The 18th running of the Dave's Friend for 3-year-olds and up and 11th renewal of the Willa On the Move for fillies and mares 3 years old and up, both sprinting six furlongs, are among six $100,000 stakes on a nine-race Christmastide Day program.

In addition to Dave's Friend and Willa On the Move, the Robert T. Manfuso for 3-year-olds and up at about 1 1/16 miles and the 1 1/8-mile Carousel for fillies and mares 3 and older close out the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series in their respective divisions.

Laki broke outwardly and was never able to get into contention in the six-furlong De Francis Sept. 18 at Laurel, winding up well behind first-place finisher Wondrwherecraigis, who would be disqualified to second for interference but go on to win the G3 Bold Ruler in his subsequent start.

The 8-year-old Cuba gelding was given plenty of time to recover by trainer Damon Dilodovico, not returning to the work tab until Nov. 21. His last two breezes have come since Laurel's main track underwent renovations in early December.

“I'm glad we were able to get a second breeze on the new surface. I think that will help,” Dilodovico said. “Maybe that will work out as an advantage for those of us that are stabled here.

“He seems ready. We gave him a little break after the Dash, which he always seems to come back well from. We're pretty happy with where he is right now,” he added. “He earned the time off. He's a warrior.”

Laki is 11-for-38 lifetime, including 19 for 24 in the top three at Laurel, with $833,162 in purse earnings. He has won at least one stakes race five straight years, a streak he extended in the Frank Y. Whiteley going six furlongs April 24 at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. He also leads MATCH dirt sprinters with 21 points and will clinch a third straight division title following 2018 and 2019. The Series was shelved in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“We may race him next year but I think we'll decide after this. We do plan on giving him another real winter break after this race and we'll see how he is afterward,” Dilodovico said. “[Owner Paul 'Buck'] Kalinowski will hopefully have a spot and can take him back home. He's rehabbed very well at his farm up in Connecticut.

“He's done a good job with him. Hopefully, he can take him up there and keep an eye on him and send us back a fresh old man,” he added. “That said, we won't [push] him. He's done his job. If he decides he wants to stop, we'll stop. But we are going into the season with at least the thought that we'll bring him back.”

Regular rider Horacio Karamanos has the call on Laki from the rail in a field of eight.

Sharing topweight of 124 pounds with Laki is Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber, and BTR Racing, Inc.'s Whereshetoldmetogo, a fellow multiple stakes winner that enters the Dave's Friend on a two-race win streak. Both victories, in the six-furlong New Castle Sept. 25 at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., and seven-furlong Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial against fellow Maryland-bred/sired horses Nov. 26 at Laurel, came by a neck.

“The last time he was kind of forced to go wide, and it's nice to kind of see him overcome some things, regardless of what the outcome is,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “In terms of how he gets the job done, he just gets it done. I think that's the main thing. He still wants to do it. He likes racing.”

A 6-year-old El Padrino gelding, Whereshetoldmetogo has won 13 of 31 career starts with $744,791 in purse earnings, and has six wins in eight tries at Laurel. Other wins this year have come in the Not For Love at Laurel and Alapocas Run at Delaware, along with a third in the Challedon at Pimlico.

“He's great. We always thought he was doing well when he was over at Pimlico, but he's a different horse over at Laurel when he trains. He's just happier,” Russell said. “Something about it, I don't know, back in the barn, just how he is on the racetrack and everything. Obviously, he shows he loves it in the afternoon. We're happy that [this] one is at Laurel and he's at home.”

Jevian Toledo, Maryland's leading rider at both the fall meet and overall for 2021, will be aboard for the third straight race from Post 4.

The Dave's Friend also attracted Karan's Notion and Air Token, respective upset winners of the 2020 and 2021 Maryland Million Sprint. Bred, owned, and trained by Nancy Heil, Karan's Notion is winless in eight starts this year including a runner-up finish to Whereshetoldmetogo in the Not For Love.

Air Token won the Oct. 23 Sprint by 2 ¼ lengths for owner-trainer Jose Corrales, then came back with a gutsy effort between Whereshetoldmetogo and Youngest of Five in the stretch to finish third by a neck in the Bender.

“Racing is a competition and you need a little bit of luck. The horse ran a big race and came back good and that's how you take it in this business. You're not always going to win,” Corrales said. “He's a horse that just keeps improving. He's a very consistent horse. He's a very nice horse and I'm happy to have him. He's a pleasure to have. He's got a great personality.”

