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Coastal Mission ‘Ready To Go’ For Rescheduled Maryland Juvenile

An extra two weeks has done little to slow down Coleswood Farm, Inc.'s Coastal Mission or dampen the enthusiasm of his connections heading into Saturday's $100,000 Maryland Juvenile at Laurel Park.

The 40th running of the Maryland Juvenile and 35th edition of the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Fillies, both for Maryland-bred/sired horses sprinting seven furlongs, serve as co-headliners on a nine-race program that begins with a 12:25 p.m. first post.

Both races were originally carded for Dec. 4 before racing was paused to allow for maintenance on Laurel's main track. Live racing resumes Thursday.

Based at Charles Town with trainer Jeff Runco, a winner of more than 4,500 career races, Coastal Mission romped by 6 ½ lengths in his Sept. 25 debut going 4 ½ furlongs over his home course. He ran second, beaten two lengths, in the Maryland Million Nursery Oct. 23 at Laurel, his most recent race.

Pointed directly to this spot out of the Maryland Million, Coastal Mission has breezed three times since at Charles Town. All three have been the fastest on the day, including three furlongs in 35.60 seconds Dec. 3 in his latest move.

“He's doing great and ready to go,” Runco said. “These delays happen, unfortunately, but it gave him a little bit more time. He'll be ready for Saturday.”

By Great Notion out of the Crowd Pleaser mare Smart Crowd, Coastal Mission is a full brother to Runco-trained Lewisfield, a West Virginia-bred who earned eight of his nine career wins in Maryland including all four of his stakes victories as well as his career finale last November before being retired to Virginia.

“They're both good-looking horses but they don't have the same personality,” Runco said. “They're both very athletic and all that. Lewisfield was a pretty tough horse. He was kind of ornery. This horse isn't like that. He looks good and he's doing good.”

Another horse with strong lineage is No Guts No Glory Farm's Alottahope, a half-brother to stablemate Street Lute, an eight-time stakes-winning 3-year-old filly also trained by Jerry Robb. Alottahope has raced once, a professional 2 ¾-length triumph Nov. 13 in an off-the-turf maiden special weight sprint at Laurel.

Also entering the Juvenile off victories are Local Motive, Joe, One Ten and Royal Spy. Bird Mobberley's Local Motive is a two-time stakes winner, taking the five-furlong Hickory Tree on the Colonial Downs turf Aug. 2 in his second start, and most recently gutting out a head victory in the six-furlong James F. Lewis III Nov. 13 at Laurel.

The Elkstone Group's Joe, a homebred Declaration of War colt, was a popular 3 ½-length maiden special weight winner going a mile Nov. 21 at Laurel. One Ten and Royal Spy exit split divisions of a seven-furlong waiver maiden claimer Nov. 26 at Laurel, with Royal Spy winning in 1:25.35 and One Ten in 1:26.20.

Robert D. Bone and Edward J. Brown Jr.'s Shady Munni has encountered trouble in each of his two most recent starts, finishing third as the favorite after bobbling at the start of a one-mile optional claiming allowance Nov. 21 at Laurel. Prior to that he was bumped early and wound up fourth in the Nursery.

“[Last race] he stumbled a little bit when the gate opened and he grabbed himself a little and lost a shoe,” trainer Claudio Gonzalez said. “Even with that, he ran good. He came back good, and that is more important. He has been doing good to now. He's a nice horse.”

Trainer Jamie Ness entered the trio of Mr. Mox, a two-time winner that ran fifth in the Nursery, and Delaware Park maiden winners Uncle Irish and Crabs N Beer. Gallant Gold, Kobe Tough and Wish Me Home round out the group.

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Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has kept the The Elkstone Group's homebred Jester Calls Nojoy on target for the Juvenile Fillies. A bay daughter of Maclean's Music, she will be getting some class relief after running sixth in the Oct. 3 Frizette (G1) at Belmont Park and fifth in the Oct. 29 Myrtlewood at Keeneland in her most recent efforts.

Jester Calls Nojoy shows a steady string of half-mile works over Belmont's training track since her last start, including 50.88 seconds Dec. 4 and 49.66 Dec. 11, as she chases her first stakes victory.

“We've been fortunate that we've been able to continue training as normal,” Pletcher said. “We've gotten two breezes into her since the race was originally carded, so hopefully we have her fit and ready to go.”

