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Pick Pony | Oct. 13, 2024, 9:24 p.m.
No Guts No Glory Farm homebred Do It for Michael got out to an early lead, set a solid pace and had something left to hold off stakes winner Re Markably in deep stretch for a determined neck victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Maryland Million Nursery at Laurel Park.
The Nursery for 2-year-olds and Lassie for 2-year-old fillies, both sprinting six furlongs, were among eight stakes and four starter stakes worth $1.08 million in purses on ‘Maryland’s Day at the Races’ celebrating the progeny of stallions standing in the state.
It was the second straight Nursery win for trainer John ‘Jerry’ Robb following Catahoula Moon, later named Maryland’s champion 2-year-old male of 2023. Robb, second by three wins to Dale Capuano in Maryland Million history with 12, also won the Nursery with Run Alden (1993) and Glib (2011).
Breaking from Post 4 under jockey Xavier Perez, Do It for Michael ($7) established command early while pressed on his right hip by 19-1 long shot Kerness K with Lil Sebastian alongside in third and Re Markably further out in the clear in fourth. The opening quarter-mile went in 22.20 seconds and they approached the stretch following a 45.76 half-mile.
Do It for Michael continued to race near the rail with Aug. 14 Dover winner Re Markably giving chase down the center of the track when Do It for Michael began to drift out slightly inside the eighth pole but dug in to hold off Re Markably after going 1:10.57 over a fast main track.
“I did [expect him to go to the lead]. He’s quick,” Robb said. “He’s done everything right. I don’t know how good he could be.”
Sacred Thunder, All the Hardways, 9-5 favorite Say Me True, Barbadian Runner, Kerness K and Lil Sebastian completed the order of finish. Great Quality was scratched.
Do It for Michael won his debut by 2 ½ lengths in a five-furlong waiver maiden claimer June 30 at Laurel. He rallied to be second after a troubled rip in the 5 ½-furlong Hickory Tree Aug. 3 at Colonial Downs, and last time out was a front-running 1 ½-length optional claiming allowance winner Sept. 14 at Laurel. Now three-for-four lifetime, the Uncle Lino colt has never been favored.
Uncle Lino was a stakes winner and Grade 3-placed at 1 1/16 miles. Out of the mare Gracie’s Hero, Do It for Michael is a half-brother to Mama G’s Wish, a 10-time winner of more than $390,000 in purses from 34 starts also bred, owned and trained by Robb.
“The race he lost he got in all kinds of trouble. He walked out of the gate and he stumbled real bad, came flying and got the lead and then got caught,” Robb said. “His siblings were all high-end allowance horses and I think he’s the best of all of them. The family would go a mile and not a step farther, but maybe with the Uncle Lino [he will]. We’ll find out.”
Shkhara Fire Goes Last to First in $100,000 Lassie
Shkhara Fire, bred and owned by Barak Farm and Dino’s Thoroughbreds, LLC, might have broken last in the $100,000 Maryland Million Lassie, but the 2-year-old Friesen Fire filly was the first to cross the wire in the six-furlong event.
“We did not have the trip we expected,” trainer Jose Corrales said, “but we got the finish we expected,”
Out of the Langfuhr mare Rysy, Shkhara Fire covered the six furlongs in 1:11.24.
Coming into the race off a second-place finish against allowance optional company here Sept. 14, Shkhara Fire trailed as Biscuitwiththeboss set an on opening quarter in :22.01 while being pressed by Rapido Rosa. Malibu Hooch raced third.
Entering the stretch, Malibu Hooch took a clear lead from the two pacesetters and opened up on the rest of the field. But down the middle of the track, Shkhara Fire rallied under jockey Angel Cruz to get up by a neck at the finish line.
“I know this filly breaks a little bit slow,” Cruz said. “Last time I finished second and I got to know her better. She’s real professional. Jose Corrales took his time with her. We took her to the gate; we schooled her and she was better today. She broke a step slow, but I didn’t matter today…She’s going to love going longer.”
Shkhara Fire returned $19.80.
On the opposite end of a narrow loss last year, Ken Garcia homebred Starstruck Notion came with a steady run down the center of the track to reel in favored Sky’s Not Falling and win Saturday’s $125,000 Maryland Million Turf by a nose at Laurel Park.
The Turf for 3-year-olds and up and $125,000 Ladies for fillies and mares 3 and older, both going 1 1/8 miles on the Dahlia turf course, were among eight stakes and four starter stakes worth $1.08 million in purses on ‘Maryland’s Day at the Races’ celebrating the progeny of stallions standing in the state.
