Pimlico Race Course | Horse Racing Free Tips

Yaupon Gets First Win of 2021 in Lite The Fuse Stakes

Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt's multiple graded-stakes winner Yaupon made a triumphant return to historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. Sunday, putting away pacesetting Chateau and turning back Laki – both Grade 3 winners – to snap a two-race losing streak in the $100,000 Lite the Fuse Stakes.

The six-furlong Lite the Fuse for 3-year-olds and up, named for the two-time Grade 1Carter Handicap and Grade 2 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash winner, returned to the Maryland stakes calendar for the first time since being run in 2002 at Laurel Park.

Part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series, the Lite the Fuse was the last of four stakes worth $375,000 in purses on the Independence Day holiday program.

Yaupon ($2.80), sent off at 2-5 in a field reduced to four by the scratches of stakes winners Lebda, Threes Over Deuces, and Valued Notion, hit the wire in 1:09.42 over a fast main track to beat Laki by 1 ¾ lengths. Chateau was another 1 ¾ lengths back in third with Whiskey and You fourth.

Ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who teamed up to win the Grade 2 Suburban with Max Player Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., Yaupon won for the first time since his last trip to Maryland, when he equaled the stakes record of 1:09.10 in the Chick Lang (G3) last fall.

Following that race, Yaupon was eighth as the favorite after a troubled trip in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and finished eighth in his lone previous start this year, the Grade 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen March 27 at Meydan.

“Both my wife and I were glad to see him run his race and return to form,” Bill Heiligbrodt said. “He got banged around pretty good in the Breeders' Cup and I was a little worried about that, but today he ran like his old self. That was a really nice race, and there was some decent competition in there. We were really happy with that. He's a really nice horse, a beautiful horse.”

March 6 Grade 3 Tom Fool winner Chateau outran Yaupon to the front, leading after a quarter-mile in :22.86 seconds and a half in :45.49. Laki, the 2020 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial winner, tracked in third with Whiskey and You trailing.

Laki moved off the rail on the turn to get after Chateau with Yaupon on his outside, and those two were able to get past the early leader after five furlongs in :57.36 seconds with Yaupon steadily edging away approaching the finish.

“Today he broke really sharp. He came from the layoff and I wanted to give him a little break,” Santana said. “I broke and he put me in a good position. I let him take a second deep breath and at the three-eighths pole when my horse felt the other horse, he took off back.”

The win helped ease the sting of May 15 Chick Lang winner Mighty Mischief having his three-race win streak snapped when second to Alwaysinahurry earlier on the card in the $100,000 Concern for 3-year-old sprinters.

“As long as the horse goes back to Kentucky safe, that's important,” Santana said. “He ran his race, he tried hard, and he was second-best today.”

Asmussen came into Sunday having gone 14-for-24 (41 percent) over the past five years in dirt sprints at both Pimlico and Laurel Park. Many of those races have come with Santana in the irons.

“I owe a lot to Mr. Steve. He put me in the position that I am right now. He's given me a lot of great opportunities and good horses,” Santana said. “Yesterday we had a really amazing win with Max Player and today we win another stake with Yaupon. I really feel blessed to be part of his team.”

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Ellanation Earns First Stakes Win In Jameela Stakes

Dark Hollow Farm's Ellanation, a 5-year-old Maryland bred mare by Alternation, rallied down the stretch to win the $75,000 Jameela Stakes by a half-length over Dendrobia at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. Quiet Company was third.

The 33rd running of the Jameela for Maryland-bred/sired fillies and mares 3 and up was the first of four stakes worth $375,000 in purses on the Independence Day holiday program.

Trained by Michael Trombetta, Ellanation covered a good five-furlong turf course in :58.59 under jockey Victor Carrasco.

Ellanation was rated fifth behind a :22.60 opening quarter by Carrasco, who saved ground around the turn and entering the stretch. Down the stretch, Carrasco guided Ellanation to the outside of the pacesetters Can the Queen and Quiet Company and drove to the finish.

Proper Attire, Paisley Singing, Rapidashqueen, and main-track-only entrants Hello Beautiful and Never Enough Time were scratched.

Ellanation was sold by Dark Hollow as a 2-year-old for $160,000 but bought back later when the mare had a chip in her knee.

“Mike said she was doing really well, so that's how she ended up in the race,” Dark Hollow's David Hayden said. “We love the family, we love her, so we're very, very excited and thrilled now, I can tell you.”

Jameela won 16 stakes including the Grade 1 Maskette, Grade 1 Ladies, and Grade 1 Delaware handicaps before being retired following the 1982 season as the first Maryland-bred to surpass $1 million in lifetime earnings. She had two foals before passing away from colic in 1985, the first being 1988 champion sprinter Gulch.

