The inaugural Manfuso for 3-year-olds and up going about 1 1/16 miles and the return of the 1 1/8-mile Carousel for fillies and mares 3 and up, which carried Grade 3 status from 1988 through 1997 and was last run in 2002 at Laurel, were among six $100,000 stakes on a nine-race Christmastide Day program.

Cordmaker ($4.40) was bred in Maryland by Manfuso and his life partner, Laurel-based trainer Katy Voss, who presented the winner's trophy to the connections, including Hillwood's Ellen Charles, trainer Rodney Jenkins and regular rider Victor Carrasco.

A longtime owner and breeder and former owner of both Laurel and historic Pimlico Race Course who was instrumental in revitalizing Maryland racing, Manfuso passed away in March 2020.

“We've all been talking about it for about a week. I'm glad we were able to get it done,” Jenkins said. “It was nice. He's such a good horse.”

A gelded son of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin, Cordmaker won for the third time in four starts – all in stakes – and clinched the older male long dirt division and overall MATCH Series titles.

Breaking from the rail as the 6-5 favorite in a field that scratched down to six, Cordmaker settled in fourth as multiple stakes winner Alwaysmining took the lead and held it through a quarter-mile in 23.47 seconds and a half in 47.38 pressed by Workin On a Dream, who finished second to Cordmaker in the Richard W. Small Nov. 27 at Laurel.

Carrasco tipped Cordmaker out leaving the far turn and set his sights on 3-2 second choice Shackqueenking, who had inherited the lead after Alwaysmining began to fade. Cordmaker straightened out, powered past Shackqueenking and opened up for a 3 ½-length victory. Workin On a Dream edged Shackqueenking by a half-length for second, with Plot the Dots a nose better than McElmore Avenue in fourth.

“Naturally he drew the one hole of all days, but he figured it out,” Jenkins said. “He got around that turn and saved some ground there, and then when they straightened out and Victor asked him, I think he won as easy as he's won any race in his life.”

Cordmaker has finished third or better 23 times in 34 career starts including 12 wins and $794,640 in purse earnings. He is 17-for-26 in the money at Laurel, his home track, with other stakes wins in the 2018 Jennings, 2019 Polynesian, and 2019 and 2021 Harrison Johnson Memorial and last month's Small. He also won the Aug. 23 Victory Gallop at Colonial Downs and 2019 DTHA Governors Day Handicap at Delaware Park, and was third in the 2019 and 2020 Pimlico Special (G3).

Miss Leslie wins her third consecutive race in the Carousel for trainer Claudio Gonzalez

Miss Leslie Runs Win Streak to Three in $100,000 Carousel
BB Horses' Miss Leslie extended her win streak to three races including back-to-back stakes after sweeping to the lead once straightened for home and sprinting clear through the stretch to a 3 ¾-length triumph in the $100,000 Carousel.

Ridden by Angel Cruz for fall meet-leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez, Miss Leslie ($5) ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.21 over a fast main track as the 3-2 favorite in a field of eight fillies and mares. Fellow multiple stakes winner Artful Splatter was second, 1 ¾ lengths ahead of Kiss the Girl, who edged Belle of the North by a neck for third.

Scatrattleandroll, breaking from one spot inside Miss Leslie who drew the far outside, was sent out of the gate by jockey Jaime Rodriguez and in front through fractions of 24.58 and 49.11 seconds, pressed by Artful Splatter. Smooth With a Kick, racing for the first time since Jan. 17, led the second flight with Kiss the Girl.

Cruz gave Miss Leslie her cue leaving the backstretch and the 3-year-old daughter of Paynter began to roll while in the clear on the outside, reeling in Artful Splatter at the top of the stretch and opening up after a mile in 1:39.52.

“I felt really comfortable because we worked her last week and she worked really good,” Cruz said. “Today, every horse was coming from off the pace and my filly comes from off of it. It played out really well.”

