Yesterday and today: March 31 racing highlights
Vim won an allowance at Laurel Park on March 20. Photo by The Racing Biz.
From Staff Reports
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: SHIPPERS SCORE IN PENN ALLOWANCES
A pair of shippers went off the favorites in two Penn National allowance races, and both came home victorious.
In the first, for Pennsylvania-bred fillies and mares going six furlongs, Rowd E Allie and Frankie Pennington stalked the pace, took over from leader Gimmeaclue inside the furlong grounds, and went on to win by 2 1/4 lengths in a sharp 1:10.78. Rowd E Allie, trained by Kelly Breen and sent off at 4-5, has now won three of 11 career starts, with earnings of $115,213.
One race later, in a three-year-old, PA-bred allowance, John Servis trainee Someday Jones, a son of Smarty Jones, romped to a 4 3/4 length score under Jorge Vargas, Jr. Running time for six furlongs was 1:10.73 — just a tick faster than that recorded by Rowd E Allie. Someday Jones has won both starts of his career.
BOCACHICA NOTCHES CT FEATURE WINS
Jockey Arnaldo Bocachica won three races at Charles Town yesterday evening, including both allowance races on the card.
In the first, for fillies and mares that had never won two, he piloted Carolina Gold to an impressive four-length win in 51.85 seconds for 4 1/2 furlongs. The four-year-old Jeff Runco trainee has now won two of six career starts.
Three races later, Runco and Bocachica combined to score again when Navigate took the lead in mid-stretch and just held off the late charge of odds-on favorite Combat Diver to win by a neck in 1:47.81 for 1 1/16 miles. Navigate — a Runco homebred four-year-old Ghostzapper gelding — has won four of 13 career starts.
LOOKING AHEAD: TODAY’S RACING
- Eleven-year-old No Brakes is slated to make the 100th starts of his lengthy career this evening at Charles Town, in a seven furlong, $5,000 starter allowance with a $17,500 purse. The Wayne Potts trainee is 9-2 on the morning line and will have regular pilot Xavier Perez in the irons. No Brakes, a Parker’s Storm Cat gelding, will be seeking the 21st win of his career and has been first or second in six of his last seven starts. He’s earned over $380,000 in his career.
- Gaelic Man came out running three weeks ago in his first start in a year, earning an allowance victory. He’s the 3-1 morning line favorite in the seventh at Charles Town, a West Virginia-bred allowance going 4 1/2 furlongs. Christian Hiraldo will ride for trainer James Casey.
- Honeydukes has finished second in her last four starts. The three-year-old, Pennsylvania-bred Birdstone filly is the 9-5 favorite in the fifth race at Penn National, a one-mile maiden special weight test for PA-breds fillies and mares three and up. Andrew Wolfsont will ride for trainer Rodrigo Madrigal, Sr.