Threes Over Deuces, promoted winner of last year's New Castle who ran third by a neck this fall; multiple West Virginia-bred stakes winner Penguin Power; Youngest of Five; and Newbomb complete the field.

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Stakes action begins Friday, Nov. 26 with a pair of $75,000 events for Maryland-bred/sired horses, the seven-furlong Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial for 3-year-olds and six-furlong Politely for fillies and mares 3 and up.

Hillside Equestrian Meadows' 8-year-old Laki, unraced since finishing sixth Sept. 18 in defense of his 2020 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash victory at Laurel but a winner of at least one stakes race five straight years, is one of 25 nominees to the Bender. Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber, and BTR Racing's Whereshetoldmetogo owns 12 career wins, nine in stakes, is Grade 2 placed and five-for-seven lifetime at Laurel.

Other prominent Bender nominees are Oct. 23 Maryland Million Sprint winner Air Token and multiple stakes winners Double Crown, twice graded-stakes placed Alwaysmining, Galerio, 14-time career winner Penguin Power, and 3-year-old filly Street Lute.

Lucky 7 Stables' Street Lute is among 19 nominees to the Politely. The daughter of Street Magician has won nine of 15 lifetime starts with eight of those victories in stakes. Most recently, she ran third in the Oct. 23 Maryland Million Distaff behind Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables' Hello Beautiful, also nominated.

Purchased by trainer Brittany Russell for just $6,500 in December 2018, 4-year-old Hello Beautiful is 10-for-18 in her career and nine-for-13 at Laurel with $582,570 in purse earnings and eight stakes wins, including three in a row. She made history in the Distaff as one of just eight horses with three career Maryland Million victories.

Saturday, Nov. 27 will feature three $100,000 stakes – the City of Laurel for 3-year-olds and Safely Kept for 3-year-old fillies, both sprinting seven furlongs, and the 1 1/8-mile Richard W. Small for 3-year-olds and up.

Roseland Farm Stable's 2020 G3 Nashua winner Pickin' Time is among 25 nominees to the City of Laurel. The Stay Thirsty colt was second behind Jackie's Warrior in the G2 Gallant Bob Sept. 25 and most recently fifth to fellow City of Laurel nominee He'smyhoneybadger in the Oct. 23 Perryville at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Louis Ulman and Neil Glasser's Kenny Had a Notion, a stakes winner on turf and dirt that snapped a seven-race losing streak Nov. 11 at Laurel, is nominated to both the City of Laurel and Bender. Other City of Laurel nominees include stakes winners Beren, Everett's Song, Maythehorsebwithu, Mohs, Officiating, The King Cheek, and Waist Deep, and graded-stakes placed Momos and Riden With Biden.

Mopo Racing's Moquist tops 22 horses nominated to the Safely Kept. The daughter of G1 Florida Derby and G1 Kentucky Derby winner and 2-year-old male champion Nyquist is 4-0 lifetime, all this year, with the last three of her wins coming at Laurel. A winner by 13 ¼ combined lengths, Moquist will be facing her own age group for the first time in the Safely Kept.

Also nominated are Li'l Tootsie, third last out in the G2 Prioress Sept. 4 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; stakes winners Lovely Ride, Malibu Beauty, Prodigy Doll, and Street Lute; Fraudulent Charge, who has four seconds, three in stakes, from six starts; and Oct. 23 Maryland Million Ladies runner-up Maldives Model.

The Small attracted 23 nominations including Trin-Brook Stables, Inc.'s Informative, winner of the June 12 G3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.; Sept. 25 G3 Greenwood Cup winner Magic Michael; multiple stakes winner Cordmaker, third in the 2019 and 2020 G3 Pimlico Special; 2019 G1 Woodward runner-up Bal Harbour; and 7-year-old gelding Bobby G, who has earned 13 of his 15 career wins at Laurel.

Laurel will host its traditional Thanksgiving Day program Thursday, Nov. 25, featuring the return of the popular family-sized pie giveaway with the purchase of a racing program, while supplies last.

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Up until now, the most famous image of a similar incident was probably taken in the final strides of the 1980 Tremont Stakes, where Great Prospector reached over to bite at eventual winner Golden Derby. A black and white photo of the moment, shot from underneath the inside rail by Bob Coglianese, became the Eclipse Award winning image of that year.

