Race 1: MdClm $10k 1M
1st: #9 Pep Talking, pretty simple here Claudio Gonzalez trainee with the highest Beyers including two back 53 locally. Dropping from the $35k level.
2nd: #8 Bo Bandit, third time out expect improvement and getting back to dirt which was the sight of his best try.
3rd: #3 Uncle Andy, going considerably longer switching from turf to dirt and adding blinkers should all improve performance here.
Race 2: Clm $5k F&M 5 & 1/2F
1st: #7 Starting Tour, unfortunately not playing against this favorite here dropping to the lowest level of her career being sent away by the ever consistent Gary Capuano barn.
2nd: #1 Lady Lucy
3rd: #4 Marjorie Mugs
Race 3: MdClm $25k F&M 1M
1st: #6 Gold Caddilac, two solid tries on turf since adding blinkers in $40k level company heads back to dirt today for Mike Trombetta who is hitting 22% switching from turf to dirt.
2nd: #7 Shake D Moon
3rd: #2 Fairy Wish
Race 4: Clm $5k 5 & 1/2F
1st: #1 Mr. Chesapeake City, can’t avoid another favorite here dropping to the lowest level of his career after earning the best Beyer of his career.
2nd: #4 Flat Out Mine, could get to the lead early and banking on improved stamina second off the layoff today.
3rd: #7 Crypto Currency
Race 5: Clm $5k 6F
1st: #1 Wilko’s Goldeneye, drops back to the bottom rung which was the scene of his most recent win back in April. Going to need some pace to run into which should be provided by the 4, 5, 7 and maybe the 10 to his outside.
2nd: #5 Top Czar, going to take considerable money because of the most recent effort being a winning one but it came at Pim. Only 1 for 9 here at Laurel, will try to beat.
3rd: #10 Be Back
Race 6: OC$35k 5 & 1/2F Turf
1st: #8 Street Copper, was laid off more than a year but made her return a winning one at the first level allowance condition up at Monmouth. Trombetta thought highly enough of her to try a couple of stakes events down in Florida before the layoff and she wasn’t embarrassed in them. Appears to be back and maybe better than ever.
2nd: #2 Tempt Me Twice, earned a hefty 93 Beyer in the last out a stakes event on Black Eyed Susan Day where she just missed by a length. Was aided by a really strong pace up front and a 5 horse field, so have reason to think she may not be able to replicate that performance here. Should note Sheldon Russell chose to ride #10 Regal Image.
3rd: #10 Regal Image, definitely a lot to like with this Godolphin homebred sired by Medaglia d’Oro lightly raced 4 year old out of the Mike Stidham barn. A two time winner down at Tampa over the winter was just a couple lengths behind at this condition last time out going two turns. Suspect the shorter distance will help.
Please welcome for a guest appearance handicapping races 7-12 my dad, Michael Woods!
Race 7: Alw50,000s 1M
The sharpest recent winner or the 3-y-o with back class in this NW2L?
1st: #7 Absolved, classy 3yos beat older allowance horses. Claudio Gonzalez trainee, off since leading into the stretch of $100K Awad Stakes at AQU last November, wins if ready. Adds blinkers, gets Victor in saddle, four solid workouts, should wire field.
2nd: #4 Time Flies By, broke maiden in last while 6-wide, and claimed for $40K by Dale Capuano’s hot barn. Sharp 4yo switches fine to dirt, in money 6 of 9 starts.
3rd: #1 Marco Island, claimed last fall by Mark Reid for $40K, likes mile distance, comes back from poor turf try with sharp 47.2b workout.
Underlay alert: ML favorite #5 Hero’s Welcome, first out for new trainer Wayne Potts, has 90s Beyers in past. Three straight awful races but with possible excuses; four back is a 91 Beyer 2nd against this class at this distance; thus 2-1. But bad give-ups and change of barn imply deeper issues; would avoid.
PS to trainer Alcina Rawles, your 6yo gelding Goodluckjohnathan is unlikely to be claimed if you run him where he can win, and he can; 1-21 with 8 thirds. His repeated good efforts deserve a reward; try $25K claimer.
Race 8: OC$25K/SAL25K F&M 1M & 1/16 Turf
1st: #14 Free to Fly, if in from Also-Eligibles, appears most promising of several good, lightly raced 3yos in this big field of NW3L. Beat $35k older claimers at GP, then chased and gained on track-record-setter in May 27 DEL turf allowance, earning 103 DRF figure for third. Broke maiden from similar outside post so it can be done.
2nd: #6 Monaco Princess, also 3yo on the rise, was nipped by #4 here in May OC$25k, then beat Parx OC$40k 3yos handily at 7-2. Rising Beyers in all 5 starts, goes back on grass for Claudio Gonzalez who claimed for $20k at KEE in April.
3rd: #11 Music Maker, 4yo Gio Ponti filly with only 6 starts figured it out when dropped to Md$16k level. Two consecutive big wins, rising Beyers, the logical next step for Kieron Magee claim off Arnaud Delacour.
