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Buy The Best Takes Smart Halo Stakes At Laurel

Buy the Best was much the best in the Smart Halo Stakes at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. The 2-year-old daughter of Tapiture swooped around Sparkle Sprinkle and Buff My Boots on the far turn to take the six-furlong stakes by 3 1/4 lengths.

On a fast Laurel track, Sparkle Sprinkle was fastest out of the gate with Buff My Boots pressing early, a half-length behind in the opening furlongs. Around the far turn, Buff My Boots ranged up on the outside of Sparkle Sprinkle, taking the lead briefly as Buy the Best made a bold move on their outside. As the field of the seven reached the stretch, Buy the Best was a length clear of rivals, stretching her advantage out down the stretch. At the wire, she was four lengths in front, with Luna Belle second and Click to Confirm third.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:09.99. Find this race's chart here.

Buy the Best paid $6.00, $3.40, and $3.00. Luna Belle paid $4.60 and $3.40. Click to Confirm paid $6.00.

Bred in Kentucky by Susan Moulton, Buy the Best is out of the Indian Charlie mare Sister Dawn. Trained by Cathal Lynch, the filly was ridden in the Smart Halo by Jaime Rodriguez. Consigned by Eaton Sales, she was purchased by owner Hope Jones at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $70,000. With her win in the Smart Halo, Buy the Best has three wins in five lifetime starts and career earnings of $117,480.

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Juveniles Buff My Boots, Sparkle Sprinkle Face Off Again In Saturday’s Smart Halo

Buff My Boots and Sparkle Sprinkle, respectively first and third in the Maryland Million Lassie last month, are entered to renew their budding rivalry as part of a field of eight for the $100,000 Smart Halo on Saturday at Laurel Park.

Bird Mobberley's Buff My Boots and Eric Rizer homebred Sparkle Sprinkle have met in each of their past two starts. Buff My Boots ran third and Sparkle Sprinkle sixth in an Oct. 3 starter optional claimer at Laurel that served as their Maryland Million prep.

Buff My Boots set the pace in the Lassie through testing splits of 22.58 and 45.63 seconds and lost the lead by a head to Sparkle Sprinkle once straightened for home before coming on again to get up by a half-length over My Thoughts.

“To tell you the truth, I thought she was beat at the head of the lane when [Sparkle Sprinkle] came to her, and she showed her guts. She dug back in,” trainer John Salzman Jr. said. “There's no doubt about it, she can run. And she's fast, and it looks like she'll carry it a little further. She was sort of going away from those horses. There were some horses that came running late, but she's a nice filly. She's done everything I've asked of her. Knock on wood, she seems to have come out of that race good.”

Buff My Boots drew outside Post 8 under regular rider J. D. Acosta. If Salzman opts not to run on the quick turnaround, he will point to the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Fillies for Maryland-bred/sired horses going seven furlongs Dec. 4.

“It's just a little quicker back than I'd like to see off a big effort like she gave me,” Salzman said. “If there's something that I don't like or if somebody shows up that I think is really tough, I'll just skip it and wait for the Maryland-bred race.”

Sparkle Sprinkle was making her stakes debut in the Lassie, her fourth career start. Trained by Jerry Robb, she opened with back-to-back wins Aug. 28 at Timonium and Sept. 18 at Laurel, before running a troubled sixth in the Oct. 3 race won by Click to Confirm, who is also entered in the Smart Halo.

Louis Ulman and Stephen Parker's Whiteknuckleflyer graduated by a head in her fourth and most recent start, a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight on the Laurel turf Oct. 21. Favored over nine rivals, she raced in stalking position before taking over the top spot past the sixteenth pole and hanging on to win in a photo over Candy Light and Candy Arcade.

“She ran well in that race. The two that were behind her, second and third, were first-time starters that were pretty well-bred and look like they might be nice horses, so I thought it was a pretty good race,” trainer Dale Capuano said. “She came out of it good and breezed well the other day, so we're going to look at the stake and see how it comes up.”

In addition to her win on turf, Whiteknuckleflyer was also second to Laurel-based Murph in the Sept. 25 Small Wonder sprinting over Delaware Park's main track. The Smart Halo will be her first race at a distance other than 5 ½ furlongs.

“It pretty much doesn't matter what kind of track I run her on. She seems to handle both turf and dirt just fine. We're definitely pleased about that,” Capuano said. “She's not quite as quick as some of those other fillies, so she doesn't mind being behind and running on. It works out well.”

Jorge Ruiz returns to ride from Post 4. All fillies will carry 122 pounds.

Click to Confirm, wheeling back in nine days after suffering her first loss while finishing seventh as the favorite in an optional claiming allowance at Laurel; Intrepid Daydream, a 16 ¾-length maiden special weight winner Oct. 20 at Delaware; Luna Belle, fourth by a length in the Lassie; Trade Secret, a last-out winner for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen; and Buy the Best, riding a two-race win streak, round out the field.

Smart Halo, by top Maryland sire Smarten, won the first race on the inaugural Maryland Million Day program in 1986, beating In the Curl by a neck in the Lassie to cap a perfect 3-0 campaign. Bred in Canada by E.P. Taylor and owned by Sam-Son Farm, Smart Halo was trained by Canadian Hall of Famer Jim Day.