Luna Belle, Sparkle Sprinkle and Sweet Gracie all faced off in the Oct. 23 Maryland Million Lassie and are entered to meet again in the Juvenile Fillies. Eric Rizer homebred Sparkle Sprinkle was third by a length, a head in front of Luna Belle. Sweet Gracie wound up eighth after forcing eventual winner Buff My Boots early.

Deborah Greene and trainer Hamilton Smith's Luna Belle, a homebred daughter of Great Notion, returned to be second in the Nov. 13 Smart Halo at Laurel, beaten 3 ¼ lengths by Buy the Best but 7 ½ lengths clear of third-place finisher Click to Confirm, who also comes back in the Juvenile Fillies.

Tee N Jay Stable's Dazzy, like Jester Calls Nojoy, has maintained a regular work schedule at Belmont ahead of what will be her stakes debut in her second career start. The Divining Rod filly was a 12-length winner of a restricted maiden special weight Oct. 29 at Belmont and tuned up for the Juvenile Fillies with a half-mile breeze in 48.45 seconds over its training track Dec. 11, ranking ninth of 117 horses.

Completing the field is Three M's Racing and Rafael Lopez's Preparefortakeoff, a maiden special weight winner sprinting seven furlongs two starts back Oct. 21 at Laurel.

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Lone Rock Will Try To End 2021 Season On Top In Oaklawn’s Inaugural Tinsel Stakes

Lone Rock tries to punctuate a sensational 2021 campaign in the inaugural $200,000 Tinsel Stakes Saturday at Oaklawn.

Probable post time for the 1 1/8-mile Tinsel, which goes as the ninth of 10 races, is 4:13 p.m. (Central). Racing begins at 12:30 p.m.

The Tinsel, for 3-year-olds and up, is among four new races added to Oaklawn's stakes schedule to accommodate an expanded season in 2021-2022 (66 days) and December opening, the earliest in track history. It has drawn a field of seven, including three millionaire multiple graded stakes winners.

Lone Rock opened 2021 with an allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles last February at Oaklawn, his first start since trainer Robertino Diodoro re-claimed the gelding for $40,000 in November 2020 at Churchill Downs. A two-time allowance winner at the 2021 Oaklawn meeting, Lone Rock flourished after targeting races beyond the American classic distance (1 ¼ miles) and surpassed $1 million in career earnings with a 1 ½-length victory in the $250,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes (G2) Nov. 6 at Del Mar in his last start. Lone Rock set a 1 5/8-mile track record (2:42.61) under Oaklawn regular Ramon Vazquez.

Diodoro said he doesn't believe cutting back to 1 1/8 miles will be a problem for Lone Rock, whose shortest race this year was the February allowance.

“I don't think so, just because the horse is doing so good right now and there's enough speed in there, on paper, anyway,” Diodoro said. “Again, we'll see what happens Saturday.”

Lone Rock has bankrolled $722,884 in winning 6 of 8 starts (all in 2021) since Diodoro took back the now-6-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding on behalf of New York owner Jason Provenzano (Flying P Stable). Prior to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Lone Rock had captured an April 11 allowance race at Oaklawn, $130,000 Isaac Murphy Marathon Overnight Stakes April 27 at Churchill Downs, $400,000 Brooklyn Stakes (G2) June 5 at Belmont Park and the $120,000 Birdstone Stakes Aug. 5 at Saratoga.

The April 11 race, Isaac Murphy and Brooklyn were all 1 ½ miles. The Birdstone was 1 ¾ miles. Lone Rock also finished second in another 1 ½-mile race, the $150,000 Temperence Hill Stakes for older horses, March 13 at Oaklawn.

Overall, Lone Rock has a 13-4-2 record from 36 lifetime starts and earnings of $1,024,921. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance was his fifth career stakes victory.

Diodoro said the Tinsel could serve as the gelding's bridge to another shot against Grade-1 company in 2022. Lone Rock ran in the $500,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) for 2-year-olds in 2017 at Keeneland, but spent most of his career in the allowance ranks before blossoming in niche events this year.

“At the same time, it's one day at a time, definitely,” Diodoro said. “We're just focused on Saturday night now and see what happens.”

Also entered in the Tinsel are Warrior's Charge and Tenfold, two other millionaire multiple graded stakes winners.

Warrior's Charge won the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses in 2020 at Oaklawn for trainer Brad Cox. Warrior's Charge exits a runner-up finish, beaten a nose by Tinsel entrant Thomas Shelby, in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race Oct. 24 at Keeneland. Warrior's Charge still received a career-high 101 Beyer Speed Figure, four points higher than for his Razorback victory.