Firenze Fire, a 6-year-old intact male with multiple graded stakes races to his credit, came at Yaupon with his teeth several times before jockey Jose Ortiz was able to straighten him out. If Yaupon was disturbed by the behavior, it didn't impact his performance, as he prevailed by a head at the wire. Local reports indicated Yaupon was unharmed by the incident.

Strangely, Firenze Fire has been on the receiving end of such treatment, too. During the running of the G3 Gallant Bob in 2018 he was bitten by Whereshetoldmetogo just before the wire — although he seems to have only gotten a single, somewhat discreet nip on the neck, rather than a teeth-barred facial attack like the one he dealt to Yaupon.

Unreal. Firenze Fire, you savage. pic.twitter.com/hNNCOZcATj

— Ray Paulick (@raypaulick) August 28, 2021

We asked a few equine behavior experts about Firenze Fire's behavior to learn more about what makes horses do this. Here's what we learned.

Dr. Sue McDonnell, founding head of the Equine Behavior Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Certified Animal Behaviorist: 

I don't think it does have much to do with dominance, but of course can't be sure. I see this all day every day in the herd and I don't think it gains the perpetrator any advantage or dominance. I think it's a reflex gesture that communicates, 'Slow down and let's play fight!' I agree to people it looks vicious, and people often assume it's a dominance thing, but that's a big assumption, probably without much evidence. What I see doesn't support that at all.

I see this among foals playing, bachelors play chasing and wrestling, usually after a long run or “race” if you will, and they are tiring and ones seems to want to slow or stop and wrestle. In serious combat between stallions, that particular biting gesture is not seen. It's more of very serious lunge to take the other down to the ground.

My first thought is that the previous incident is likely coincidence. The only thing that I can think of concerning the possible relationship of having been involved previously is that Firenze Fire is the type of horse that is paying attention to the competitor horse in the sense of actually “racing” the other horse rather just running in response to the rider direction and training — a different motivational state, which is likely perceived among horses. And that in the previous incident where he was the receiver, that competitor horse was reflexively responding to Firenze Fire's natural racing motivation/behavior.

Firenze Fire #10 (R) with Irad Ortiz, Jr. riding overcame a bite by 2nd place finisher Whereshetoldmetogo (L) with jockey Jeremy Rose to win the $300,000 Grade III Gallant Bob Stakes at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pennsylvania on September 22, 2018. Photo By Taylor Ejdys/EQUI-PHOTO

Dr. Nicholas Dodman, program director of the Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and diplomate of American College of Veterinary Behaviorists: 

Biting with ears pinned back is a typical behavior of an intact horse or a gelding given steroids. If you walk down track shed rows, you can pretty much tell the stallions by the way the horses lay their ears back and charge at people with teeth bared or they do it only to horses being hot walked around the shed rows. The walker knows to give them a wide berth from the stalls and needs to have their horse strong in hand when going by.

I doubt very much that Firenze Fire's biting behavior was a reaction to his being on the receiving end of similar behavior some years before.

Kerry Thomas, founder of the Thomas Herding Technique and THT Bloodstock:

[This incident is not necessarily about exerting dominance] because dominance and physical expression do not always go hand-in-hand by the laws of herd dynamics in nature. In this scenario I view it as more related to the manner of physical expression in what we at THT call a “close-space-fighter”, which means for us horses that have a tendency to exaggerate their physical expression during times of protracted competitive stresses.

It's more a re-direction of focus than a fracture. The same amount of emotional energy that was housed in the forward competitive aspect gets shifted to what the horse views as a close space infraction. This shift in emotional energy disrupts physical efficiency and subsequently affects physical pace. In short, what you have is the mental horse going one direction and the physical horse another for those moments.

By and large I view these as unrelated, separate incidents. However that said, Firenze Fire's herd dynamic rhythms and competitive nature in close space battles can lend itself to a variety of both dishing-out & eliciting of arbitrary expressions, most of which are subtle, some of which, as we have seen, not so subtle.

The emotional expressions of these athletes reminds us we should never underappreciate the beauty of their nature, nor undervalue the impact of it.

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The 1 1/8-mile Tesio, headlining a program of seven stakes worth $750,000 in purses, once again serves as a 'Win and In' qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the $1 million Preakness Stakes (G1) May 15 at Pimlico Race Course.

Neither Shackled Love nor Maythehorsebwithu were among the 326 horses nominated to the Triple Crown for $300 by the initial Jan. 23 deadline. Horses can be nominated again by Monday, March 29 for a $6,000 fee.

