse earnings. He has won at least one stakes race five straight years, a streak he extended in the Frank Y. Whiteley going six furlongs April 24 at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. He also leads MATCH dirt sprinters with 21 points and will clinch a third straight division title following 2018 and 2019. The Series was shelved in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“We may race him next year but I think we'll decide after this. We do plan on giving him another real winter break after this race and we'll see how he is afterward,” Dilodovico said. “[Owner Paul 'Buck'] Kalinowski will hopefully have a spot and can take him back home. He's rehabbed very well at his farm up in Connecticut.

“He's done a good job with him. Hopefully, he can take him up there and keep an eye on him and send us back a fresh old man,” he added. “That said, we won't [push] him. He's done his job. If he decides he wants to stop, we'll stop. But we are going into the season with at least the thought that we'll bring him back.”

Regular rider Horacio Karamanos has the call on Laki from the rail in a field of eight.

Sharing topweight of 124 pounds with Laki is Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber, and BTR Racing, Inc.'s Whereshetoldmetogo, a fellow multiple stakes winner that enters the Dave's Friend on a two-race win streak. Both victories, in the six-furlong New Castle Sept. 25 at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., and seven-furlong Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial against fellow Maryland-bred/sired horses Nov. 26 at Laurel, came by a neck.

“The last time he was kind of forced to go wide, and it's nice to kind of see him overcome some things, regardless of what the outcome is,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “In terms of how he gets the job done, he just gets it done. I think that's the main thing. He still wants to do it. He likes racing.”

A 6-year-old El Padrino gelding, Whereshetoldmetogo has won 13 of 31 career starts with $744,791 in purse earnings, and has six wins in eight tries at Laurel. Other wins this year have come in the Not For Love at Laurel and Alapocas Run at Delaware, along with a third in the Challedon at Pimlico.

“He's great. We always thought he was doing well when he was over at Pimlico, but he's a different horse over at Laurel when he trains. He's just happier,” Russell said. “Something about it, I don't know, back in the barn, just how he is on the racetrack and everything. Obviously, he shows he loves it in the afternoon. We're happy that [this] one is at Laurel and he's at home.”

Jevian Toledo, Maryland's leading rider at both the fall meet and overall for 2021, will be aboard for the third straight race from Post 4.

The Dave's Friend also attracted Karan's Notion and Air Token, respective upset winners of the 2020 and 2021 Maryland Million Sprint. Bred, owned, and trained by Nancy Heil, Karan's Notion is winless in eight starts this year including a runner-up finish to Whereshetoldmetogo in the Not For Love.

Air Token won the Oct. 23 Sprint by 2 ¼ lengths for owner-trainer Jose Corrales, then came back with a gutsy effort between Whereshetoldmetogo and Youngest of Five in the stretch to finish third by a neck in the Bender.

“Racing is a competition and you need a little bit of luck. The horse ran a big race and came back good and that's how you take it in this business. You're not always going to win,” Corrales said. “He's a horse that just keeps improving. He's a very consistent horse. He's a very nice horse and I'm happy to have him. He's a pleasure to have. He's got a great personality.”

Threes Over Deuces, promoted winner of last year's New Castle who ran third by a neck this fall; multiple West Virginia-bred stakes winner Penguin Power; Youngest of Five; and Newbomb complete the field.

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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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Cooke Creek, Buff Hello Lead List of James F. Lewis III Nominees

Undefeated stakes winners Cooke Creek and Run to Daylight, and the top six finishers from the Maryland Million Nursery led by winner Buff Hello, are among 30 horses nominated to the $100,000 James F. Lewis III for 2-year-olds Saturday, Nov. 13 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The Lewis and $100,000 Smart Halo for 2-year-old fillies, both sprinting six furlongs, are joined on the Nov. 13 program by the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/16 miles, which is part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

Cheyenne Stables' Cooke Creek is 2-0 for Laurel-based trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer. The son of 2010 champion juvenile male Uncle Mo earned both his victories at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., including the one-mile Rocky Run Oct. 16 over Affable Monarch and No Sabe Nada, also Lewis nominees.

David Raim's Run to Daylight, by 2015 champion sprinter Runhappy, has won each of his three starts at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Charlestown, W. Va., for trainer Jeff Runco, with back-to-back stakes triumphs in the 4 ½-furlong Henry Murcer Memorial Sept. 18 and 6 ½-furlong West Virginia Vincent Moscarelli Memorial Breeders' Classic Oct. 9.

Joseph Besecker's Buff Hello, from the barn of Maryland's four-time leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez, rolled to a front-running two-length score in the six-furlong Nursery Oct. 23 at Laurel, his second win from five career starts. Coastal Mission, Local Motive, Shady Munni, Mr. Mox, and Timonium Juvenile winner Cynergy's Star respectively ran second through sixth and are also nominated, though Mr. Mox is entered Nov. 4 at Laurel.

