Chub Wagon Best In Shine Again At Pimlico

Daniel Lopez and George Chestnut's undefeated Chub Wagon passed her biggest test to date with flying colors, reeling in multiple stakes-winning pacesetter Hello Beautiful through the stretch and surging late for a thrilling half-length victory in Sunday's $100,000 Shine Again Stakes at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The 13th running of the six-furlong Shine Again for fillies and mares 3 and up, part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series, was the fourth of five stakes worth $475,000 in purses on a 10-race program.

Followed by the $100,000 Stormy Blues to cap the card, the Shine Again was preceded by the $100,000 Searching Stakes and $100,000 Prince George's County Stakes on turf and $75,000 Ben's Cat Stakes. The Stormy Blues for 3-year-old fillies and Ben's Cat for Maryland-bred/sired 3-year-olds and up were both moved from the grass to the main track and remained at five furlongs.

Sent off the 1-2 favorite in a field of eight that included Anna's Bandit, Dontletsweetfoolya, Hello Beautiful and Never Enough Time – winners of 34 career races, 20 of them in stakes – Chub Wagon improved to 7-0 lifetime with her third consecutive stakes win and second in a row at Pimlico following the May 15 Skipat Stakes on the undercard of the 146th Grade 1 Preakness Stakes.

The winning time was 1:10.21 over a fast main track.

“She's a very, very, very classy horse. She does everything easy,” winning trainer Guadalupe Preciado said. “When she came back, she looked like she wasn't even blowing. She's does everything so good.”

Breaking from the rail under Jomar Torres, now aboard for five of her wins including her first stakes triumph in the April 27 Unique Bella Stakes at Parx, Chub Wagon was outrun for the lead by Hello Beautiful, making her first start since finishing off the board in the Grade 3 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie Stakes Feb. 20 at Laurel Park.

The opening quarter-mile went in :22.21 with Chub Wagon rated in second, flanked to her outside by Dontletsweetfoolya as Hello Beautiful led the way. She was still in front midway around the turn after going a half in :45.32, with Chub Wagon looming after putting away Dontletsweetfoolya. Once straightened for home, the top two began to separate from the pack.

“I told [Torres] it looked like [Hello Beautiful] was the speed. I said, 'I'd like to be outside of her. We had a bad position on the inside but if she wants to go, let her go, and go from there.' Last time she closed nice, and today she closed again. The filly she beat is a nice filly.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. was up in the Skipat, the first time Chub Wagon didn't lead from start to finish in any of her races. She won the six-furlong Skipat by two lengths, which had been her shortest margin of victory until Sunday.

“She ran great today. I sat off the pace today because she was going great, but the other horse had more speed. So I waited, and, when I went to the clear, she picked it up very well. She loves to fight,” Torres said. “She's a really nice filly.”

Hello Beautiful stubbornly dug in under Sheldon Russell into deep stretch, but grudgingly gave way approaching the wire. It was another three lengths back to 59-1 long shot Paisley Singing in third, followed by Never Enough Time, Anna's Bandit, Lucre, Unique Factor, and Dontletsweetfoolya.

A 7-year-old mare with 17 wins, 11 stakes, and more than $782,000 in purse earnings from 36 previous starts, Anna's Bandit was also coming off a layoff, not having run since last summer at Delaware Park.

“She ran huge. It's disappointing to get beat, but it's nice to see her come back and run her eyeballs out,” Hello Beautiful's trainer Brittany Russell said. “You kind of had to take it to [Chub Wagon] a little bit. You don't want to let her get away and then we're sitting there saying, 'Why didn't we go?' I was happy with how it ended up; I just wish we were on the other end of the result. She's not one to fold. She's had a couple excuses along the way. It's nice to see she ran hard.”

A 4-year-old Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Hey Chub that gave Parx Hall of Famer Precaido his 2,000th career win with her debut victory last fall, Chub Wagon is being considered for the $350,000 Grade 2 Princess Rooney Stakes July 3 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. The seven-furlong Princess Rooney is a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the $1 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar Race Track in Del Mar, Calif.

