Yesterday and today: June 23 racing highlights
A.P. Indian, here winning the 2015 Donald LeVine Memorial at Parx Racing, repeated on Saturday. Photo By Barb Weidl/EQUI-PHOTO
From Staff Reports
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: AQUAPHOBIA TAKES STANTON STAKES
Add “stakes winner” to Aquaphobia’s burgeoning resume.
The three-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway cruised to a 1 1/4 length win in yesterday’s 1 1/16 mile, grassy Stanton Stakes at Delaware Park for the first stakes victory of his four-race career. He now sports a record of 4-2-1-1 and, with the winner’s share of the $50,000 Stanton pot, earnings of $67,800.
The Arnaud Delacour trainee dawdled at the rear of a compact, six-horse pack in the early going, though just three lengths off the lead. Second Mate led the field through a half-mile in 48.81 seconds and three-quarters in 1:13.40.
Entering the stretch, Aquaphobia, under jockey Joe Bravo — logging his fourth stakes win in the last five days — swung five wide and closed under urging to win going away. Second Mate lived up to his name and held the place, while Brass Compass was third. Running time was 1:44.51.
Owned by Lael Stables, of Barbaro fame, Aquaphobia is out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Real Quiet mare Pussycat Doll.
[su_divider top=”no” style=”double” size=”9″]BY THE NUMBERS
- HANDLE:
- Charles Town: $700,059
- Delaware Park: $1,556,856
- Penn National: $675,087
- CLAIMS:
- Charles Town: 0
- Delaware Park: 1
- Penn National: 2
- MULTIPLE WINNERS
- JOCKEYS
- Jose Montano, 2 wins at Charles Town
- Christian Hiraldo, 2 wins at Charles Town
- Erick Rodriguez, 2 wins at Delaware
- TRAINERS
- Ollie Figgins, III, 2 wins at Charles Town
- JOCKEYS
LOOK AHEAD: TODAY’S RACING
- Tracks in action today: Pimlico, Delaware Park, Penn National, and Charles Town.
- Pimlico is off the turf today.
- Not often you see a 1-2 morning line favorite, but that’s the case in Pimlico’s sixth race, a 1 1/16 mile maiden special weight test in which Graham Motion trainee Sherini is the chalk. The sophomore Bernardini filly is out of the unbelievably productive Unbridled mare Oatsee — meaning she’s a half-sister to Preakness winner Shackleford, as well as Baghdaria ($700k earnings), Lady Joanne ($987k), Afleeting Lady ($473k), and Stephanoatsee ($357k). Sherini was a respectable fourth on debut at Saratoga, and two of her rivals that day have since won stakes. Last out, at Delaware Park in her first race in eight months, she ran an even second at 3-10 odds.
- Trainer Larry Jones has been laying waste to his Delaware Park rivals so far this meeting and sports a record of 16-9-2-2. He sends out the favorite in the Thursday feature, a $40,000 allowance contest going 1 1/16 miles, in the form of Albano (9-5). A sibling to multiple graded winner Mark Valeski and recent Delaware Park maiden-breaker Sea View Millie, Albano, a graded winner in his own right, most recently was fourth in the Majestic Light Stakes at Monmouth Park. Here, he’ll have to contend with Edge of Reality (5-2), an indifferent fourth last out in the Mountainview at Penn National; speedy Fabulous Kid (3-1), stretching out to 1 1/16 miles for just the second time in his career; and Warrioroftheroses (4-1), third in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special last out.
- Other Notables: Promising runners Lil’l Allstar (8-1) and Fit But Fat (4-1) are among seven in a $24,000 WV-bred allowance this evening at Charles Town (race 3)… 2015 Coin Collector winner Hear the Chatter (6-5) headlines race seven at that track, a $24,500 allowance… Widely traveled Street Fashion (2-1) is favored in race four at Penn National, a second-level allowance, off a third-place finish in a Belmont allowance…