Miss Leslie won the Anne Arundel County to cap her 2-year-old campaign and the April 24 Weber City Miss in her third start at 3. She went winless in five starts, including graded attempts in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2), Monmouth Oaks (G3) and Charles Town Oaks (G3), before ending the slide with a last-to-first optional claiming triumph Oct. 21 at Delaware Park.

In her prior start, Miss Leslie rallied from next-to-last to capture the Nov. 13 Thirty Eight Go Go going about 1 1/16 miles at Laurel. Each of the wins during her streak have come over older horses and with Cruz aboard.

“She's a good filly. She's nice to ride. We've had to work hard with her but she does everything right,” Cruz said. “A lot of times I just work her because she's really nervous in the morning. Claudio lets me work her and it's been playing out really good. She works good and she runs good.”

Notes: Laurel will host a special Monday program of nine races Dec. 27 featuring carryovers of $10,645.14 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and $2,170.08 in the $1 Super Hi-5. Tickets with five of six winners in Sunday's Rainbow 6 each returned $1,419.50.

The post Cordmaker Clinches MATCH Title With Robert T. Manfuso Triumph appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

After making his debut on turf Oct. 24, Joe broke his maiden Nov. 21 at a mile on the main track at Laurel by 3 ½ lengths. Carrasco, who has ridden Joe in each of his starts and works the horse, got the seven furlongs in 1:25.63.

“We knew we was a really talented horse,” Carrasco said. “The first time Mike decided to run him on the turf because he was bred for the turf. I said, 'Mike, I think he's better on the turf,' and he's showed – he's two for two on the dirt – he's pretty good.”

Breaking from the No. 12 post, Joe was four wide down the backstretch while a group including Royal Spy, Coastal Mission, Local Motive, and Mr. Mox set an opening quarter in :23.09 and a half in :47.26. Five wide entering the stretch, Joe drove past Alottahope and Local Motive inside the eighth pole and to the finish line.

“After I turned for home and got him in the clear I started getting after him and he moved on,” Carrasco said.

The post Joe Goes Wide, Drives Down Stretch To Take Maryland Juvenile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) determined during a Tuesday tele-meeting that it didn't technically need to take a vote for racing to resume, but the board made sure to solicit ample feedback from jockeys, trainers, track executives, track surface consultants and veterinarians before issuing a verbal approval for Thursday's already-drawn card.

The meeting's most insightful commentary was provided by commissioner R. Thomas Bowman, a veterinarian who chairs the MRC's Equine Health, Safety and Welfare Advisory Committee. He spoke bluntly and candidly while outlining a plan for how future horse deaths might be prevented.

“Transparency and trust and cooperation have not always been part of the culture on the racetrack,” Bowman said, noting how the financial interests of horse people and track managements have too often trumped health considerations.

“The safety of the horses and the riders has quite often been put in the background,” Bowman said. “That's not an accusation, and it's not an indication of what exists now. That's just a fact of a way that we have evolved over a long, long time…

“There doesn't seem to be any indication, in my mind, that there is any party or parties that are not willing to step up and try to straighten this situation out,” Bowman said. “And it's a daunting task.

“One of the things that bothered me the most, and still bothers me, is the fact that this last collection of tragedies should have been forewarned when the horsemen started screaming that the racetrack was too fast,” Bowman said. “I'm not pointing a finger at anybody. I'm saying that the process with which this information filters upstream to the commission…was not effective, was not working. And it irritates me to death that we have to go through this.”

Bowman said that since the Nov. 29 shutdown of the track, he has worked with backstretch stakeholders and executives from The Stronach Group (which owns the Maryland Jockey Club [MJC], which in turn owns Laurel) to come up with system that will allow everyone involved to have safety-related input that will be monitored on a regular basis.

“If the trainers had felt that they could go to someone and their complaints were not just dismissed, possibly we could have circumvented a lot of this,” Bowman said.