“If everything goes good, I think we're going to the Princess Rooney,” Preciado said. “Every time she runs, the races come harder and harder. For me, that's the way to do it. I don't want to come out of nowhere and face tough horses and later you have nothing. You go slowly and sometimes the horses like it. Next time probably is going to be tougher.”

The Shine Again Stakes returned to the Maryland stakes calendar after being a casualty of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and was being contested at Pimlico for the first time since 2013, having each of its last four runnings at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

It honors Allaire duPont's fourth-generation Maryland homebred mare that retired in 2003 after winning 14 of 34 starts, seven stakes, and nearly $1.3 million in purses. Trained by late Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens, she won back-to-back editions of the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes in 2001 and 2002 and was second in 2003.

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Pimlico: Five Stakes, $1-Million Rainbow 6 Jackpot Highlight Sunday’s Action

Take one formidable undefeated horse, mix in a bevy of local stars and out-of-town shippers, and add a Maryland state record carryover jackpot in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 of more than $1 million and the result is one spectacular afternoon of racing at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

Sunday's 10-race program kicks off at 12:40 p.m. and includes five stakes, four scheduled for the turf, worth $475,000 in purses highlighted by the $100,000 Shine Again for fillies and mares 3 and older sprinting six furlongs on the main track.

The Shine Again, the next race in the 24-stakes Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series that runs through Dec. 26, is headed by 4-year-old filly Chub Wagon, winner of the Skipat May 15 at Pimlico on the undercard of the 146th Preakness (G1) to run her perfect record to 6-0. It will be her biggest test yet, facing the likes of Anna's Bandit, Hello Beautiful and Dontletsweetfoolya who have combined for 29 wins, 18 in stakes.

All four remaining stakes are scheduled for the grass led by the $100,000 Prince George's County for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles that drew a field of 12 including main-track-only entrant Shane's Jewel and featuring graded-stakes winners English Bee, Eons and Pixelate, the narrow 3-1 program favorite on turf. Graded-stakes placed stablemates Logical Myth and Midnight Tea Time come in from Kentucky to challenge.

New York-based stakes winner Beautiful Lover, twice graded-stakes placed for trainer Chad Brown, is favored at 2-1 on the morning line in the $100,000 Searching at 1 ½ miles for fillies and mares 3 and up. In her first start for trainer Christophe Clement, the 5-year-old mare was fifth by 2 ½ lengths in the 1 1/16-mile Distaff Turf March 28 at Tampa Bay Downs, her first race in more than six months. Her main competition is expected to come from Dowager (G3) winner Blame Debbie and fellow stakes winner Luck Money.

Rounding out the stakes action are a pair of five-furlong sprints – the $100,000 Stormy Blues for 3-year-old fillies and $75,000 Ben's Cat for Maryland-bred/sired 3-year-olds and up. Street Lute, a six-time stakes winner on the dirt, is entered to make her turf debut in the Stormy Blues against the likes of multiple stakes-placed Honey Pants, the 7-2 program favorite, and the pair of Wink and Amanzi Yimpilo from trainer Wesley Ward, currently in England for the upcoming Royal Ascot meet.

So Street is a narrow 4-1 morning-line favorite in the Ben's Cat facing fellow stakes winners Introduced and Air Token and defending champion Oldies But Goodies and 2020 Maryland Million Turf runner-up Cannon's Roar. Hemp, third in the May 15 Chick Lang (G3) at Pimlico, is entered for main track only.

 

Following Sunday's action, live racing returns to Pimlico Friday, June 18.

Record Rainbow 6 Carryover Tops $1 Million for Stakes-Filled Sunday
The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved Saturday at historic Pimlico Race Course, growing the Maryland state record carryover jackpot to $1,007,434.44 for Sunday's stakes-filled program.

First race post time is 12:40 p.m.

A total of $102,742 was put into the popular multi-race wager on top of a carryover of $974,564.10 from the last full live program June 6. Friday's card at Pimlico was canceled after two races due to inclement weather. Multiple tickets with all six winners Saturday each returned $9,861.08.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Introduced in Maryland April 2, 2015 on opening day of Pimlico's spring meet, the Rainbow 6 had its previous state record carryover reach $345,898.33 spanning 31 racing programs before being solved by one lucky bettor for a life-changing $399,545.94 payout April 15, 2018 at Laurel Park. The winning ticket was purchased through Maine off-track betting.

