Victor Carrasco | Horse Racing Free Tips

Ellanation Earns First Stakes Win In Jameela Stakes

Dark Hollow Farm's Ellanation, a 5-year-old Maryland bred mare by Alternation, rallied down the stretch to win the $75,000 Jameela Stakes by a half-length over Dendrobia at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. Quiet Company was third.

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.

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Blame Debbie Brings Home Searching Stakes At Pimlico

Running 12 furlongs off a 200-day layoff over a turf course that absorbed several days of rain proved no obstacle for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Michael Cloonan, and Tim Thornton's Blame Debbie in a front-running 3 ½-length triumph in Sunday's $100,000 Searching Stakes at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, M.D.

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.

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The Reds Awarded Federico Tesio Stakes Via Disqualification

Having run second despite encountering trouble both early and late, Flanagan Racing's The Reds was promoted to victory following the disqualification of first-place finisher Excellorator in Saturday's $125,000 Federico Tesio at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The 40^th running of the 1 1/8-mile Federico Tesio headlined an 11-race Spring Stakes Spectacular program featuring six stakes worth $650,000 in purses. For the sixth straight year, the Tesio offered Triple Crown-nominated 3-year-olds and automatic berth in the 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 15 at Pimlico.

Saturday marked the return of the Tesio to Pimlico, where it debuted in 1981 and stayed every year but two through 2015. Named for the noted Italian breeder, owner and trainer whose homebreds Nearco and Ribot dominate Thoroughbred bloodlines around the world, the Tesio was held at Laurel Park in 1987 and 1989 and each year since 2016.

Sent off the 9-5 favorite in a field of eight that included stakes winners Shackled Love, Hello Hot Rod and his former stablemate Maythehorsebwithu, The Reds ($5.80) gave both local jockey Victor Carrasco and New York-based trainer John Kimmel their first Tesio victory.

“I thought he showed tremendous courage, really,” Kimmel said by phone. “He got squeezed at the start so he ended up losing his spot. He should have been much closer. Then he had a terrible trip getting to where he was when the horse came out on him, which was a call I thought was deserved. We were just very fortunate.”

Shackled Love, who edged Maythehorsebwithu in the March 13 Private Terms at Laurel, broke side-by-side from the two outermost posts and both were intent on the lead, going the first quarter-mile in 24.13 seconds and a half in 48.12 with Excellorator and jockey Angel Cruz tracking in third. Six furlongs went in 1:11.50 with the top two still in front, though Excellorator was closing the gap.

Neither leader was able to maintain their momentum and began to drop back as they came into the stretch, leaving Excellorator to inherit the lead. Meanwhile The Reds, shuffled back between Royal Number and Hello Hot Rod early and steadied on the far turn, got straightened out and was coming with a run when Excellorator drifted out under Cruz's left-handed urging. The Reds was forced to alter his path and had Royal Number closing on his outside.

Once on a straight path, Excellorator dug in and held off The Reds by a head after completing the distance in 1:49.98 over a fast main track. Following a lengthy stewards' inquiry and objections from both Carrasco on Cruz and Royal Number jockey Julian Pimentel on Carrasco, Excellorator was taken down and placed second behind The Reds.

“Not too disappointed really, because the horse ran a wonderful race,” Excellorator's trainer, Hugh McMahon, said. “We did our part. There's just so much we can do, but there's so many external variables that influence these kinds of outcomes.”

The remaining order of finish was unchanged. Royal Number was third, followed by Hello Hot Rod, Maythehorsebwithu, Shackled Love, Zertz and Tiz Mandate.

“He broke good. You could see going into the turn, I'm trying to get him to relax. We had a great outside post and I wanted no part of dueling for the first three-quarters,” jockey Sheldon Russell, aboard Maythehorsebwithu, said. “I'm making every effort to sort of break his stride and get him to relax. We do a lot of work trying to teach them to relax in the afternoon, but we probably had him a little too fresh today. He just ran his race early on. We'll regroup and see how he comes out.”

By Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tonalist, The Reds broke his maiden in his fifth career start and second this year, a 1 1/8-mile maiden special weight Jan. 31 at Aqueduct. Last time out, he ran fifth in the one-mile Gotham (G3) March 6, also at the Big A.

The Reds is not Triple Crown-nominated, but can be supplemented to the 1 3/16-mile Preakness at the time of entry, May 10.