Trainer Gary Capuano said that ZWP Stable, Inc. and Non Stop Stable's Maryland homebred Shackled Love, a son of 2011 Preakness winner Shackleford, emerged from the race well. It was the first stakes attempt for the bay gelding, who was the second-longest shot in the seven-horse Private Terms at odds of 21-1.

“He's good. He came out of the race good. It was a good race, a good effort,” Capuano said. “He's a good-feeling, nice kind of horse. He's definitely been improving quite a bit.

“It's amazing how things sometimes work out,” he added. “We stuck him in and looked at the race. His numbers fit with the race and he's been improving, so it was worth taking a shot. He had a good post position, the whole thing. It looked like he could be competitive in there if he ran his race.”

After winning in debut last fall at Delaware Park, Shackled Love had lost four straight races with back-to-back seconds entering the Private Terms. He pressed pacesetting even-money favorite Maythehorsebwithu from the gate, took a narrow lead in mid-stretch and dug in to the wire.

“He had been training good. It was a solid field and his numbers had been improving each race even though he's been beat,” Capuano said. “He got beat by a couple of those but he's been improving and training well, so it was worth taking a shot at it. We would have liked going through another condition first, but it works out better this way. If you're going to lose your condition you might as well lose it in a stake for $100,000. It's all good.”

Next up for Shackled Love is the Tesio, a race Capuano won in 2003 with Cherokee's Boy, also bred and owned by ZWP Stable. Cherokee's Boy won 19 times, 14 in stakes including the 2005 Salvator Mile Handicap (G3), from 48 starts and more than $1 million in purse earnings, and ran eighth in the Preakness.

“I would think so, as long as he comes out of race good and trains good. I don't see why we wouldn't,” Capuano said. “There's no other races for 3-year-olds, you have to run in a stake anyway. He's in the same boat as Shackqueenking and Brittany's horse. You have to run in the stake or you don't run for a while.”

Pocket 3's Racing's Shackqueenking, nose winner of the 1 1/16-mile Howard County to cap his juvenile season, moved into a contending position on the far turn but was unable to gain any ground and wound up fourth, beaten a total of 3 ½ lengths.

“He ran good. He just hung there the last part. He had every opportunity turning for home, but the other two they were just running comfortable,” Capuano said. “He's got a tendency to hang a little bit the last eight of a mile anyway, so we tried to get him moving so we could get some momentum and he did that but then he just kind of hung there the last part. He got beat three or four lengths which wasn't terrible.”

Michael Dubb and Bethlehem Stables' Maythehorsebwithu was making his two-turn debut in the about 1 1/16-mile Private Terms off a dominant four-length score over multiple stakes winner Kenny Had a Notion – trained by Capuano's older brother, Dale – in the one-mile Miracle Wood Feb. 20.

Ridden by Sheldon Russell, Maythehorsebwithu set a pace of 23.97 and 47.44 seconds before grudgingly yielding the lead, then came back on again after being passed.

“I thought he had him and then you see Gary's horse like, 'No, not now. I've got you.' It was a good horse race. You have to give them both a lot of credit. They both ran big,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “Absolutely, we're delighted. Another big effort. He's consistent and he runs hard every time, so what's not to be happy about?”

Maythehorsebwithu has done his best running at Laurel, with two wins and two seconds from four starts. He was beaten a neck by Kenny Had a Notion in the seven-furlong Spectacular Bid Jan. 16 to kick off his sophomore season and is also headed toward the Tesio.

“More than likely. We'll get him back to the track and see how he is. I'm definitely going to give him an easy couple weeks here, if he allows it,” Brittany Russell said. “This morning, he was laying down in his stall. He was exhausted. That's probably the first time I've noticed him do that after a run. We'll just let him kind of catch his breath and make a plan, but why wouldn't we try? He's doing nothing wrong in the afternoon.”

Russell reported that Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber and Black Cloud Racing Stable's Whereshetoldmetogo was doing well after opening his 6-year-old campaign with a victory in Saturday's $75,000 Not For Love for Maryland-bred/sired horses that marked his third consecutive win, all in stakes.

Despite never switching over to his right lead, Whereshetoldmetogo ran six furlongs in 1:09.82 to win the Not For Love by 2 ½ lengths as the 1-5 favorite in a field of seven.