Starstruck Notion ($8.60) completed the distance in 1:47.84 over a firm course to earn his first stakes victory, a year after the 4-year-old gelding came as close as he ever had when he was three-quarters of a length behind Wicked Prankster in the 2023 Turf.
“A narrow win was fantastic,” trainer Pat McBurney said. “I kept looking for the wire. To win a race like this on a day like today, it’s fantastic.”
The win also extended the streak of Starstruck Notion’s sire, Great Notion, to 15 consecutive years with a Maryland Million winner. It was the 21st overall Maryland Million n for Great Notion, trailing only Not For Love (37) and Allen’s Prospect (22).
Jockey Forest Boyce, aboard for the first time since last year’s Turf, settled Starstruck Notion in third as Sports Editor was eager for the lead and held in through splits of 23.44 and 47.28 seconds while under pressure from 30-1 long shot Goodbye Note.
Sky’s Not Falling, winner of the 2022 Maryland Million Turf Sprint, moved into contention on the outside around the turn, opened up by 2 ½ lengths at the top of the stretch and appeared to be home free until Starstruck Notion, tipped outside by Boyce, closed stoutly and got his nose down in time.
“It was a beautiful ride by Forest. He can be rank early and she parked him in behind those horses and he settled for her,” McBurney said. “It worked out very good. I didn’t think he was going to get there but it was a bob of the head, so it was very nice.
“He likes to sit in that fifth or sixth race, four to seven lengths off depending on the speed or the pace,” he added. “I just reminded Forest, last year I had told her that he had been rank and even in his previous stakes race he was rank. She knows to park him behind horses like she did, so very well done.”
It was 2 ¼ lengths back to Grade 3-placed Crabs N Beer in third, followed by Sports Editor, Goodbye Note, Hanksdiviningrod, Street Copper and Riccio. Maryland-bred also-eligibles Vax a Nation and Mission North were scratched.
Circle Home Closes to Win $125,000 Maryland Million Ladies
Dark Hollow Farm’s Circle Home, originally on the also-eligible list, rallied from far back under jockey Jevian Toledo to win the $125,000 Maryland Million Ladies by a neck over the pacesetter Precious Avary. Next Episode was third.
Trained by Miguel Vera, Circle Home, second to last down the backstretch in the eight-horse field, covered the 1 1/8-mile course in 1:48.10. The victory was Toledo’s 18th in the Maryland Million, equaling the record of victories with Hall of Famer Edgar Prado in the 39th edition of the Maryland Million.
Precious Avary broke on top and led nearly the entire race while setting fractions of :23.57, :46.86 and 1:10.08. But Toledo rallied Circle Home from far back to just get up in the final strides.
For Circle Home, a 5-year-old mare by Bodemeister out of the Flatter mare Safe Journey, it was her fourth victory in 21 starts. The filly came into the Ladies off a third-place finish in the All Along Sept. 14 over the Laurel course. The mare has four wins, four seconds and two thirds in 15 turf races.
“I am impatient all week trying to get into the race because I know she fits in this race,” Vera said. “It feels amazing [winning a Maryland Million race]. I’ve been waiting for this for a while.”
Joel Politi homebred Bosserati, Maryland’s 2023 champion 3-year-old filly facing males for the first time, led every step of the way and held off a prolonged challenge from Great Idea in deep stretch to capture Saturday’s $100,000 Maryland Million Turf Sprint by a neck at Laurel Park.
The Turf Sprint, a 5 ½-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up, was among eight stakes and four starter stakes on the 39th Jim McKay Maryland Million program, ‘Maryland’s Day at the Races’ celebrating stallions standing in the state.
Ridden by Sheldon Russell for his wife, trainer Brittany Russell, Bosserati ($12.60) covered the distance in 1:02.04 over a firm Dahlia turf course to win for the first time in six starts this year. Two of her losses, both in stakes, have come by a neck.
“It’s unfortunate she hadn’t won a race. She does all the dirty work and I think the last few times they sort of nailed her right on the line,” Sheldon Russell said. “She sort of puts separation on her opponents and I don’t know if she switches off and thinks she’s won the race.
“She’s really fast. She broke alertly and I tried to sort of control her as much as I could. I didn’t know if we were going to get there in time or if they were going to nail me again, but fair play to her. She ran hard all the way to the line, and that second wire is a long way to go. She runs so hard the early on in the race she’s going to pay for it late, but she’s got a big heart.”