Bowman said the idea of having a weekly required meeting to accomplish that goal was first proposed, but that he wasn't in favor of having stakeholders air concerns that way because public meetings aren't always conducive to people speaking candidly.

Instead, he said he's working on a plan in which Heidi Thomas, the MJC's senior veterinarian, will actively make the rounds on the backstretch to routinely speak with horse people, other veterinarians, riders, and track executives before fashioning what they say into concise feedback that will be directly related to the MRC and its own team of veterinarians.

“That will give some sort of public voice to people that are concerned,” Bowman said. “That will help out. But even more important is trying to get a process where we don't have to wait until we see the broken legs before we start recognizing problems, and that's some sort of an early warning system…

“I don't think this is the end of this process. I think it's the beginning of the process. But at least it will give horsemen a chance to express themselves and know it's going to go somewhere,” Bowman said.

MRC chairman Michael Algeo agreed: “This is a new beginning, as Tom said. Maybe a watershed moment. We're going to stay on this on a regular basis, because we can't allow [equine injuries or deaths] to continue to happen.”

The cluster of fatalities is the latest safety blow at Laurel. After years of freeze/thaw and drainage troubles, the main track was in such bad shape last spring that Laurel ceased racing Apr. 11 to begin an emergency overhaul, which involved a multi-million-dollar rebuild from the base up.

When racing resumed at Laurel Sept. 9, the main track had no apparent safety issues. But the onset of cold weather revealed problems with seams in the base of the homestretch, then the cushion atop that layer needed substantial reworking to give it more body and depth.

“There's been a huge, huge learning curve with this material and this track from when it was put in in July to right now,” said Chris Bosley, the MJC's track superintendent. “We know that we still have a long way to go. But we're working with every industry expert we possibly can [and] we're not going to stop until this thing is perfect. And once it is perfect, we're going to do everything that we can to keep it the same, to keep it perfect.”

Two among that team of consultants have firsthand knowledge of Laurel: John Passero, who used to be the MJC's track superintendent several decades ago, and Glen Kozak, who served in that same capacity in the mid-2000s before being hired by the New York Racing Association and eventually promoted to the senior vice president of operations and capital projects.

“This is a changed racetrack,” Passero said. “They're adding a more medium-coarse sand to give it some body. We're going back to a system that I used to use–plenty of depth. It seems to be very kind to horses. I look at it, and I look at the hoofprints, and I rode the tractors. I think we're definitely heading in the right direction [and] I think it can only get better.”

Added Kozak, “It's certainly trending in the right direction…. The products that are being used on the track are on-site, so this is something that can continue in getting this thing prepared for winter racing. It certainly is a different track than it was a week ago when I saw it, and it all seems like it's heading in the right direction.”

Tim Keefe, the president of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said, “I think we're definitely in a much better place than we were.”

Jockey Xavier Perez said, “The difference on the surface of the track is 20 times better than what it was.”

Fellow rider Victor Carrasco concurred.

“I feel like the track is in great shape,” he said.

But Carrasco added that moving forward, it's the responsibility of jockeys and exercise riders to let trainers know if a horse has soundness issues or doesn't feel right instead of saying nothing and letting another person get on a potentially dangerous mount.

“It's not only the track,” Carrasco underscored.

The post Under Microscope of Heightened Vigilance, Racing at Laurel a ‘Go’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The 21st running of the 1 1/8-mile Small for 3-year-olds and up, part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series, was the last of three $100,000 stakes on the program, preceded by the City of Laurel for 3-year-olds and Safely Kept for 3-year-old fillies, each sprinting seven furlongs.

Cordmaker ($12.20) ran second in last year's Small to Harpers First Ride, who went on to win the historic Grade 3 Pimlico Special, a race where Cordmaker finished third for the second consecutive year. The winning time Saturday was 1:50.48 over a fast main track.

