September 23 racing highlights: R Angel Katelyn shines in debut
In the Fairway won the Frank Gall Memorial Stakes at Charles Town on Saturday. Photo by Coady Photography.
From Staff Reports
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: R Angel Katelyn shines in debut
The bettors certainly weren’t clued in. They made R Angel Katelyn 11.30-1 yesterday in a $34,000 maiden special weight test at Delaware Park.
But those few who did back her cashed a $24.60 ticket when she romped to a five length win in 1:04.83 for 5 1/2 furlongs, making her career debut a winning one.
The two-year-old Gerald Bennett trainee was hustled along out of the gate by jockey Erick Rodriguez, cleared the field after a quarter-mile in 22.09 seconds, and was never threatened thereafter, finishing, according to the chart, with “speed in reserve.” She Is Special was second, 3 1/2 lengths ahead of Analyze in third. Favored Called In Sick, the only runner of eight in here to have made a prior start, finished fifth.
R Angel Katelyn, by High Cotton out of the winning Southern Halo mare Send for an Angel, is owned by Averill Racing LLC and CCF Racing Stable and was a $50,000 auction purchase out of the June OBS two-year-old sale.
[su_divider top=”no” style=”double” divider_color=”#0b0c0c” size=”1″]BY THE NUMBERS: Handle
- Delaware Park: $1,281,074
- Penn National: $669,124
- Charles Town: $831,207
TODAY’S ACTION
- Tracks in action: Laurel Park, Charles Town, Penn National
- For more on today’s Laurel Park card, check out The GQ Approach.
- A rugged group of third-level allowance runners clash in Laurel Park’s Friday feature, carded as race eight. Totally Drenched (5-2) is the morning line favorite off an allowance win on a muddy track over the strip. But the field also includes a bevy of stakes winners, including grade 3-placed Service for Ten (3-1), 2014 Maryland Million Sprint winner D C Dancer (7-2), and multiple stake winner Saucy Don (5-1). But perhaps the most intriguing runner here is Amherst Street (10-1); the Javier Contreras trainee was undefeated in five tries as a two-year-old, won his only start as a three-year-old, and missed his four-year-old season, 2015, entirely. Returning this year, he won a Charles Town allowance in March but was eased and bled in his next try, in June.
- Pennsylvania-bred maidens square off in Penn National’s opener tonight, a $33,300 maiden special weight going six furlongs. Laughing Best (2-1), gets the nod as favorite; the Got the Last Laugh gelding has been second and third in two prior tries versus similar. Tyler Conner will ride for Pamela Arnold. Three runners are making their career debuts: The Tortoise (5-1) for trainer Kelly Rubley, who has been training forwardly and will have Dana Whitney up; Tierracat (6-1) for Erin McClellan, a Cat Thief gelding; and Flint Stites trainee Off the Rails (15-1), by Silver Train.