“He likes Oaklawn,” Cox said. “I think it's a good spot. He drew well. Looks like a shorter field. I think it's good timing since his last race. He received some big figures out of his last run and he's had plenty of time to recover from it. If he gets some similar figures again, I think we'll be in good shape.”

Tenfold, a Grade 2 winner, captured his first two career starts at the 2018 Oaklawn meeting for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen before finishing third in the Preakness. Diodoro also entered the speedy Thomas Shelby, who has won three consecutive starts, including a narrow decision over Warrior's Charge in October, and seven overall in 2021.

“There's lots of speed in the race, but we definitely aren't changing our tactics, that's for sure,” said Diodoro, who trains Thomas Shelby for four-time defending Oaklawn champion owner M and M Racing (Mike and Mickala Sisk). “We're going to go as hard as we need to go on the front end and hopefully have enough to last.”

The projected seven-horse Tinsel field from the rail out: Huge Bigly, Reylu Gutierrez to ride, 117 pounds, 6-1 on the morning line; Lone Rock, Ramon Vazquez, 124, 8-5; Beau Luminarie, Ricardo Santana Jr., 124, 6-1; Title Ready, Brian Hernandez Jr., 124, 9-2; Tenfold, Luis Contreras, 117, 6-1; Thomas Shelby, David Cohen, 121, 8-1; and Warrior's Charge, Florent Geroux, 124, 5-2.

Diodoro also entered Thomas Shelby in Sunday's seventh race, a starter/optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles.

Beau Luminarie is the first scheduled starter at the meeting for trainer Rodolphe Brisset, who won the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses in 2019 at Oaklawn with Quip. Beau Luminarie is seeking his first stakes victory after near-misses in the $150,000 Ben Ali (G3) April 10 at Keeneland and the $60,000 Tri-State Overnight Aug. 7 at Ellis Park. Although Beau Luminarie has nine runner-up finishes in his 18-race career, he's won his last two starts, both in allowance company this fall in Kentucky.

“I think with the year he's had, it's no pressure,” Brisset said. “He's just turned the corner and found the wire. He's been finding the wire. Before, he had a tendency to want to hang, he had a tendency to want to run second. All of a sudden, he just learned how to win. I think we are in the right spot. I'm not saying he's going to win by 5, but he's improving and we'll see what happens. Likely, he'll get a break after the race and set him up for next year.”

Grade 3 winner Title Ready will be making his second start after finishing 11th behind 2021 Razorback winner Mystic Guide in the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) March 27 in the United Arab Emirates for trainer Dallas Stewart.

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C Z Rocket Back On Lasix, Returns To Hot Springs In Saturday Allowance

C Z Rocket was Oaklawn's top older male sprinter during the 2021 meeting that ended in May, but the millionaire multiple Grade 2 winner returns to Hot Springs for the 2021-2022 season trying to snap a five-race losing streak. The first chance comes in a high-end allowance sprint Saturday that his connections are using as a prep for the $150,000 King Cotton Stakes Jan. 29.

Co-owned by Southern California-based Tom Kagele, C Z Rocket was 2 for 2 last season at Oaklawn, toppling reigning male sprint champion Whitmore in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes and $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3). C Z Rocket is winless since, exiting a seventh in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) Nov. 6 at Del Mar. But the late runner gets Lasix for the first time since last May's $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile Stakes (G3) in the 6-furlong eighth race.

“He needs it,” Kagele said Tuesday afternoon. “I don't think there's any secret he was falling off in races that he hasn't had Lasix, but he still ran pretty well. We tried him in the Breeders' Cup and didn't run that great there. Coming out of that race, his blood was a little off, so he had a little bit of an excuse there. He bounced out of it really well, so this race was like perfect timing and so we decided to run here instead of waiting for the Jan. 29 race.”

C Z Rocket, prior to leaving Southern California, recorded three workouts at San Luis Rey Downs for Saturday's race, which will mark his first for trainer Rene Amescua. On behalf of Kagele, trainer Peter Miller claimed C Z Rocket for $40,000 out of a fifth-place finish April 30, 2020, at Oaklawn. C Z Rocket then ripped off five consecutive victories, including the $150,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar and $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) at Santa Anita, before finishing second to Whitmore in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) in November 2020 at Keeneland.