Sunday's Rainbow 6 spans Races 5-10 and includes four of the day's five stakes worth a total of $475,000 in purses – the $75,000 Ben's Cat (Race 6), $100,000 Prince George's County (Race 8), $100,000 Shine Again (Race 9) and $100,000 Stormy Blues (Race 10).

Three of the stakes – the Ben's Cat, Prince George's County and Stormy Blues – comprise the grass races in the Rainbow 6 sequence. The $100,000 Searching, which kicks off the stakes action in Race 4, is also scheduled for the turf.

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MATCH Series: Tough Sprinters Return From Layoffs To Face Undefeated Chub Wagon In Shine Again

Two of the toughest female sprinters in Maryland will return from layoffs to face the undefeated Chub Wagon June 13 at Pimlico Race Course in the $100,000 Shine Again Stakes, part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series (MATCH) for 2021.

The Shine Again, at six furlongs, is one of five Sunday stakes at Old Hilltop. It's the second of six stakes in the Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division, currently led by Chub Wagon, who captured the Skipat Stakes at Pimlico May 15.

Pennsylvania-bred Chub Wagon, owned by Daniel Lopez and George Chestnut, won her first five starts on the lead throughout. The 4-year-old Hey Chub filly rated in third for the first half-mile in the Skipat before taking over in the stretch and pulling away to win by two lengths. She was entered in a Grade III stakes at Belmont Park June 5, but her connections, including trainer Guadalupe Preciado, opted to scratch her in favor of the Shine Again. Jomar Torres is named to ride the Parx Racing-based filly.

Preciado acknowledged the depth of the Shine Again field.

“Every race is the same; no matter what, the horses need to run to win,” he said. “Whether it's easy or tough, the horses still have to run.”

Chub Wagon collected 10 MATCH points for her Skipat victory and is looking to bring that total to 20 with another win in the series.

No Guts No Glory Farm's Anna's Bandit, a winner of 17 races and almost $800,000 in 36 starts for trainer John Robb, has been working regularly since April for her first start since July 2020 at Delaware Park. A winner of 11 stakes in the Mid-Atlantic region, the 7-year-old West Virginia-bred mare by Great Notion will have regular rider Xavier Perez aboard for her return.

“I was looking for an easier spot but I've been waiting for six weeks now,” Robb said. “I'm not expecting her to win it, but she needs to get a race under her. She has been doing good, but she's such a big, heavy horse that I don't expect to ever get her fit just with breezes.”

Hello Beautiful, a winner of seven of 14 starts, won three consecutive stakes at Laurel Park in late fall and early winter before her fifth-place finish in the Grade III Barbara Fritchie Stakes for trainer Brittany Russell. The 4-year-old Maryland-bred filly by Golden Lad was given a break and has been working well at Pimlico for the Shine Again. Hello Beautiful, to be ridden by Sheldon Russell, is a five-time stakes winner of almost $400,000 owned by Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables and Magic City Stables.

“To be fair, when something goes wrong in the afternoon, whatever the reason—like last year when we shipped her around a bit and just didn't have any luck, or the Fritchie—it's almost like it makes her come back with a vengeance,” Russell said. “She doesn't like getting beat. I hope that's the case this go-around.”

Five Hellions Farm's Dontletsweetfoolya, who has won five of her 10 starts, is entered in the Shine Again off of a fourth-place finish behind Chub Wagon in the Skipat. The 4-year-old Stay Thirsty filly, trained by Lacey Gaudet and temporarily based at Delaware Park, was on the lead in the Skipat until the stretch and has done her best running on the front end. Jevian Toledo, who has been aboard Dontletsweetfoolya for all of her victories, is named to ride.

After the Shine Again, the MATCH Series will continue with two stakes July 4 in Maryland.

The MATCH Series, the only one of its kind in racing, will run through Dec. 26 at Laurel and features 24 stakes—20 of them in Maryland and four at Colonial Downs in Virginia—valued at $2.75 million. There will be four divisions, all of them on dirt, and $282,000 in bonus money for owners and trainers.