4th: #4 Wicked Awesome, another lightly raced 3yo that beat 2nd choice. Not much data on which to separate these! Should be in exotics.
5th: #8 I’m Listening, 5yo beaten only 1 length in same conditions at PIM, ditto.
Race 9: AOC$35K F&M 5 & 1/2F Turf
1st: #8 Not in Jeopardy is one of the two closers who will be breaking Ollie Figgins’ heart in this replay of a May 27 race at Pimlico. The 4yo has closed well in two stakes, gets rider change to Jevian Toledo, who has won with her at this distance in the past, and should atone for being the beaten favorite that day. Trained by Ann Merryman.
2nd: #3 Elevated Vision is the other closer and this state-bred stakeswinner could easily take this one; but double-bug rider Victor Rosales couldn’t get there last time and may have trouble in this quickie turf sprint again. Adds blinkers.
3rd: #9 Unaquoi ran just ahead of our top two picks in that May 27 race and will be faster and sharper in this second outing after a layoff; note 34.6 breeze in WV this week. But the 5yo will have to chase speedy #1 and she doesn’t carry her speed well after the first 5 furlongs anyway. That last added 1/16th is when trainer Ollie Figgins III will be gritting his teeth. This sprint, the F&M featured partner to today’s 6th for colts, should be a nail-biter to the finish.
Race 10: Clm $16k 1M
Phew! A simple claiming race.
1st: #3 Gold Man. Watch out, Tim Kreiser’s back, so veteran Gold Man could be patched up after unusual last-place finish in sprint April 27. Laurel-loving (5-14) 10yo broke his maiden in 2012 at someplace called Calder Race Course. Lifetime 22-for-85 and always tries; demolished $16k claimers over this course April 5 under 28%-winning Edwin Gonzalez, who’s riding in best form of career and back again on Gold Man. Penn-based Kreiser wins 31% on hefty sample of 31-60-day layoffs.
2nd: #2 Forty Acres, scratched from $16k Del turf claimer on Wed for this dirt race with better purse. Competes; 3-9 at LRL, 6-21 lifetime. 3-back beat Dynamax Prime on dirt here; Dyna has steamrolled NY state-bred allowance colts since that match-up with three wins in four races.
3rd: #4 Huyana, throw out last, a turf refresher; prior a win at this level, this distance, this track. Trainer Marilyn McMullen 2-4 this meet, 20% for the year.
Underlay alert: #5 Etruscan is 6-10 at Del, 3-36 everywhere else. Trainer Jamie Ness wanted that same Del turf race Wed to be switched to dirt, and scratched along with Forty Acres when it wasn’t. Despite Ness, those $16k wins at Del may not translate here where horse is 0-6 with 3 seconds.
Race 11: Clm $16k NW2L 5 1/2 F Turf
1st: #11 No Mo Promises, an undefeated $250k Uncle Mo colt, is for sale for $16k. The worst bets in racing are well-bred, pricey horses with spotty records running for cheap, hypnotizing bettors. Why pick this one off a nearly 2-year layoff following its lone race, a state-bred Msw win at Bel? Colts Neck Stables is not so big that they cycle through horses like kleenex. Trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. is doing very well in his first year after apprenticing with super-pro Alan Goldberg, and the steady workouts at CNS in NJ suggest an effort, to me. $16k qualifies a horse for a broad set of SALs and StrHandicaps, as you may have noticed. If not…..
2nd: #6 Native Flora did everything but win this same race last out, gets the extra 1/2 furlong, changes riders from apprentice to Weston Hamilton; compelling. Ann Merryman gelding still has room to improve in its 3rd outing this year.
3rd: #8 You Can Never Tell, races for leading owner R. Larry Johnson and gets huge class relief after running into Love You Much powerhouse twice in a row. This Trombetta gelding has slight edge over Hugh McMahon’s #3 Been Redeemed, another exotics contender. May be an idiot but I don’t like Dale Capuano’s claim-and-drop, #1 Gran City, though he’s 1-1 at Lrl and on turf after Md$25k win 7 long weeks ago.
Race 12: MSW 5 1/2 F
1st: #4 Lost in Limbo, back with trainer Thomas Proctor, drops bigly in class from $90K Msw purses at OP where the 3yo Into Mischief gelding contended.
2nd: #2 Blessed Arion, a Ramseys-bred gelding now owned and trained by Amanda Rawlings, has two close tries and a 47.6 breeze June 2. Last was 2 lengths behind place-horse Gnarly Mo, who won off in next Msw, also on June 2.
3rd: #8 Zitarrosa, a slight edge over other first-timer #6 Graze of Glory, very good workouts and trainer Brittany Russell’s way with first- and second-time horses — 20% wins on first race, 32% winners in Msw’s. Hubby Sheldon Russell rides and was almost certainly on for the workouts, too.