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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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Jersey-Bred No Cents Invades Laurel For James F. Lewis III Win; Street Lute Takes Smart Halo

Isabelle de Tomaso and Hope Jones' homebred No Cents, making his local and stakes debut off back-to-back wins out of town, corralled favored Dalton in mid-stretch and edged past for a comfortable 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday's $100,000 James F. Lewis III at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

The ninth running of the Lewis was the second of two six-furlong juvenile sprint stakes on the Salute to Veterans Day program, preceded by the 24th renewal of the $100,000 Smart Halo for fillies, won by Street Lute.

No Cents ($10.80) completed the distance in 1:09.16 over a fast main track to give jockey Trevor McCarthy his third straight Lewis win and fourth overall. He also finished first with eventual graded-stakes winner El Areeb in 2016, Scrap Copper in 2018 and Newstome in 2019. Winning trainer Cal Lynch also trained El Areeb.

“I definitely wanted to leave a little something in the tank and not overdo it with him. He's a 2-year-old so hopefully we'll have a bright future with him,” McCarthy said of No Cents. “Cal seems to always have these colts ready, so big credit to him. It's just a huge privilege to me. They made me look good today.”

Dalton, beaten a neck when second to subsequent Nashua (G3) winner Pickin' Time last out, showed good early foot and established the lead before Lugamo, riding a two-race win streak, worked over from his outside post to be in front after a quarter-mile in 22.05 seconds. McCarthy settled No Cents in fifth and was still looking at a wall of horses when the field rounded the far turn.

Lugamo maintained a slim margin after a half in 45.02 but was quickly overtaken by Dalton at the top of the stretch. At that point, McCarthy tipped No Cents to the middle of the track and set his sights on Dalton, steadily gaining ground before wresting the lead away inside the eighth pole.

It was 2 1/4 lengths back to Lugamo in third and another three to Texas Basin, followed by Heir Port, Kenny Had a Notion, Singlino and Fearless Fly. Kenny Had a Notion had won his two previous races, both in Laurel stakes, one each on the turf and dirt.

“We had a great trip. We had a good break and I was happy to get a good position and be able to follow [Dalton]. That was kind of my target to run with, so it was nice,” McCarthy said. “We were able to save ground and get a nice little breather and when we came past the five-sixteenths pole, I was just being patient with him. I knew I had a ton of horse underneath me and I was just kind of seeing where [Dalton] went.

“As soon as I tipped outside of him I just gave him a nice target to run at,” he added. “When I wanted him to finish up strong, he did, and when I wanted him to take a little bit of a break at the wire when I knew I kind of had it, he settled down. He's very push-button. He does everything you want him to do.”

A bay son of Goldencents out of the Petitionville mare Faker, No Cents made each of his first three starts in New Jersey, where he was bred. Second by a length in debut Aug. 29, he won a maiden special weight against state-breds Sept. 27 before a game neck open allowance triumph Oct. 21.

The $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity for state-bred/sired horses Dec. 5 and $100,000 Heft Dec. 26 are the final two stakes for 2-year-olds at Laurel in 2020.

Street Lute Delivers in $100,000 Smart Halo Victory
Lucky 7 Stables' Street Lute, beaten at the wire in the Maryland Million Lassie in her previous start, slipped through a seam on the inside around the turn and quickly separated from the field to rebound with a 2 3/4-length victory in Saturday's $100,000 Smart Halo.

It was the second career Smart Halo win for trainer Jerry Robb following Lake Sebago in 2014, and first for jockey Xavier Perez. The winning time was 1:09.85.

The Lassie Oct. 24 at Laurel, where she came up a neck short of Miss Nondescript, was the first career loss for Street Lute ($5) following a pair of wins, including a front-running five-length score in the Small Wonder Stakes Sept 26 at Delaware Park.

“It's definitely a little bit of redemption. In the Maryland Million she had to chase the speed and hold off closers, and she didn't see the horse coming or I think she might have won that race,” Robb said. “She thinks she won it, so we tell her she did.”

Street Lute rated in third in the early going Saturday as 30-1 longshot Donnybrook Girl broke running and zipped the opening quarter-mile in 21.69 seconds pressed by recent maiden winner Be Sneaky. Perez stayed patient and took advantage of a narrow opening midway around the turn to establish the lead, drawing clear once straightened for home. Out of Sorts trailed the field in the early going, ranged up on the far outside and closed steadily down the center of the track for second, with Be Sneaky another length back in third.

Prodigy Doll, Swirling Dancer, Docs Seven, Donnybrook Girl and Supreme Blessing completed the order of finish.

“The instructions were to try and get a good break and see. I thought [Prodigy Doll] might go and she didn't. You definitely don't know what they're going to do so you have to leave it up to the jockeys,” Robb said. “He let [Donnybrook Girl] go and laid right off of her and somehow he got through. It worked out perfect.”

Robb said the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship for state-bred/sired fillies Dec. 5 at Laurel will be the next likely target for Street Lute.

“We'll keep her in Maryland for now,” he said. “The Juvenile will probably be next.”

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