“This horse is really suited to run further. He's got that kind of temperament. He settles really well,” Kimmel said. “I'm not sure if we'll come back in three weeks but we'll see how the Derby and the participants in the Preakness shakes out and we'll go from there.”

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Knicks Go Named 2020 Maryland-Bred Horse Of The Year

The fourth annual Renaissance Awards, a collaborative effort between the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Maryland Jockey Club, which recognizes excellence in Thoroughbred racing and breeding in Maryland in the past year, went virtual this year.

Throughout the week of Feb. 22, awards were presented through the MHBA's social media accounts to the top Maryland owner, trainer, jockey, breeder, broodmare and stallion, Backstretch Workers of the Year, one for Pimlico Race Course and one for Laurel Park, MTHA's Unsung Hero, as well as the champion Maryland-breds of 2020.

Record-breaking Grade 1 winner Knicks Go took home top honors as Maryland-bred Horse of the Year and champion older male.

Owned by Korea Racing Authority and trained by Brad H. Cox, Knicks Go capped off an impressive year by breaking the track record at Keeneland with his victory in the $1-million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, notching his second Grade 1 victory by 3 1/2 lengths as he stopped the clock in 1:33.85. He went into the Breeders' Cup after securing a 10 1/4-length victory in a 1 1/16 mile allowance at Keeneland, where he broke the track record in 1:40.79, which was preceded by an allowance victory at Oaklawn Park in February. A perfect three for three in 2020, the son of Paynter earned $608,440.

Knicks Go, bred by Angie Moore, was sold as a weanling for $40,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, and later purchased for $87,000 as a yearling by Korea Racing Authority at the 2017 Keeneland September sale. Only the fifth Maryland-bred to win a Breeders' Cup race, his share of the purse ($520,000) propelled him beyond the $1 million mark in career earnings.

Other divisional champions:

Champion 2-year-old male: Jaxon Traveler (dk.b./br.c., 2018, by Munnings—Listen Boy, by After Market). Bred by Dr. and Mrs. A. Leonard Pineau; owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner; trained by Steven M. Asmussen.

Champion 2-year-old filly: Street Lute (ch. f., 2018, by Street Magician—Alottalute, by Midnight Lute). Bred by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman and Dr. Brooke Bowman; owned by Lucky 7 Stables; trained by John J. Robb.

Champion 3-year-old male: Field Pass (gr./ro.c, 2017, by Lemon Drop Kid—Only Me, by Runaway Groom). Bred by Mark Brown Grier; owned by Three Diamonds Farm; trained by Michael J. Maker.

Champion 3-year-old filly and champion turf runner: Sharing (ch.f., 2017, by Speightstown—Shared Account, by Pleasantly Perfect). Bred by Sagamore Farm; owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck); trained by H. Graham Motion.

Champion older female: Never Enough Time (dk.b./br.m., 2016, by Munnings—What Time It Is, by Partner's Hero). Bred and owned by R. Larry Johnson; trained by Michael J. Trombetta.

Champion sprinter: Laki (ch.g., 2013, by Cuba—Truthful Dutch, by Swear by Dixie). Bred by Tom Michaels and Lorna Baker; owned by Hillside Equestrian Meadows; trained by Damon R. Dilodovico.

Also presented were the annual breeder, stallion and broodmare of the year awards. Angie Moore, breeder of 2020 Maryland-bred Horse of the Year and champion older male Knicks Go, was crowned the Maryland Breeder of the Year, while Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds LLC and Hillwood Stable LLC's Love's Reason, dam of 2019 Maryland-bred champion older female Majestic Reason, won Maryland Broodmare of the Year and Northview Stallion Station's Great Notion took home the title of Maryland Stallion of the Year for the fifth consecutive year.

Other award winners for 2020 include Robert Bone, Maryland Owner of the Year; Claudio Gonzalez, Maryland Trainer of the Year; Trevor McCarthy, Maryland Jockey of the Year. Edgar Gallegos was honored as the Pimlico Backstretch Worker of the Year, while Antonio Lopez Salazar earned the title of Laurel Backstretch Employee of the Year, and jockey Victor Carrasco was recognized as the MTHA's Unsung Hero.

Watch the video announcements for each champion and award winner here

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