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Undefeated Chub Wagon Regroups For Sunday’s Shine Again Stakes

Even in a career that counts more than 2,000 winners and a dozen graded-stakes, trainer Guadalupe Preciado can count the truly special ones he's had on one hand.

Two fingers, even.

The first belongs to millionaire Favorite Tale, who captured the 2014 Gallant Bob (G3) and 2015 Smile Sprint (G2), and later that year ran third in the A.G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) and Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). Favorite Tale was no stranger to Maryland, winning the Dave's Friend at Laurel Park in 2018 in his penultimate career start.

Preciado points a second finger to his current stable star, Daniel Lopez and George Chestnut's 4-year-old homebred filly Chub Wagon, undefeated through six career starts. The bay daughter of Hey Chub will be aiming for her third consecutive stakes triumph in Sunday's $100,000 Shine Again at historic Pimlico Race Course.

The six-furlong Shine Again for fillies and mares 3 and up is among five stakes worth $450,000 and the only one on dirt. It is also the next installment in the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

Other stakes on the June 13 program are all on the turf, led by the $100,000 Prince George's County for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles and $100,000 Searching at 1 ½ miles for females 3 and older. A pair of five-furlong sprints are also on tap – the $100,000 Stormy Blues for sophomore fillies and $75,000 Ben's Cat for Maryland-bred/sired horses 3 and up.

Based at Parx, where he was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2013, Preciado is a native of Mexico who began training in 1989. He topped $1 million in season earnings for 24 consecutive years, from 1997 to 2017, exceeding $2 million four times. His brother, Ramon, also trains.

“The last nice horse I trained before her is Favorite Tale. He was a [Pennsylvania]-bred, too,” Preciado said. “She's a nice one. It's not easy to find those kinds of horses. It's easy for guys like the Todd Pletchers and the Chad Browns and all the guys that have so many 2-year-olds every year. It's no problem to find them. We have local horses over here. It's hard.”

Preciado was working for trainer Ron Benshoff when the two attended a party where Benshoff introduced him to Jack Mondel of Hidden Lane Farms. A friendship developed that soon had Mondel sending Preciado the kind of horses to give his fledgling career a boost, including Debutante's Halo, winner of the 1990 Demoiselle (G2), and Mr. Nasty, who won the 1990 Gravesend (G3) and 1991 Tom Fool (G2).

Other graded-stakes winners Preciado trained are Caught in the Rain, Iron Punch, Score a Birdie, Joker, Michael's Star and Sham Francisco. Favorite Tale's Smile Sprint at Gulfstream Park was his most recent.

Among his previous Maryland stakes wins are Michael's Star in the 1996 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial, Mary's Silver Pen in the 2000 Marshua and Rockin Jojo in the 2016 Geisha and Maryland Million Distaff.

Preciado initially entered Chub Wagon in the seven-furlong Bed o' Roses (G3) June 4 at Belmont Park, where she was installed as the morning-line favorite, but opted to skip the race. She comes back to a distance where she has already won three times including her unveiling, which didn't come until mid-November of her 3-year-old season at Parx and provided Preciado with his milestone 2,000th victory.

“When I got her, the owner told me that she's a nice filly,” Preciado said. “Sometimes you have a little problem and when you have a horse that can run, you do the best you can to take care of the little problem before you got a big problem. Especially with the 2-year-olds. If you don't wait, they make you wait.”

Chub Wagon reeled off three straight allowance wins before romping in the seven-furlong Unique Bella against state-breds April 27 at Parx. In her first open-company stakes, she captured the Skipat at Pimlico May 15 on the undercard of the 146th Preakness Stakes (G1).

The competition in the Shine Again is expected to include heavyweights such as Hello Beautiful, a five-time stakes winner that hasn't raced since the Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3) Feb. 20 at Laurel, and Dontletsweetfoolya, who strung together five straight wins, two in stakes, before losses in the Fritchie and Skipat, where she ran fourth in her comeback. Hibiscus Punch, the 41-1 upset Fritchie winner, is also nominated.

Affable and easy-going, Preciado is less worried about maintaining the streak as he is seeing Chub Wagon run well and enjoying the ride.

“At my age, I don't care too much anymore because I know whatever will happen, will happen. For me it's exciting.”

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