Yesterday and today: June 17 racing highlights
Cuppa Mocha Mojo. Photo by Coady Photography.
From Staff Reports
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: GOOD WEEK FOR TREVOR MCCARTHY
Jockey Trevor McCarthy enjoyed a multi-win day Thursday at Pimlico — his second consecutive multi-win day.
In fact, after scoring three times at Old Hilltop, the 22 year-old now has five wins in the last two days and 106 victories so far in 2016. And his 20 wins during the current Pimlico stand place him just two behind meet leader Feargal Lynch.
McCarthy took the day’s richest race, a $40,000 maiden special weight going five furlongs on the turf, when he piloted Elusive Joni to a nearly-three-length score in 57.33 seconds for trainer Gary Capuano. Sent off at 8-1, Elusive Joni rallied from sixth for the easy win and now has a win and a second from five career starts.
McCarthy also took the third, a maiden claiming event, with Souper True, and the seventh, aboard Desert Princess. Souper True, trained by Eddie Plesa, had the shortest odds of any of McCarthy’s three winners at 5.60-1.
On Wednesday, McCarthy had scored twice at Delaware Park, teaming up with trainer Kathleen O’Connell both times — both aboard favorites.
[su_divider top=”no” style=”double” size=”9″]BY THE NUMBERS
- HANDLE:
- Charles Town: Canceled after race 3
- Delaware Park: $883,015
- Penn National: $754,304
- Pimlico: $2,061,998
- CLAIMS:
- Charles Town: 0
- Delaware Park: 2
- Penn National: 3
- Pimlico: 5
- MULTIPLE WINNERS
- Jockey Trevor McCarthy won three races at Pimlico Race Course.
- Jockeys Carol Cedeno and Katie Davis won two races each at Delaware Park.
- Jockey Dana Whitney won two races at Penn National.
- Trainer Sandee Martin won two races at Penn National.
LOOK AHEAD: TODAY’S RACING
- Tracks in action today: Monmouth Park, Pimlico, Penn National, and Charles Town.
- The only two steeplechase events of Monmouth Park’s 2016 season take place today at the Shore track. The pair is topped by the day’s third race, a 2 1/4 mile handicap event. The $35,000 Ratings Handicap attracted a full field of 10, and the maiden hurdle has an oversubscribed field of 14. The Ratings Handicap, a popular race in England and Ireland jumps racing, made its first appearance on these shores in the spring of last year, and it has become a popular feature of many race meets on the National Steeplechase Association circuit. Weights carried by the horses are based on the ratings assigned to them by a knowledgeable three-person committee working under the supervision of NSA Director of Racing Bill Gallo Jr.
- Trainer Jeff Runco sends out an intriguing maiden in Click and Roll (5-2) in the fifth from Charles Town, a maiden special weight test going 6 1/2 furlongs. The $350,000 Smart Strike filly, owned by Qatar Racing, ran twice without success in England last year and will be making her first start on these shores, and first of ’16, this evening. Runco has go-to rider Arnaldo Bocachica in the irons. It will also be her first start on conventional dirt — she shows a solid enough work tab — and first with Lasix. Runco also has All About My Girls (3-1) in here; a $25,000 claim at Gulfstream last out, the $300,000 Distorted Humor filly will have seven-pound bug Jan Batista up.
