Yesterday and today: June 30 racing highlights
Encryption (#2) wins the Turning for Home Stakes. Photo by Barbara Weidl/EQUI-PHOTO.
From Staff Reports
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: CASUAL COCKTAIL SIPS SECOND VICTORY
Casual Cocktail is now four years old and has made a grand total of just three starts.
But she sure looks like a runner — and she gets our latest “Big Move” honors.
The daughter of Magna Graduate romped to an eight-length victory over seven overmatched foes last night at Penn National as the 1-2 favorite and now has two wins and a second from three career starts.
Under apprentice Ashley Castrenze, Casual Cocktail stalked the pace through an opening quarter mile in 23.01 seconds, took over while two wide midway on the turn, opened up a 10-length lead leaving the furlong grounds, and cruised home under what the chart termed “mild urging.” Final time for the six furlongs was 1:09.34 — .40 seconds faster than second-level allowance boys did it two races later.
The Tom Proctor trainee made her debut at two years old, in 2014, running second in a maiden special weight event at Keeneland. But she didn’t return to the races until May 21 of this year, when she posted an 11-length maiden win at Delaware Park in which the runner-up, Sea View Millie, won next out. Casual Cocktail’s two wins are by a combined 19 1/2 lengths.
The Elisabeth Alexander homebred has earnings of $49,300 from three starts.
[su_divider top=”no” style=”double” size=”9″]BY THE NUMBERS
- HANDLE:
- Charles Town: $725,380
- Delaware Park: $1,546,632
- Penn National: $591,550
- CLAIMS:
- Charles Town: 2
- Delaware Park: 0
- Penn National: 3
- MULTIPLE WINNERS
- JOCKEYS
- Jose Montano, 2 wins at Charles Town
- Gabriel Saez, 2 wins at Delaware
- TRAINERS
- Jeff Runco, 2 wins at Charles Town
- Javier Contreras, 2 wins at Charles Town
- Larry Jones, 2 wins at Delaware
- JOCKEYS
LOOK AHEAD: TODAY’S RACING
- Tracks in action today: Delaware Park, Penn National, and Charles Town.
- 2014 Maryland Juvenile Futurity winner Ghost Bay (3-1) broke his maiden in that Maryland-bred stake — and he hasn’t won in five subsequent starts over the last 18 months. But he enters race 8 at Delaware, a $36,000 allowance test going 1 mile 70 yards, off his best effort since, a runner-up try at Pimlico in which he rallied into the lead before emptying out. The Larry Murray trainee will have regular pilot Forest Boyce up. The morning line favorite in here is Trieste (2-1), the Michael Matz trainee who won at first asking last year over the strip, had a couple of good follow-up tries, but hasn’t run since last October. Alex Cintron will do the honors.
- Taller Sister (5-2) erased almost all of a five-length deficit in the last eighth of a mile last out, finishing just a neck short a $29,500 allowance test for fillies and mares at Penn National on the turf. This evening, the Jonathan Sheppard trainee is scheduled to face similar, while hoping for a better result. It’ll be the Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Red Giant’s third start of the season, and she’ll have Andrew Wolfsont up. She’ll have to contend with Queenofzeenile (3-1), recently fifth against Pimlico allowance foes. A repeat of the Pioneerof the Nile mare’s best efforts would make her the winner here. Angel Rodriguez will ride for trainer Jamie Ness.
- Charles Town hosts a split, $24,000 allowance for West Virginia-breds as races seven and eight this evening. In the first of the pair, Blixt (5-2) is the tepid morning line favorite. The Ollie Figgins trainee, a Charitable Man gelding, tried maiden company three times in Maryland without success before returning home last out to win by three lengths over the strip. Jose Montano will ride. In the nightcap, Jeff Runco trainee Fire Control (2-1) is favored and has been in the money in three of four career starts. Arnaldo Bocachica is up.