“He's the greatest. We love him. He ran so good. It's tough because you watch these races sometimes where you're the heavy favorite like that and it just seems like you're not a lock,” Russell said. “Things can happen. Regardless, he steps up and gets the job done. Left lead and all, he did it.”

Next up for local sprinters is the $100,000 Frank Y. Whiteley going seven furlongs on the Tesio undercard April 17. Whereshetoldmetogo won the Whiteley, contested at six furlongs and rescheduled to Nov. 28 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“I haven't spoken to anybody yet but I would love to keep him home,” Russell said. “He obviously likes it here, and keep a good thing going.”

Joel Politi's Littlestitious, a determined half-length winner of Saturday's $100,000 Beyond the Wire for 3-year-old fillies, remains at Laurel after shipping in from Louisiana for trainer Tom Amoss to earn her second career stakes victory.

Laurel has been under restrictions after a horse tested positive for the equine herpesvirus March 8, but no additional cases of EHV1 have been identified by the Maryland Jockey Club.

“She came out of the race in good shape. I spoke to the barn early this morning. We're trying to determine what stage we're in with the herpes [virus],” Amoss said. “That's going to have a lot to do with what our plans are. We know that we're there for another week, minimum with the horse, but that's just a logistics thing.

“Other than that, she came out of the race in good shape. We're really pleased with the way she ran. We think that there's a real future there as the races go a little further in distance and she transitions back to two turns, which is what we're going to do in the next start.”

The next local race for 3-year-old fillies is the $125,000 Weber City Miss, contested around two turns at about 1 1/16 miles April 17 and an automatic qualifier to the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) May 14 at Pimlico.

Littlestitious, under Sheldon Russell, came with a steady run down the center of the track after tracking pacesetting favorites Street Lute and Fraudulent Charge, and edged the latter in the final sixteenth of a mile to win by a half-length. Street Lute, a six-time stakes winner including five in a row, wound up third as the 3-5 favorite in her first race beyond seven furlongs.

“I had great respect for the favorite in that race. I mean, what a record she had going in. I did not know how the race was going to play out [but was] confident in the sense that I thought our horse would run her race, but whether it was good enough against the other horses there, that was unclear,” Amoss said. “Watching the race unfold and watching the way she ran, I give a great deal of credit to the rider. He rode her really, really well.”

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The 53^rd running of the 1 1/8-mile Native Dancer, first held at old Bowie Race Course in 1966, was among three stakes for 3-year-olds and up on the undercard of a Christmastide Day program of eight stakes worth $850,000 in purses led by the $150,000 Allaire du Pont (Grade 3).

In a pair of six-furlong springs earlier on the card, Whershetoldmetogo captured the $100,000 Dave's Friend for males and Dontletsweetfoolya won her fifth straight race in the $100,000 Willa On the Move for fillies and mares.

Favored at odds of 1-5 over his six rivals, Harpers First Ride ($2.40) registered his seventh win from 11 starts this year and fourth stakes win, none bigger than the historic Pimlico Special (G3) Oct. 2 at Pimlico Race Course. The winning time was 1:48.56 over a fast main track.

Jockey Angel Cruz, riding for fall meet-leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez, positioned Harpers First Ride behind pacesetting 45-1 long shot Saratoga Jack through a quarter-mile in 24.61 seconds, with Cordmaker and Hall Pass battling side by side behind the top two. Harpers First Ride was in front after a half in 48.39 seconds and went six furlongs in 1:11.53 when Cordmaker – third in the 2019 and 2020 Pimlico Special – came calling. They straightened for home together but Cordmaker was unable to sustain his drive and got passed by Forewarned for second.

“Claudio told me to get a good position and just sit behind the speed. The speed's on the outside so [I] just [tried to] get him to relax and go on from there,” Cruz said. “At the top of the stretch I had so much horse, when I asked Harper he responded very well. When Cordmaker came by me I just sat patient and waited a little bit and when I asked him he responded for me. He's just a game horse. He fights to the end.”

Harpers First Ride won four of his last five starts to cap 2020, all of them in stakes – the Deputed Testamony, Pimlico Special, Richard W. Small and Native Dancer. He owns eight wins from 10 career tries at Laurel with one second and one third.

 Whereshetoldmetogo Proves Best in $100,000 Dave's Friend
Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber and Black Cloud Racing Stable's Whereshetoldmetogo came with a determined run through the stretch on the far outside and edged clear to a three-quarter-length triumph in the $100,000 Dave's Friend.