Miller announced last month that he was taking a sabbatical from training to spend more time with his family and focus on his health, but would “continue to act as an advisor/racing manager to my owners and my assistants as well as staying involved as an owner myself.”

Amescua has raced extensively in California and won more than 900 races in his career, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization.

“I've known him for years,” Kagele said. “He was a trainer up at Golden Gate for years and just through the covid and other things, he kind of took a turn for the worse and lost some horses and some owners. Then, he recently said he was going to go out there to Oaklawn and I recommended him to Pete. I'm comfortable with it and Pete was, too. Pete owns part of C Z, also.”

After being claimed for $40,000 at Oaklawn, C Z Rocket began his winning streak against $50,000 claimers about a month later at Churchill Downs. The fifth-place finisher in that race, Hollis, was claimed for $50,000 and returned to set a 5 ½-furlong track record (1:02.17) in allowance company Dec. 10 at Oaklawn.

C Z Rocket, after escaping the claim box, won an allowance/optional claimer in June 2020 at Churchill Downs (he was in for a $62,500 tag) and set a 6 ½-furlong track record (1:15.00) three weeks later in a Keeneland allowance race. C Z Rocket has subsequently raced strictly in listed or graded stakes, spanning 10 races and roughly 15 ½ months.

“He'll be out there the whole meet,” Kagele said. “Hopefully, he does as well as he did last year.”

Regular rider Florent Geroux is named to ride C Z Rocket, the 5-2 program favorite, from post 8 for Saturday's eighth race, which has a $120,000 purse. Probable post time is 3:46 p.m. (Central). Also entered are millionaire Grade 2 winner Long Range Toddy and Mucho, a stablemate of Hollis who exits a runner-up finish, beaten a head, in the $300,000 Bet On Sunshine Stakes Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs.

C Z Rocket, a 7-year-old gelded son of City Zip, has an 11-4-4 record from 30 career starts and earnings of $1,511,641.

The King Cotton is Oaklawn's first of three major races for older sprinters. The series continues with the $200,000 Whitmore Stakes (formerly the Hot Springs) March 19 and the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 16.

Moysey Records First Win of Meet

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Connections Hope Saturday’s Suwannee River Propels Shifty She To Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf

As Pegasus World Cup Day looms on the horizon, owners Chris Pallas and Harvey Rothenberg and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. are hoping to navigate Saturday's $100,000 Suwannee River (G3) at Gulfstream Park as a way to the inaugural $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G3) next month.

The one-mile Suwannee River for fillies and mares 3 and up is among five stakes, four graded, worth $650,000 in purses on an 11-race program. It is one of two scheduled for the Gulfstream turf course along with the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2), a prep for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1).

They are joined by the $150,000 Harlan's Holiday (G3) for 3-year-olds and up, a 1 1/16-mile prep for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1), $100,000 Sugar Swirl (G3) and $100,000 Rampart, each for fillies and mares 3 and older. First race post time is noon.

Shifty She became a graded-stakes winner in her most recent start, a front-running 1 ½-length triumph in the one-mile Noble Damsel (G3) Oct. 23 at Belmont Park. It followed a summer and fall away from her South Florida home that included a third in the Aug. 8 De La Rose at Saratoga and fourth in the Sept. 11 Ladies Turf (G3) at Kentucky Downs, beaten 1 ¾ lengths each time.

“She knocked heads at Saratoga and it was a good run. She looked like a winner and got a little tired. At Kentucky Downs it was the same thing, and then she obviously capped it off at Belmont,” Joseph said. “She'd been holding good company before that, and obviously that was a breakthrough race. She got a Grade 3 win under her belt, which is huge for her career after racing. It was important to get that and, hopefully, she can continue to build on that going forward.”

There was some consideration given to training Shifty She up to the Pegasus program, scheduled this year for Jan. 29, but the Suwannee River gives the 5-year-old Gone Astray mare six weeks to the 1 1/16-mile Filly & Mare Turf and comes at a distance where she is 3-for-6 lifetime.

“We had talked about going straight to the Pegasus race, but it was too much time. Having this race will do her better. Hopefully she can win this one and it can propel her to the Pegasus,” Joseph said. “We want to win this one just as much as we want to win the Pegasus. But if we could win this one and get to the Pegasus with a good chance, that would be great. To be on that kind of stage, those are the races you want to get to.”

Unraced at 2, Shifty She ran fourth in her career debut then rattled off three consecutive victories before going to the sidelines in December 2019. She didn't race again for 489 days until April 9 at Gulfstream with Joseph as her new trainer, setting the pace before settling for fourth – 1 ½ lengths behind stakes winner Kelsey's Cross – in a one-mile optional claiming allowance.