“It's great for the horse and the barn and [owner] Mrs. [Ellen] Charles,” winning trainer Rodney Jenkins said. “It's a nice thing all around.”

With regular rider Victor Carrasco aboard, Cordmaker settled in third as 17-1 long shot Workin On a Dream and Shackqueenking led the way, going the opening quarter-mile in :24.58 and a half in :47.59. Racing in the clear, Cordmaker closed the gap after six furlongs went in 1:11.84 and swooped to the front at the top of the stretch, running a mile in 1:37.14.

“I wanted him to stay closer. We've been taking him, not way out of it, but pretty far and that's a lot of ground to make up in a stakes race,” Jenkins said. “I told Victor, 'Keep him up in there and make them run,' and he did. Victor gave him a great ride.”

Shackqueenking finished third, with two lengths separating him from runner-up Workin On a Dream and Forewarned in fourth. They were followed by Informative, Tappin Cat, Mischief Afoot, Treasure Trove, Bustoff, and McElmore Avenue.

Cordmaker, a gelded son of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin, added to his lead in the MATCH Series' 3-year-olds and up long dirt division with his 11th career victory from 33 starts, pushing his lifetime bankroll over $700,000 and bouncing back from being disqualified from second to sixth for interference in the Sept. 18 Polynesian at Laurel.

“His last race, when he had that [incident] down here, you never know how they're going to react the next time, and that made me nervous,” Jenkins said. “But he came around great.”

Formerly run as the Broad Brush, the multi-millionaire and four-time Grade 1 winner he trained, the Richard W. Small was renamed following the beloved horseman's death from cancer in 2014. Baltimore-born 'Dickie' Small served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War as a Green Beret before becoming a trainer, also campaigning Broad Brush's son, 1994 G1 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Concern. He won at least one stakes race in Maryland every year but one between 1974 and 2014 and is also known for helping launch the riding careers of female jockeys such as Andrea Seefeldt, Jerilyn Brown, Rosie Napravnik, and Forest Boyce.

The post Cordmaker Gets Seventh Career Stakes Win In Richard W. Small At Laurel appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

With regular rider Victor Carrasco aboard, Cordmaker broke well in the 1 1/8-mile stakes and found himself in a good spot in third behind Workin On a Dream and Shackqueenking, who raced one-two, respectively, until a duel developed on the far turn. Cordmaker, nursed along by Carassco, rallied three-wide on the turn, reached the front in the final eighth of a mile, and pulled away to win by 1 3/4 lengths for his third stakes victory of the year.

Workin On a Dream, a blowout winner of an allowance race at Laurel in his last start for owner Steven Walfish and trainer Robin Graham, held gamely for second under jockey Forest Boyce. Shackqueenking, who had won his last two starts in allowance company at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., for owner Pocket 3's Racing and trainer Gary Capuano, easily held for third under Jaime Rodriguez as the favorite.

Cordmaker, who cleared the $700,000 mark in career earnings with his 11th win in 33 starts, paid $12.40 to win as the fourth choice in a field of 10. The 6-year-old Maryland-bred gelding by Curlin was bred by Robert Manfuso and Katy Voss and purchased as a yearling for $150,000 by Hillwood Stable, which is operated by longtime Maryland Thoroughbred owner Ellen Charles.

“I wanted him to stay close early,” trainer Rodney Jenkins said after Cordmaker won his second MATCH Series stakes in the 3-Year-Olds and Up Long—Dirt division in 2021. “I didn't want him to have a lot of ground to make up. I told Victor, 'Keep him up there and make them run.' This is a great result for the horse, the barn and Mrs. Charles.”

Cordmaker, who has started in all five legs thus far in his division, won the Victory Gallop Stakes at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., in August. He returned in the Polynesian Stakes at Laurel in September and crossed the finish line in second but was disqualified and placed sixth for drifting out near the three-sixteenths pole. Despite the setback, he picked up 5 MATCH bonus points in the Polynesian and padded his division lead.

