Cinco Charlie takes the James F. Lewis III Stakes. Photo by Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club.
From a Maryland Jockey Club release
L. William & Corinne Heiligbrodt’s Cinco Charlie became a three-time stakes winner this afternoon when he blew away his competition in the $100,000 James F. Lewis III Stakes for 2-year olds at Laurel Park.
Away sharply under Ricardo Santana, Cinco Charlie raced outside and dueled speedy Machination into defeat before drawing away to a 2-3/4 length victory in 1:09.74 for the 6-furlong distance on the main track. Majestic Affair rallied to take second and Senor Grits was third.
“My horse broke well and I had a lot of horse down the backstretch and around the turn,” Santana said. “We were in a good place. We got in no trouble. I asked him to go at the top of the stretch and he showed his class. I think he’s going to be a great sprinter next year.”
The Steve Asmussen trained son of Indian Charlie captured the Bashford Manor (G3) at Churchill Downs in June, the First State Dash at Delaware Park in September and finished in the money in a pair of graded stakes races in New York.
“The boss had this horse ready today,” said Asmussen assistant Toby Sheets. “He’s had good works and prepped well leading up to this race. He has been facing some very tough competition so we were not too concerned about the competition today. We were only concentrating on our horse.”
Cinco Charlie, who paid $4.20, improved to four-of-seven lifetime with earnings of $239,422.
