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Wondrwherecraigis Leads Field For De Francis Dash At Laurel

It's on to the $200,000 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash for newly minted stakes winner Wondrwherecraigis, who tuned up for his return to graded competition with an easy half-mile breeze Saturday morning at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables' 4-year-old gelding Wondrwherecraigis went four furlongs in :49 over Laurel's main track, which underwent a multi-million dollar reconstruction over the summer.

It was the second work for Wondrwherecraigis since earning his first career stakes victory Aug. 13 in the Tale of the Cat at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He also breezed a half-mile in :49.20 Sept. 3.

“That's all we wanted,” trainer Brittany Russell said of Saturday's work. “He's great. He's in good form. He's happy and he's training well. We have a lot going on at the moment, but it looks like we're going to move forward to next week.”

The six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up headlines four stakes worth $500,000 in purses Saturday, Sept. 18 at Laurel, which launched its calendar year-ending fall meet Thursday. Joining the De Francis are the $100,000 Weather Vane for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting 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.

Wondrwherecraigis has won each of his last two starts, both in front-running fashion. Saratoga meet champion Luis Saez was aboard in the six-furlong Tale of the Cat, beating fellow De Francis nominee My Boy Tate by 2 ¾ lengths in 1:10.09. He was a popular 5 ¾-length winner of a July 18 optional claiming allowance at Pimlico under Russell's husband, jockey Sheldon Russell.

The connections will need a new rider as Sheldon Russell suffered a broken foot after being thrown from his horse during the post parade of Thursday's opening day finale at Laurel and will be out indefinitely.

Other jockeys to have ridden Wondrwherecraigis include Jose Lezcano and Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, the latter in the 2020 Grade 2 Amsterdam last August where they ran fourth in the Munnings gelding's only previous graded-stakes attempt.

Sheldon Russell is also the regular rider for six-time stakes winner Hello Beautiful, trained by his wife and owned by Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables and scheduled to start in the Weather Vane. Hello Beautiful, who gave Russell his 1,500th career victory in the July 31 Alma North at Pimlico, breezed a half-mile in :48.60 Sept. 8.

“We'll just regroup here the next couple days and see what we're going to do,” Brittany Russell said.

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Other De Francis nominees breezing Saturday were Mucho, four furlongs in :50.80 at the Churchill Downs' Trackside training center for trainer John Ortiz; and Gary Capuano-trained stablemates Band On Tour (:48.20) and Threes Over Deuces (:48.40) at Delaware Park.

Band On Tour, 4, exits a six-furlong optional claiming allowance win Aug. 7 at Pimlico. Threes Over Deuces is a stakes winner that has run second or third in six others including a runner-up finish to Grade 1 winner Firenze Fire in the 2020 Grade 3 General George at Laurel.

Mucho leads the 3-year-old and up dirt sprint division of the MATCH Series with 20 points, two more than defending De Francis champion and fellow nominee Laki. Winner of the July 31 Challedon at Pimlico, Mucho is also tied with Chub Wagon for the overall MATCH Series championship.

Kentucky-based Ortiz said Saturday that Mucho is being pointed to the Grade 2 Phoenix Oct. 8 at Keeneland, an automatic qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“I know we're sitting so close to winning the MATCH Series, but when a horse is doing this well you have to take advantage,” Ortiz said. “Kentucky being our home and his home track and Lexington being my hometown, I just think it's best to get a 'Win and You're In' while things are going the right way.”

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Princess Grace Overcomes Slow Start To Win Ladies Turf At Kentucky Downs

Over a firm course at Kentucky Downs, Susan and John Moore's Princess Grace broke last from the starting gate, patiently waited for an opening in the stretch, and held off challengers to win the Grade 3 Ladies Turf at the Franklin, Ky., racetrack.

The 4-year-old filly went into the gate as the post time favorite, but broke a step slow from the second post to run toward the back of the field of nine early. Florent Geroux kept the filly on the rail as Sara Sea set early fractions of :23.02 for the first quarter and :46.06 for the half-mile. As they approached the last bend, Princess Causeway pulled even with Sara Sea, Princess Grace behind them on the rail.

Into the stretch, Sara Sea held on to a short lead over Princess Causeway, the field spread five wide across the straight, as Geroux took advantage of an opening between horses, angling Princess Grace out from the rail. The favorite accelerated, taking over the lead, and putting space between her and challengers rushing up on her outside.

