Laurel Park Racing Notebook, Fall Meet Vol. 4
Special Intention (inside) held off Junonia to break his maiden today at Laurel Park. Photo by The Racing Biz.
by Doug McCoy
Our new Laurel Park racing notebook gives you the scoop on the weekend’s racing, even if you couldn’t make it out. Horses to watch, headlines from the weekend, leading jocks and trainers — it’s all here.
Check it out below.
HORSES TO WATCH
- AVILLES – Was wide throughout last and also looked in a little over his head. A drop in class and turn back in distance could make this one a threat next out.
- BLAVASTKI – Acted up at the gate then the jock fell back in the saddle at the break. Could surprise a similar field with better manners and an improved start.
- TOP HAT TIZZY – Was hung seven wide making a middle move into the stretch last out. A drop in class to the $25,000 claiming range and a rider change would make this one worth a long look.
- SPIRIT GRABBER – Broke slow then was squeezed back early in first start for sharp stable. Look for improvement next out from this one.
WORKOUT WATCH
- KAITAIN – Turned in a sharp half-mile move of :47.00 on November 10 for Jonathan Maldonado. Made a strong middle move to mid-stretch before tiring in an off-the-turf route last start. Watch for this one back on the greenery.
- SHE’S ACHARGE TOO – Egan sophomore who won last in 1:10.88 in May at PIM came back with a strong five furlong drill of 1:00 on 11/12.
- DR. TOOLE – Jamie Ness trainee worked a very strong six furlongs in 1:12.00 on 11/12, and this one who ran an even fourth at Penn National in his last should show improvement in his next start.
JOCKEYS AND TRAINERS
Feargal Lynch, who is the leader in purses won at the current meeting with $1,073,463, won with five of 17 mounts during the four days of live racing to pace the colony. He also finished in the money four other times, and he earned $10,200 per start, also tops locally for those who had multiple wins.
Jevian Toledo had another solid week, scoring four times from 19 starters. He is the clear meet leader with 33 wins, eight more than Alex Cintron in second. With Trevor McCarthy headed to New York and Victor Carrrasco sidelined for another several months to rehab from surgery to repair injuries suffered in a spill at Delaware Park, Toledo seems intent on establishing himself as the top rider on the Maryland circuit. He has already won 142 races this year.
Young newcomer Jose Barnes also enjoyed a profitable weekend. He won twice with seven mounts, and had an ROI of 683 percent — most by far of any rider with multiple mounts.
Dale Capuano, one of the steadiest conditioners in Maryland for a number of years, sent out four runners and won with three of those. His return on investment was a whopping 410 percent. Capuano is tied for third at the current meeting with 14 wins, while scoring at a solid 30 percent strike rate.
Rudy Rodriguez and Claudio Gonzalez, current leader in the trainer’s standings with 19 wins, also sent out three winners last week. Rodriguez was three-for-three with his shippers during the weekend, snapping an 0-for-seven start to the meet.
Jose Corrales was one-for-two during the week and now has seven wins on the meet with a strong 33 percent strike rate. He also leads trainers among the top 10 in wins with an ROI of $4.94 for each two-dollar win wager on his horses.
TRACK BIAS REPORT
- 11/10 – The track played reasonably fair following three dark days. The inside portion of the strip seemed to be a bit tighter and more horses who took the inside route were competitive during the card.
- 11/11 – The surface was fairly even again on Saturday although horses with speed seemed to hang in longer and were tougher to pass than had been the case in previous weeks.
- 11/12 – The strip played fair again with both speed types and late runners having success.
- 11/13 – Winners this Monday were a mix as several horses went wire to wire to win while others came from well back in their fields to run down the leaders.