Breaking from outside all but one of her nine rivals, Bosserati was urged to the lead by Russell and able to cross over and establish herself up front while going the opening quarter-mile in 21.82 seconds with 15-1 long shot Fun Notion and fellow stakes winner Whenigettoheaven giving closest chase. Defending champion Witty, the 8-5 favorite, broke slowly and trailed the field.
Bosserati went a sharp half-mile in 44.63 seconds to maintain her advantage straightening for home, with Fun Notion on the outside and Great Idea along the rail in threatening positions. Bosserati dug in gamely as Great Idea inched closer approaching the wire but was unable to get past the stubborn leader.
“She’s quick. When you looked at the race that’s kind of what you’re going off of, hopefully she can get out there and do her thing. You know that something’s going to be running at her late,” Brittany Russell said. “I was in the paddock going crazy. I was with [trainer] Anthony Farrior and I’m like, ‘I don’t know if you’re good luck or bad luck.’ But, it turns out I might watch a few more races with him.”
It was 1 ½ lengths back to Had to Have Him in third, with necks separating the next three finishers – Katie’s Notion, Whenigettoheaven and Fun Notion. Blame the Tux, Witty, Tiz No Clown and Beltane completed the order of finish, while Benny Havens, Sue Loves Barbados and Maryland-bred also-eligible S S Sinatra were scratched.
“She’s a stakes winner and she’s a turf sprinter so you’ve just got to go with those opportunities sometimes,” Brittany Russell said. “We were looking at a three-other-than for her and that didn’t go, so here we are. Sometimes those are the things that are like, ‘You know what, maybe this will work out,’ and it did.”
Bosserati won her first three races including the 5 ½-furlong Stormy Blues last summer after being switched to the turf. She is the fourth Maryland Million winner for Brittany Russell following Hello Beautiful, who won the 2019 Lassie – Russell’s first career stakes victory – and 2020 and 2021 Distaff. She is one of only seven horses in history to win three Maryland Million races.
“It’s a different feeling when you don’t have a horse like Hello Beautiful,” Russell said. “I always felt like there was a little bit of pressure when we would walk her over here, and today there was less pressure, obviously hoping to win a race. It feels just as good either way.”
Hamilton Saddles Celtic Contender to Maryland Sprint Victory
Lewis Family Racing Stable’s Celtic Contender, trained by popular Maryland trainer Hamilton Smith, drove down the stretch under jockey Victor Carrasco to win the $100,000 Maryland Million Sprint by a half length over Band Camp. Freeze the Fire finished third.
A 3-year-old son of Irish War Cry out of the stakes-winning Posse mare Celtic Katie, covered the six furlongs in 1:09.87.
Arden’sluckytobe, who broke through the gate briefly before the race, took the lead and set fractions of :22.19 and :44.77 before giving way to Freeze the Fire around the turn. Entering the stretch, Carrasco moved Celtic Contender outside and drove past Freeze the Fire before holding off a late run by Band Camp.
Celtic Contender has won four of 10 starts. The colt won the Star de Naskra earlier this year, was third in the Concern and won last time going seven furlongs.
“We ran him in a couple stakes going long, and we probably should have waited instead of running in there,” Smith said. “He ran seven-eighths last time and he ran real big in that race. We ran him back at three-quarters and he performed like we thought he should. He’s a nice colt.”
Foxy Junior Up Takes Maryland Million Distaff
Dianne Stern’s homebred Foxy Junior, a winner of the Plum Pretty at Parx last tim out, drove past Spencerian down the stretch to win the $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff.
Foxy Junior won by three-quarters of a length over Sheilah’s Warcloud, who got up for the place a length in front of Spencerian.
A 4-year-old daughter of Cuba trained by Bernard Houghton and ridden by Jamar Torres, Foxy Junior covered the seven furlongs in 1:23.86. The filly has now won eight of 18 starts and more than $250,000.
Stern, a Maryland native, and Houghton said the filly’s victory in the Plum Pretty Sept. 21 played a large role in running in the Maryland Million Distaff.
“We agreed on this spot after the last race,” Houghton said.
“I didn’t want to run here and be embarrassed,” Stern said. “Prior races did count.”