As they closed in on the wire, Geroux was able to keep Princess Grace clear of the field, with Dalika closing fast on her outside. At the wire, it was the favorite by a half-length, with Dalika second and Abscond third.

The final time for the one-mile Ladies Turf was 1:34.25.

Princess Grace paid $4.20, $2.60, and $2.20. Dalika paid $4.40 and $3.00. Abscond paid $3.40.

By Karakontie out of the Silent Name mare Masquerade, Princess Grace was bred in Kentucky by her owners. She is trained by Michael Stidham. Her win in the G3 Ladies Turf gives her a perfect 3 for 3 record in 2021, for a lifetime record of six wins in seven starts.

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In Good Spirits Best In Ladies Sprint At Kentucky Downs

In Good Spirits drew into a spot in the Grade 3 Ladies Sprint, earning a chance to run for her first graded stakes win, and then sealed the deal with a late stretch rally at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky. Jockey John Velazquez angled the 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper to the rail in the last sixteenth of a mile to draw away to a victory in the G3 sprint.

Breaking from the far outside, In Good Spirits was fastest out of the gate in the 6 1/2-furlong Ladies Sprint, but favorite Venetian Harbor made an early move to take over the front. Velazquez kept his filly on the outside of the favorite, whose time as the leader was short as Lagertha challenged on the race's only turn, taking over the lead as the field hit the long Kentucky Downs stretch. In Good Spirits stayed within striking distance on the straightaway.

As Lagertha drifted out slightly in her stretch run, Velazquez took In Good Spirits to the inside, finding ample room on the rail to bid for the lead again. In the last sixteenth, she took over for good, drawing away to a two-length win with Catch a Bid passing Lagertha late to take second.

The final time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:15.35.

Bred by Stonestreet, In Good Spirits is out of the Arch mare Mon Arch Lass. She is trained by Al Stall and owned by Bal Mar Equine LLC. In Good Spirits was consigned by Warrendale Sales at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale and sold to Steven Young, agent, for $200,000. With her win in the G3 Ladies Sprint, the filly improves to two wins in four starts in 2021 for a lifetime record of four wins in 13 starts.

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Francatelli Hangs On To Win Rumson At Monmouth

As impressive as it was that Francatelli was able to make the lead from the outset of Saturday's speed-filled Rumson Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., it was even more notable the way he maintained it to the wire.

Hounded early in the five-furlong dash, then facing a threat from both the outside and the inside coming out of the final turn, Francatelli held on gamely for a neck victory over Quick Tempo to win the $100,000 feature race.

Sagamore Mischief, who pressed Francatelli throughout, was another 1¼ lengths back in third.

“He's pretty quick away from the gate for such a big horse. He gets away from there almost like a quarter horse,” said winning trainer Cal Lynch, who owns the horse in partnership with Maribeth Sanford. “He has run in some very fast races against some very fast horses and he always gives us his best effort. He's as good on the turf as he is on the dirt. Just a game horse. He fights every race for us.”

The winning time was :57.26.

Ridden by Mychel Sanchez, Francatelli beat his five rivals to the lead and then resisted all of the challenges thrown at him, including a dual-pronged assault coming out of the final turn with Quick Tempo on the outside and Foolish Ghost shooting the rail.

“(Quick Tempo) looked like he was going to roll on by coming out of the turn and (Foolish Ghost was) coming up the rail and he just won a stakes race in New York,” said Lynch. “These were some nice horses in this race but I don't expect anything less from this horse every time he runs. He is just one of those warrior types, just as game as they come. We're very pleased with the way he ran.”

A 4-year-old gelded son of City Zip-Salary Drive by Mizzen Mast, Francatelli now has six wins, four seconds, and a third from his 13 career starts. He just missed in his last start, the Grade 3 Parx Dash, and has excelled on both dirt and turf.

“He broke like a rocket,” said Sanchez. “As soon as he broke like that I just let him go because I know he likes to fight and it was five furlongs. He was really game. There were horses everywhere coming out of the turn. Like I said, he's a fighter. He likes to run. He was ready to go.

“He runs on anything, grass or dirt. He's one of those horses who is very good on either surface.”

Francatelli, who boosted his career earnings to $330,999 with the victory, returned $6.20 to win.

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