Other Lewis nominees include Oct. 11 Fitz Dixon Jr. Memorial Juvenile winner Longshadow; Sept. 25 First State Dash winner No Sabe Nada; stakes-placed Amidships, Practical Coach, Slaats, and Wow Whata Summer; and last out winners Barber Road, Beast Or Famine, Captain Chazz, Defend, Kenner, Radical Right, Tops the Chart, Trust Daddy, and Uncle Irish.

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Bird Mobberley's Buff My Boots, half-length winner of the Maryland Million Lassie Oct. 23 at Laurel, is prominent among 25 nominees to the Smart Halo. The Buffum filly owns three wins from five starts for Laurel-based trainer John Salzman Jr. Sparkle Sprinkle and Luna Belle, respectively third and fourth in the Lassie, are also nominated.

Other nominees include James McIngvale homebred Runup, a winner of two straight including the one-mile Sorority Sept. 6 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., before finishing ninth in the Oct. 8 Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.; stakes-placed Advocate Harbor, Morning Matcha, and Whiteknuckleflyer; and last out winners Beneath the Stars, Buy the Best, Click to Confirm, Disco Ebo, Intrepid Daydream, Louella Street, Preparefortakeoff, and Trade Secret.

Chilean Group 2 winner Cheetara and Grade 1-placed Off Topic are among 21 nominees to the Thirty Eight Go Go. Stud Los Leones' Cheetara won the Haras de Chile Marcel Zarour Atanacio (G2) last December and exits a Keeneland allowance victory Oct. 24. D Hatman Thoroughbreds' Off Topic was third in the Grade 2 Gazelle and Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks as a 3-year-old in 2019 for previous trainer Todd Pletcher. Now with Phil Schoenthal, she made her comeback off an 11-month layoff Sept. 18 at Laurel.

Multiple stakes winners Artful Splatter, Kiss the Girl, and Mrs. Orb; and stakes winners Ask Bailey, Josie, Malibu Beauty, Miss Leslie, Trolley Ride, and Sweet Willemina, who has reeled off six straight wins since being claimed by trainer Scott Lake June 17, are also nominated.

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Asmussen Prepares Jalen Journey For De Francis Dash At Laurel

A three-furlong blowout Sunday morning put the finishing touches on Grade 1-placed Jalen Journey's preparations for the $200,000 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Sept. 18 at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen's 6-year-old Jalen Journey completed the distance in :38.17 over Belmont Park's training track, his fourth work since an 8 ½-furlong blowout victory sprinting 6 ½ furlongs Aug. 6 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

“The key now will be to see if he can repeat that race in the De Francis. That's what we're sort of looking for,” Bernsen said. “Then if he does that, we'll probably look at the Breeders' Cup [Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar].”

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 and up, also at 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.

Jalen Journey is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, North America's all-time leader in wins who already has three sprint stakes victories in Maryland this year – the May 15 Grade 3 Chick Lang with Mighty Mischief, July 4 Lite the Fuse with Yaupon, and Aug. 21 Star de Naskra with Jaxon Traveler.

Asmussen won the De Francis and Grade 3 Maryland Sprint in 2018 with Switzerland. The trainer's other local graded sprint stakes wins in recent years have come with Yaupon in the 2020 Chick Lang, Wicked Whisper in the 2020 Grade 3 Miss Preakness, New York Central in the 2019 Maryland Sprint, and Vertical Oak in the 2017 Miss Preakness.

In 2018, Asmussen won the then-ungraded Chick Lang with Mitole, who would go on to be named the champion sprinter of 2019.

Asmussen nominated four horses to the De Francis, but Jalen Journey is the only one expected to run. The others are Jaxon Traveler and Grade 1 winners Yaupon and Jackie's Warrior.

“Whatever Steve does with them seems to work,” Bernsen said. “Asmussen sort of has them surrounded in the sprint ranks.”

Prior to joining Asmussen, Jalen Journey was third in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby and fourth in the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien in the summer of 2019 after being purchased by Rockingham's Gary Hartunian for $510,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Horses of Racing Age sale that July, following a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Smile Sprint at Gulfstream Park.

Among the top horses Bernsen has owned with Rockingham are two-time sprint champion Roy H, a 10-time winner of more than $3.1 million in purses including back-to-back editions of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint in 2017 and 2018; and fellow multi-millionaire Stormy Liberal, the champion turf male of 2018 who counted the 2017 and 2018 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint among his 12 lifetime victories.

CEO of Letitride.com, a global computer wagering business based in California, Bernsen plans to be on hand for the De Francis.

“I was just looking at my schedule. I've never been to Laurel,” he said. “I was talking to Aidan Butler [COO of Laurel Park owner 1/ST Racing] earlier in the week and thought that it might be a good one to come out and see.”

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