“She came to us and she was already proven,” Joseph said. “Her first race for us she dueled the whole way and she still ran fourth. She should have run last that day, as fast as they went on the grass. After the race I told the owner, 'I feel bad for the horse because she literally did not want to get beat off that kind of layoff.' She still tried her heart out and didn't get beat far. After that race I realized we had a really good horse on our hands as far as what she showed that day.”

Shifty She is part of Joseph's string at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, where she has breezed three times since her last race. This will be her first race since mid-June at Gulfstream, where she is 4-for-6 lifetime including back-to-back stakes wins in the Powder Break and 1 1/16-mile Ginger Punch this spring and summer.

“She loves it here,” Joseph said. “We knew we had a nice filly, but she just kept getting better and better. When we took her to Saratoga and she ran against those horses, then you knew that you had a filly that you could at least win a graded stake with. She keeps improving, and one thing about her is she always tries. She tries her best every time she runs. You can't teach that. Some horses have it and some don't. It's what separates the good ones from lesser company.”

Edwin Gonzalez is named to ride Shifty She back from Post 3 in a field of 12 at topweight of 125 pounds.

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Sanford Bacon and Patrick Biancone Racing's Kelsey's Cross will be seeking her first win in five starts since beating Shifty She in April. The 5-year-old mare, trained by Biancone, ran third in the 2019 Wonder Again (G3) at Belmont as a 2-year-old, won the 2020 Ginger Punch and ran third in the Hillsborough (G2) as a 3-year-old, and has placed in five other stakes. Sixth in a one-mile handicap Nov. 27 at Gulfstream, her only dirt start in 23 career races, she ran fifth in last year's Suwannee River behind multiple Grade 1 winner Starship Jubilee.

Other graded winners in the field are Alms, Keeper of Time and Sweet Melania. Godolphin's Alms, a homebred daughter of City Zip, won her first four career races including the six-furlong Matron (G3) at Belmont and one-mile Jimmy Durante (G3) at Del Mar in 2019 to cap her juvenile campaign. She is winless in her last four, spread out from February 2020 to Nov. 25 at Fair Grounds, where she was beaten a neck when second in the Joseph R. Peluso Memorial. During that time she also ran third by a head in the July 2020 Appalachian (G2), which preceded a 15-month layoff.

Robert and Lawana Low's Sweet Melania is also looking to regain her winning form. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old daughter of 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah won the 2019 Jessamine at 2 and the 2020 Wonder Again (G3) at 3 but has failed to find the winner's circle in seven subsequent tries. Most recently she ran second by less than a length in a 1 1/16-mile allowance Oct. 15 at Keeneland.

Bradley Thoroughbreds, Gary Finder, Tim Cambron and Anna Cambron's Keeper of Time is a bay filly seeking her first North American victory in her fourth start since coming to the U.S. following a victory in the One Thousand Guineas Trial (G3) in April at Leopardstown in her native Ireland.

“She beat a couple of really nice fillies. I think there were two future Grade 1 winners in the race, so she's got pretty good form,” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “I like the way she ran last time at Belmont. She fits pretty good with the fillies here, so I'll be looking for a good run from her. We'll see how she takes to Gulfstream.”

Keeper of Time was third by three lengths in her U.S. debut, one-mile Riskaverse Aug. 26 at Saratoga. Following a puzzling effort in the Sept. 19 Pebbles, also at a mile, she returned to Belmont for the seven-furlong Glen Cove Oct. 15, closing from far back to run third, beaten 1 ½ lengths.

“She ran really well at Saratoga. It was a little disappointing her first run after that at Belmont. It was just a non-race, really. In her last start, she was very good again,” Walsh said. “This is a step up taking on older fillies … but she won a nice stake at Leopardstown in the spring and she's got plenty of talent and she's been working good, as well. Given the right trip, I can't see her being too far away.”

Tyler Gaffalione has the call on Keeper of Time from Post 4 at a low of 118 pounds.

Multiple stakes winners Classy Lady and Summering; La Babia, winner of the Sept. 25 George Rosenberger Memorial at Delaware Park in her most recent start; Dawn's Dancer, a last out allowance winner Oct. 24 at Keeneland; In a Hurry, fourth in the Noble Damsel; Princess Causeway and Quiet Company complete the field.

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