Foxy Junior entered the stretch and drew alongside Spencerian, who pressed a :23.10 and 45:70 pace set by Talk to the Judge. After shaking loose from Spencerian, Foxy Junior had enough left to hold off the late-closing Sheilah’s Warcloud.
Crystal Park Stables Inc.’s Brilliant Ice powered through an opening along the inside at the top of the stretch and rolled home an easy 5 ¼-length winner in the $150,000 Maryland Million Classic to cap an emotional Saturday at Laurel Park.
The 1 1/8-mile Classic for 3-year-olds and up headlined the 39th Jim McKay Maryland Million Day program of 12 races featuring eight stakes and four starter stakes worth $1.08 million in purses on ‘Maryland’s Day at the Races,’ celebrating the progeny of stallions standing in the state.
Brilliant Ice ($13) had never raced beyond a mile and a sixteenth through 25 starts before stretching out in the Classic, completing the distance in 1:50.19 over a fast main track under jockey Jeiron Barbosa.
It was the first Maryland Million winner in 15 tries for 80-year-old trainer Annette Eubanks, who watched the race at home while recovering from a knee replacement. Earlier on the card she ran second in the $100,000 Sprint with Band Camp, a horse she also owns with her son, Dan, of Rising Sun Racing Stables, Inc.
“It’s very emotional because mom is not doing very good today. It’s the biggest day of her career and she couldn’t be here for it,” Eubanks said. “The horse ran huge. It’s like a homebred for us and for them. We just missed with Band Camp, and it’s just an awesome day. Mom’s 80 years old and having her best year ever. This is amazing. These horses can break your heart, and sometimes they can make it.”
Brilliant Ice, a 5-year-old son of Great Notion, was raised on the Eubanks’ Hillbizion Farm in Lothian, Md. His victory moved Great Notion into a tie with Allen’s Prospect for the second-most wins among sires in Maryland Million history with 22, having been represented by at least one winner for 15 consecutive years.
“She’s been our trainer for over 30 years,” Crystal Park’s Phil Bratz said. “We met her when she claimed Ice’s great grandmother away from us. She’s just phenomenal. She really cares about the animals and that’s why we’ve stayed with her for so long. She’s awesome and I wish she could be here today but, Annette, nice job.”
Annette Eubanks began her training career in 1987 and has already reached a personal best with more than $515,000 in purse earnings. She has 17 wins from 67 starters this year and has four wins, six seconds and one third from 11 starters at Laurel’s calendar year-ending fall meet that began Sept. 7.
“I employ quite a few trainers and everybody gives me a hard time about it. They always say, ‘Mom wins the most for you,’ and it’s true. My mom has taught me a lot about horses and about horsemanship, and so has my dad, and I hope to continue winning races for the Eubanks,” Dan Eubanks said.
“She’s home and watching right now. She’s wishing she could be here,” he added. “I love my mom and she loves her horses. A lot of people love my mom. It’s just great. It’s a great feeling.”
Brilliant Ice settled in seventh as Mosler Time, sent off as the 2-1 favorite in a field of 11, led through a quarter-mile in 23.67 seconds and a half in 47.54 pressed by defending champion and 25-1 long shot Ain’t Da Beer Cold and Dolice Vita racing along the rail. The top runners drifted out exiting the far turn and leaving a huge opening for Brilliant Ice to come through, and he accelerated with aplomb and drew clear.
“It was exciting,” Bratz said. “He is the great-grandson of the first horse that we ever owned. We were there the day he was born, and he loves my grandson, Wyatt. He’s just a big dog. He’s a great horse. I didn’t know he had this in him, but we gave it a shot and he ran big today.
“His grandmother, who we owned, won at a mile and an eighth and the way he was finishing at a mile we thought he could do it,” he added. “I didn’t think he would be this dominant, but it was awesome.”
Mosler Time edged Mugatu by a half-length for second. It was another half-length back to Hittheroadjak in fourth, followed by Market Maven, Vance Scholars, Feeling Woozy, Little Lance, Crossland, Dolice Vita and Ain’t Da Beer Cold. Maryland-bred also-eligibles Goodafternoonoscar and Excellorator were scratched.
Brilliant Ice had two wins and two seconds from nine starts this year, having run second in back to back optional claiming allowances at Laurel going one mile July 26 and seven furlongs Aug. 11, his most recent race. The Classic was just his third stakes attempt after finishing sixth in the 2023 Not For Love and fourth in the April 13 Frank Whiteley.
“We’ve never won a stakes before and to win this race is just awesome,” Bratz said.