“He broke well and we had a great trip,” Carrasco said. “I followed (Shackqueenking) because I thought he was the only horse who could beat us. As soon as we passed the five-sixteenths pole, I said, 'Go,' and he responded nicely. He got the job done.”

Cordmaker entered the Richard Small with 24 points. He earned 10 points for the victory and another 2 bonus points for making his fifth start in the division. That gives him 36 points, nine more than Hello Beautiful, who leads the Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division with 27 points.

The division winners and the overall champion will be decided at Laurel the day after Christmas, when the final stakes for each of the MATCH Series' four divisions will be run.

The post Cordmaker’s Richard Small Win Gives Him Lead In MATCH Series appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The five-furlong Hickory Tree Stakes attracted a field of ten colts/geldings including Sean Feld's Evan Harlan, the morning-line favorite. The Graham Motion trainee finished third in a maiden special weight turf race at six furlongs June 20 at Belmont, his only career start. The Temple City colt was two lengths back at the wire. Victor Carrasco has the mount from post three.

Jeremy Brooks' Wow Whata Summer, second early choice, finished second in his career bow July 20 at Colonial, but was bumped up to the top spot when initial winner Capt. Candy was disqualified and placed down a notch. The Summer Front colt is trained by James Lawrence and will be ridden by Feargal Lynch, who was up in the start two weeks ago.

Four first-time starters are also in the field. The Hickory Tree has been carded as the eighth race of nine at a scheduled post of 5:01 PM.

A field of nine fillies will compete in the Keswick Stakes, also at five furlongs, led by Big Lick Farm's Cavalier Cupid. The Sarah Nagle trainee is fresh off a two-length victory in a maiden special weight turf sprint opening day at the New Kent track. The daughter of Quality Road was the favorite with Horacio Karamanos in the irons. She is the morning-line choice in the stakes and Karamanos is scheduled to ride again.

David Ross's Rambert finished second to Cavalier Cupid in that maiden race July 19 and is the second early pick in the Keswick at 4-1. Michael Stidham, leading Colonial trainer in '19 and '20, conditions the Declaration of War filly. Colby Hernandez is back as rider.

Three other horses in the field come in fresh off maiden victories, though they all came on dirt. O K Smarty Pants and Fancy Her Up prevailed by five-plus lengths at Charles Town Race Track in Charles Town, W.Va., while Buff My Boots dominated gate-to-wire by ten lengths at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. Determined Truth, third early choice, lost by a neck at Pimlico in her debut July 9 which was also was on dirt.

The Keswick Stakes has been carded as the seventh and will go to post at 4:33 PM.

Six of the seven Da Hoss Stakes entrants have a bankroll of $220,000-plus including Michelle Lovell and Griffon Farm's Just Might, the 9-5 early favorite. The 5-year-old Justin Phillip gelding captured the Mighty Beau Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., last out and earlier this year, powered home to a five-length win in the Colonel Power Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La. In 2020, Just Might was stakes placed in a pair of Grade 2's — the Woodford Stakes and Twin Spires Turf Sprint. In all, he has bankrolled $400,309. Colby Hernandez will ride.

Ed Orr and Susie Orr's Virginia-bred Boldor, conditioned by Steve Asmussen, is the second early choice at 7-2. The 5-year-old Munnings gelding prevailed in the King Cotton and Sam's Town Stakes earlier this year at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., and Delta Downs in Vinton, La., in back-to-back starts. Jockey Sheldon Russell gets the call Monday.

Jim and Susan Hill's Holiday Stone, top money earner in the field with $521,159, is the third early pick. The 7-year-old Harlan's Holiday horse has a turf allowance victory in each of the last three years. Feargal Lynch will ride for trainer George Weaver.

The Da Hoss, open to three-year-olds & up at 5 1/2 turf furlongs, will kick off the stakes action in the third race at 2:41 PM. First post at Colonial is 1:45 PM.