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Mrs. Orb Surges Late To Win Caesar’s Wish At Pimlico

Ruggeri Stable, Richard Coburn, Script R Farm, and trainer Michael Miceli's Mrs. Orb, a two-time New York-bred stakes winner, came with a steady run down the center of the track to reel in Trolley Ride and surge past late for a popular half-length triumph in Sunday's $100,000 Caesar's Wish at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The 1 1/16-mile Caesar's Wish for fillies and mares 3 and up was the third of four stakes worth $375,000 in purses on the Independence Day holiday program and part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

Favored at 2-1 in a field of seven, Mrs. Orb ($6.20) rated in fourth under jockey Horacio Karamanos as multiple stakes winner Artful Splatter was eager to go on from Post 3 and led through fractions of :23.32 and :46.63 seconds, with Midwest shipper His Glory in closest pursuit.

Trolley Ride, who swept into contention from well back on the far outside to challenge the leaders and was followed by Mrs. Orb, who dogged Trolley Ride into deep stretch before edging clear. Trolley Ride was 2 ½ lengths clear of Sweet Sammi D in third, followed by Artful Splatter, His Glory, Suggestive Honor and Gracetown. Landing Zone was scratched.

“She's done that before. Usually she's kind of a position-type mare, and today she was a little farther back. But she can come from that far back. It's just how the race unfolds for her,” Miceli said.

“She's a tough gal and not the easiest to train, but you don't mind when they can run,” he added. “She's a little temperamental and you've just kind of got to cater to her needs. If you do that, it goes a long way.”

The Caesar's Wish debuted in 1978 at old Bowie Race Course and was held at both Pimlico and Laurel before it was renamed the Beyond the Wire for 2018. It honors the Maryland-bred mare that won 11 of 16 starts over two seasons including the 1978 Grade 1 Mother Goose and Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan and 1977 Grade 2 Demoiselle and Grade 3 Villager. Her winning time in the Mother Goose broke Hall of Famer Ruffian's stakes record and stood until 1994.

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Alwaysinahurry Dashes To Victory In Concern Stakes At Pimlico

Mopo Racing's Alwaysinahurry, making just his second start this year, collared Grade 3-winning favorite Mighty Mischief in mid-stretch and powered home a 4 ¾-length winner of Sunday's $100,000 Concern Stakes at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The fifth running of the six-furlong Concern for 3-year-olds, honoring the first Maryland-bred winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic, was the second of four stakes worth $375,000 in purses on the Independence Day holiday program.

Trained by Dale Capuano and ridden by Jorge Ruiz for his third win of the afternoon, Alwaysinahurry ($20.20) completed the distance in 1:10.56 over a fast main track. Mighty Mischief, who captured the Grade 3 Chick Lang Stakes May 15 at Pimlico, finished second to snap a three-race win streak. They were followed under the line by Three Two Zone, Singlino, Sibelius, and Roderick.

“He always trained well and I always liked him,” Capuano said. “Alwaysinahurry just disappointed me a few times so we gave him some time off for the winter and let him mature a little bit. Today he ran like I thought he could.”

Mighty Mischief broke running from Post 1 and quickly established command through a quarter-mile in :22.97 seconds, going a half in :45.95 while pressed to his outside by Roderick. Ruiz and Alwaysinahurry settled in third before tipping out approaching the stretch, then set down for the drive to the wire.

“He rode him excellent. We talked about that before the race. We thought there would be plenty of speed,” Capuano said. “We knew [Mighty Mischief] was going to go from the rail so we just wanted to sit off the pace and try to save ground and he did a good job doing that. He had a good trip and it worked out perfectly.”

It was the first career stakes win for Alwaysinahurry, who ran second to multiple stakes-winning stablemate Kenny Had a Notion in the Maryland Million Nursery last fall before capping his juvenile season running fifth behind Jaxon Traveler in the Maryland Juvenile Futurity, both at Laurel Park.

Alwaysinahurry, a gelded son of leading Maryland sire Great Notion, returned from a six-month layoff to be fourth by a length facing his elders in an open six-furlong allowance June 9 at Delaware Park, giving Capuano the confidence to return to stakes company.

“The Delaware race was a very tough race. They were all older horses and he fought all the way after the layoff and came out of the race really well,” he said. “I just thought that this race surely wasn't any tougher than the last race. That was kind of a hidden tough race. It all worked out well.”

Earlier wins for Ruiz on Sunday's card came with No Fooling Dude ($31.20) in Race 2 and Behind the Couch ($13) in Race 6.

Concern, trained by the late Dickie Small, won seven of 30 career starts and more than $3 million in purse earnings from 1993-95. His 1994 season included wins in the Breeders' Cup and Grade 2 Arkansas Derby, seconds in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, the Grade 1 Super Derby and Grade 2 Ohio Derby, and thirds in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, Grade 1 Haskell, Grade 2 Molson Export Million, and Grade 3 Round Table.

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