It was the third consecutive win and second straight in a stakes for Whereshetoldmetogo ($6), racing for the fourth time since joining Laurel trainer Brittany Russell. The 5-year-old El Padrino gelding ran six furlongs in a sharp 1:08.55 over a fast main track.

Jockey Jevian Toledo, subbing for regular rider Sheldon Russell, was unhurried in the early going as 25-1 long shot Charge to Victory ran a quarter-mile in 22.13 seconds before being overtaken by 13-time career winner Penguin Power after a half in 44.63. Put in the clear leaving the backstretch, Whereshetoldmetogo began rolling on the outside around the turn and was set down for a drive once straightened for home.

“Brittany told me not to rush him out of there and just leave him alone wherever he's comfortable,” Toledo said. “I just let him break and settle and when I felt he was trying to move I made my move, and he gave me everything he had. He's a really nice horse.”

Taco Supream put in a strong effort to be second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Penguin Power. Laki, favored at 4-5, was another two lengths back in fourth with multiple stakes winner and first-time gelding Lebda finishing fifth.

Whereshetoldmetogo has crossed the wire first for three straight races, but was disqualified to second in the Sept. 26 New Castle Stakes at Delaware Park for interference before rebounding to edge Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) winner Laki by a nose in the Frank Y. Whiteley Nov. 28 at Laurel.

'Sweet' Streak Reaches Five in $100,000 Willa On the Move
Five Hellions Farm's Dontletsweetfoolya extended her win streak to five races, putting away main rival Malibu Mischief at the top of the stretch and sprinting clear to her second straight stakes victory in the $100,000 Willa On the Move.

Dontletsweetfoolya ($4.20), favored at even money in a field of eight, hit the wire 2 ¼ lengths in front in 1:09.47 for six furlongs over a fast main track. It was the closest a horse had come to beating the daughter of Grade 1 winner Stay Thirsty during her streak, where she had won by an average of 6 ½ lengths.

“Ever since we drew the one-hole we were kind of dreading it, especially with the weather coming in. The track guys did a fantastic job with working this rail all day,” winning trainer Lacey Gaudet said. “We've had rain and cold weather and this rail is beautiful so it did give us a little more confidence when we led her over here. [There was] a lot of speed; being on the inside we knew she was going to be pressed pretty hard and she just keeps coming back at them.”

Jevian Toledo, aboard for the entirety of the streak, hustled Dontletsweetfoolya from their rail post and was quickly joined by Malibu Mischief, a New York shipper that had won her six straight races. Malibu Mischief pressed Dontletsweetfoolya through fractions of 22.40, 44.81 and 56.75 seconds but was no match once they straightened for home, when Dontletsweetfoolya drew off to her fifth win in eight career starts.

“I didn't tell Jevian anything. He rides this filly with confidence and he knows her very well,” Gaudet said. “He got to the paddock and I gave him a fist bump and said, 'It's up to you now.' That's kind of what we've done the last few races with her, and he gets her home.”

Hisbiscus Punch, off at 21-1, edged Malibu Mischief by a half-length for second with Club Car just a neck back in fourth.

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The 25th running of the Small at about 1 1/16 miles and $100,000 Frank Y. Whiteley at six furlongs, both for 3-year-olds and up, were among six stakes worth $600,000 in purses on the Fall Festival of Racing program that included the $100,000 Concern for 3-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs.

Favored at even money in a field of 10 featuring fellow graded-stakes winners Name Changer and Monongahela, multiple graded-stakes placed Cordmaker and Bal Harbour and Mexican Triple Crown winner Kukulkan, Harpers First Ride ($4) completed the distance in 1:41.92 over a fast main track.

It was the second career Small victory for trainer Claudio Gonzalez following Afleet Willy in 2017 and first for Angel Cruz, also aboard for wins in the Pimlico Special and Primonetta that preceded a last out second to Monday Morning Qb in the Maryland Million Classic.

“He's a special horse,” Cruz said. “He gave me my biggest win of the year and he just gave me another one. Those horses are special. They mean a lot, and when you get on them, it means more.”

Bal Harbour, dropping out of graded-stakes company for the first time in 12 races dating back to December 2018, and multiple Pennsylvania-bred stakes winner Wait for It battled through a quarter-mile in 23.14 seconds and a half in 46.24 with Cordmaker – third in the 2019 and 2020 Pimlico Special – and 2019 Iowa Derby winner side-by-side tracking in behind.