The post Da Hoss Stakes, Juvenile Turf Sprints Headline Monday Card At Colonial appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The 15th running of the one-mile G3 BWI Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up anchored four grass stakes worth $500,000 in purses, following wins by Indian Lake in the $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby for 3-year-olds and Can the Queen in the $100,000 Sensible Lady Turf Dash and Tightly Twisted in the $100,000 Big Dreyfus, both for fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

Ridden for the first time by Victor Carrasco for trainer Mike Maker, Field Pass ($3.40) earned his seventh career win and fourth in graded company after the Grade 3 Transylvania on turf and Grade 3 Ontario Derby and Grade 3 Jeff Ruby on synthetics last year.

“We're obviously happy with the win. We had a few anxious moments there, but we're happy he got through and got there,” Maker said by phone from Saratoga. “There weren't a whole lot of instructions. We basically said, 'He's the class of the field, get to the wire first,' and they did.”

The winning time was 1:35.12 over a firm turf course. Talk Or Listen, second by a length in the Grade 2 Dinner Party May 15 at Pimlico, trailed runner-up Ramsey Solution by 1 ½ lengths with Posterity another 3 ¾ lengths back. Graded-stakes winners Pixelate and English Bee were scratched.

Jockey Mychel Sanchez and Ramsey Solution broke on the outside and were intent on the lead, with Field Pass on the rail and Talk Or Listen with Daniel Centeno on their right hip. The early fractions were sensible, going :24.59 for a quarter-mile and :48.33 for the half.

“I saw on the first turn to the backside, Mychel was trying to keep his horse inside and he's fighting with him to keep him on the rail. I had Centeno on my outside with [Talk Or Listen] and I'm just waiting and holding because all my horse wants to do is go. I'm like, 'No, there's not enough room. It's too early yet,'” Carrasco said.

“They didn't give me many instructions. They said, 'Don't fight with him. If [Ramsey Solution] wants to go, let him go. Come around and stalk him, don't let him go free,'” he added. “But, I had somebody on my outside and he wasn't relaxing for me. I was fighting with him behind horses. I had no other choice but to wait, wait, wait, and patience won the race.”

Ramsey Solution, winner of the Tapit last fall at Kentucky Downs, remained in front after going six furlongs in 1:11.55 and straightened for home with Talk Or Listen bearing down on his outside and Field Pass trying to get through on the rail. Ramsey Solution dug in gamely through the lane but Field Pass had just enough room and time to get up two jumps from the wire.

“When we turned for home, Mychel stayed outside and I said, 'It's now or never.' When I said 'go,' he gave me some but when I hit him with the left hand he gave me another gear,” Carrasco said. “My horse is not huge but he's well-built. There wasn't much [room]. I moved on him and he wasn't afraid of going to the hole, and he got it done.”

The post Field Pass Posts Neck Victory In BWI Turf Cup At Pimlico appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Can the Queen, a 5-year-old daughter of Can the Man, covered a firm five-furlong turf course in :56.41 under jockey Victor Carrasco for trainer Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon.

Can the Queen broke alertly and raced three-wide outside pacesetter What a Trick and Golden Can past an opening quarter in :21.63. After Golden Can dropped back a bit on the turn, Can the Queen chased What a Trick and jockey Feargal Lynch into the stretch before driving to the lead and finish line.

The mare set the pace in the Jameela July 4 with an opening quarter in :22.60 before finishing fourth.

“I'm so excited for this filly,” said Sanchez-Salomon. “I never expected her to run this good. She just needs a good ride, patient, and she can run a little bit. At the end when she started moving up, I was just hoping she wouldn't stop because she usually stops a little bit when she gets in front. She got a perfect ride. She wasn't rushed in the beginning; she was just sitting there waiting for the moment to move on.”

