SATURDAY
- John B. Campbell H.. (LRL) — Three year-olds and up, 1 1/8 miles
- Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie H. (LRL) — Fillies and mares three years old and up, 7 furlongs
MONDAY
- Maryland Racing Media Association S. (LRL) — Fillies and mares three years old and up, 1 1/8 miles
- Grade 3 General George H. (LRL) — Three year-olds and up, 7 furlongs
TUESDAY
- Presidents’ Day H. (CT) — Fillies and mares three years old and up, 6 1/2 furlongs[/boxify]
Two stakes in the mid-Atlantic on Saturday, both at Laurel Park — the 60th running of the Grade 2, $300,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap for fillies and mares going 7 furlongs and the 58th running of the $100,000 John B. Campbell Handicap for three year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles.
It’s a field of seven in the Campbell, and the bulk of the race is a reprise of January’s Native Dancer at Laurel. In that race, Bold Curlin bided his time until he found a seam in mid-stretch, then barged through it and on to a two-length victory. He’s favored, at 2-1, to repeat that result here, but one to watch here is Managed Account (7-2). He ran third in the Native Dancer — nipped for the place in the last jumps by Indian Jones — but, after breaking from the outside post, he was hung out wide on both turns. He draws the rail today, which, depending on the condition of the track, may not do him any great favors, but if Alex Cintron can work out a trip, this could be where he turns the tables. Irsaal (7-2) is a new shooter in here, shipping in for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, and though he has just two wins from 12 starts, he’s been keeping the right kind of company. He most recently ran a solid second in an allowance race won by 2013 Private Terms winner Mr Palmer, who followed that up with a fourth in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial. He arrives on relatively short rest, having last raced on February 2…
In the featured Barbara Fritchie — one of just two graded events run during Laurel’s winter meet — My Wandy’s Girl (4-1) figures to get the trip she wants at a distance she likes and should be tough to contain. In a race with plenty of early speed, she figures to get a stalking trip and have every chance to surge past the others late under rider Rajiv Maragh. The only question for her is whether her last race — an uninvolved fifth-place finish in the Garland of Roses — was a toss, or a harbinger of things to come. La Verdad (5-2) hasn’t done much wrong in her brief career, winning five straight after finishing fourth in her debut. She’ll get tested for class in this race, though; she doesn’t figure to control the pace, as she has in most of her races to date, as ultra-quick Winning Image sits to her outside and will be on the engine from the jump. And her first foray into stakes company isn’t the best Fritchie field ever, but this is no easy spot, either. If, as expected, the pace heats up, one horse who figures to benefit is Flattering Bea (20-1). She closed stoutly to just miss in last May’s Miss Preakness, finishing second; the show horse that day, Lighthouse Bay, returned to win the Jostle and then the Grade 1 Prioress. Flattering Bea’s subsequent career hasn’t been quite so glamorous, but her last, a rallying second to Lady Sabelia in November’s Safely Kept at today’s seven furlong distance, may presage continued improvement…
Elsewhere… interesting Saturday night card at Charles Town, featuring three maiden special weight races. The first of those, which is race one, is for older West Virginia-bred fillies and mares going 4 1/2 furlongs. Three of the seven runners are debuting, including nicely bred Malibu Baby, a daughter of top sire Malibu Moon out of the stakes producer Sue Chen, by Lord Parham. Also making her debut is Follow Fast (Fastness-Silver Concern, by Concern); she’s trained by Ollie Figgins, III, for owner/breeder Susan Wantz — the same combo that piloted Dance to Bristol to success in 2013…
By the numbers — or at least by the speed figures — Sunday’s maiden special weight race from Parx Racing doesn’t look like much. Profluent, the 2-1 favorite, has a top Beyer of 63 in two starts. But you still have to wonder if one of these three year-olds might be more than just a horse; five of them cost more than $100,000 at auction, including Babson (9-2), making his first start for trainer John Servis. The son of Empire Maker out of the stakes-producing Deputy Minister mare Limes ‘n Lemons cost $130,000 as a yearling at Keeneland and has a steady string of works behind him…
There’s also a solid group in the day’s allowance feature at Parx, an optional claimer for second-level allowance horses. Zealevo (7-2) is the horse of most interest here, a winner of three of six starts to date now in the barn of Dimitrios Synnefias. In his last — in a driving snow storm at Parx — he stumbled leaving the gate and divested himself of his rider, but his prior tries were plenty good enough to shine in here. In his prior race, an allowance victory at Parx, he edged Evolution Rocks, who has since won a stake, while two other rivals from that race won next out…
Penn National will, for weather reasons, take the weekend off and give it another go next week.