Having settled by himself in fifth, Harpers First Ride got his cue rounding the far turn responded by coasting to the lead on the extreme outside. Set down by Cruz at the top of the stretch, the 4-year-old gelding sprinted clear as Cordmaker took second and Name Changer edged Top Line Growth by a length for fourth.

Forewarned, Midnight Act, Monongahela, Bal Harbour, Wait for It and Kukulkan completed the order of finish.

“We knew there a couple horses that had a lot of speed and my horse is just a game horse and he's even, he doesn't have that much speed. But he broke good and I sent him and he sat behind the pace. He just relaxed for me and on the far turn, I had a lot of horse,” Cruz said. “When I tapped him he responded to me. I had tons of horse. He ran his heart out today.”

Whereshetoldmetogo Edges Laki in $100,000 Frank Whiteley
Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber and Black Cloud Racing Stable's Whereshetoldmetogo, disqualified from a stakes win in his previous start, outran favored Laki down the stretch and survived a double claim of foul to capture the eighth running of the $100,000 Frank Whiteley.

Laki broke sharply from his outside post but ceded the early lead to longshots Arthur's Hope and Zenden, in front after a sharp opening quarter-mile in 21.59 seconds. Day the Music Died, who broke a step slow, rushed up the rail to be third with Laki settled in fourth.

Whereshetoldmetogo ($9.80), racing in mid-pack early on, began gaining ground quickly along the inside around the turn as the half went in 44.42 seconds and Laki was steered to the far outside. Whereshetoldmetogo and jockey Sheldon Russell split Day the Music Died and Zenden approaching the stretch and took over the lead as Laki swept in to challenge on the outside. The two battled through the lane with Whereshetoldmetogo holding off Frank J. De Francis Dash (G3) winner Laki by a nose.

Both jockey Horacio Karamanos and trainer Damon Dilodovico lodged a claim of foul against Whereshetoldmetogo while fourth-place finisher Charge to Victory claimed against Laki, both incidents coming outside the quarter pole. Both were disallowed.

“We had a good trip. He came up the inside,” winning trainer Brittany Russell said. “I know we had a little issue there and I was hoping we didn't get DQ'd but it looked like it wasn't as big of a thing as maybe we originally thought. I felt like our horse was full of run and he's tough and he's game and he kept his head down, so I was confident.”

It was the second stakes win of the day for husband and wife, who teamed up with Hello Beautiful in the $100,000 Safely Kept. Whereshetoldmetogo was racing third time for Russell, having run fourth in the Sept. 5 Primonetta at Laurel and disqualified to second for lugging in mid-stretch of the Sept. 26 New Castle after hitting the wire 1 ½ lengths in front.

Air Token Flies Past Favored Francatelli to Win $100,000 Concern
Air Token, owned and trained by Jose Corrales, wore down favored stakes winner Francatelli through the stretch and edged clear to a 16-1 upset in the fourth running of the $100,000 Concern.

It was the first stakes win in his 12^th career start for Air Token ($35.60), who completed seven furlongs in 1:22.29 under jockey Horacio Karamanos for this second straight victory. Horse and rider teamed up to win an off-the-turf allowance Nov. 7 at Laurel.

“I think this horse can go longer but Mr. Corrales made the decision to run seven-eighths. We expected him to run good because the horse is really improving a lot,” Karamanos said. “I know him. I rode him one race before, one mile, and he won in good time. I thought he was going to give me a nice kick. Sometimes he flattens out but today he didn't and he won nice.”

Francatelli, a turf stakes winner in September bet down to 1-2 off a third-level optional claiming allowance last out Oct. 30 at Laurel, set fractions of 22.73 and 45.28 seconds for a half-mile under moderate pressure from Carey Times and stakes-placed Johnny Ritt. Karamanos settled Air Token in mid-pack along the rail until tipping out around the turn, setting their sights on the leader and steadily gained ground to win by a neck.

“We just sat behind the speed. Mr. Corrales told me to not rush him,” Karamanos said. “He broke out of the gate really nice. I saw [Francatelli] was the favorite. At the top of the stretch he was moving outside clear and nicely. He gave me a really nice kick and fought to the wire. He ran big today. I was confident all the way around.”

Golden Candy ran third, two lengths behind Francatelli, with 40-1 long shot Informative another 3 ¼ lengths back in fourth. Multiple stakes winner Lebda was scratched.

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