“The instructions were to be forwardly placed,” Carrasco said. “I got out there the first few jumps to make sure I'm on the lead or second and then when we got near the quarter pole I was just sitting on her and I see Feargal already asking and I'm just sitting there. When I said go, she exploded and got the job done.”

Can The Queen has now won four of 12 starts. She was bred in Maryland by Carol Ann Kaye.

The post Can The Queen Best In Sensible Lady At Pimlico appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

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.

The post Ellanation Earns First Stakes Win In Jameela Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The 11th running of the 1 ½-mile Searching for fillies and mares 3 and up on the grass, back on the Maryland stakes calendar after being lost during a pandemic-shortened 2020 schedule, was the first of five stakes worth $475,000 in purses on the 10-race program.

Following the Searching were the $100,000 Prince George's County Stakes on turf, $100,000 Shine Again Stakes featuring undefeated multiple stakes winner Chub Wagon, and $100,000 Stormy Blues Stakes and $75,000 Ben's Cat Stakes, both five-furlong sprints moved from the grass to the main track.

Ridden by Victor Carrasco for trainer Graham Motion, Blame Debbie ($6.20) completed the distance in 2:38.50 over a turf course rated good. Luck Money, the 6-5 favorite, got past Crystalle nearing the wire for second, and was followed by Whatdoesasharksay, Breviary, and Proper Storm. Beautiful Lover and Scatrattleandroll were scratched.

Motion also won a division of the 2000 Searching Stakes with Confessional when the race was held at Laurel Park.

“Pimlico is my local track. I love running here. This is where we like to run,” Motion said. “And to have a stake like this, there's less and less of these distance stakes around, so it was just such a good opportunity to get started this year.”

By Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Blame, Blame Debbie crossed the wire first in three consecutive races last year but was disqualified to third for interference in a Kentucky Downs allowance in September. She followed up with back-to-back wins at Keeneland in a 1 1/8-mile allowance and the 1 ½-mile Grade 3 Dowager Stakes, the latter going gate-to-wire and holding on by a head.

Blame Debbie hadn't run since being beaten 2 ¾ lengths when fifth following a troubled trip in the 1 3/8-mile Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap Nov. 26 at Del Mar.

“Once she broke sharp and Victor found himself on the lead, he did a perfect job of slowing it down best he could and she got away with some pretty good fractions,” Motion said. “I think know that she's won to pretty decent stakes going 1 1/2 mile this is probably her preferred distance. I think she'll go 1 1/8, 1 ¼ mile but I really think she is a marathoner, especially when she gets fractions like she did today.”

With only Luck Money and Breviary to her outside, Blame Debbie inherited the lead and set a deliberate pace of 27.63 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 55.29 for the half, tracked by Luck Money racing in between Whatdoesasharksay and Breviary. Carrasco didn't move on Blame Debbie until the field entered the stretch a second time, setting her down for a drive to the wire.

“Just like we talked about. [Motion] said, 'Victor, I don't see much speed so if they let you go and you relax, go for it. But if you see somebody go, she doesn't need to be on the lead,'” Carrasco said. “We planned on going and she didn't fight me much the first part. Once we passed the first wire and I peeked to the screen and I saw 27 and 55 [seconds], I was just thinking in my mind, 'This race is over.' Once we turned for home and I got after her, she just opened up and rode away from the field.”

Searching, a 1978 Hall of Fame inductee, was a bay daughter of 1937 Triple Crown champion War Admiral bred by Odgen Phipps that won the Gallorette Stakes at Pimlico in 1955 and 1957 for trainer Hirsch Jacobs, retiring with a record of 25-14-16 with $327,381 in purse earnings from 89 starts. As a broodmare, Searching also enjoyed great success with offspring such as Affectionately, an 18-time stakes winner and dam of 1970 Preakness winner Personality, and Admiring, the grand-dam of 1993 Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero.

The post Blame Debbie Brings Home Searching Stakes At Pimlico appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post