Midlantic racing roundup: Week ending Feb. 4

Raging Smoke grabbed the lead early en route to 2016 Sugar Maple win at Charles Town. Photo by The Racing Biz.

At Charles Town…

• Aroostook didn’t impress the bettors much; the Fiber Sonde gelding was 17-1 at post time for Thursday’s fourth race, a never-won-three allowance for West Virginia-breds. But by the time the dust had settled, the Javier Contreras trainee had posted a neck victory over 3-10 choice Braxton. With Jerry Villegas up, Aroostook, who also was bred and is owned by Contreras, grabbed the early lead in the 4 1/2 furlong test and never looked back, holding off Braxton’s late bid to earn his third win in six career starts.
• Bettors, conversely, were all over Kowboy Salute in the second race on Saturday, pounding the five-year-old Kodiak Kowboy gelding down to 3-10 in the state-bred maiden claimer. He had run second and third in his first two starts, despite having been slow away from the gate both times. On Saturday, he took those problems even a step further; this time, the John Carlisle trainee refused to break at all, never leaving the starting gate and eventually being backed out of it.
• Another Fiber Sonde gelding, High Mileage, scored on Saturday in a state-bred allowance sprint going 4 1/2 furlongs, posting a neck victory as the 2-1 favorite. The Mark Shanley trainee now has won three straight and five of nine career starts (with two other in-the-money finishes) for over $58,000 in earnings.
• Trainer Ronney Brown earned the 2,500th win of his career.

At Laurel Park…

• Lewisfield had a three-race win streak snapped when he ran second in the Howard M. Bender Stakes December 9 at Laurel Park. But the Maryland-bred was right back at it on Saturday, when he took a second-level allowance by almost seven lengths. With Arnaldo Bocachica in the irons, the Jeff Runco trainee surged through inside and drew away to the easy win in a sharp 1:08.95 for six furlongs. Lewisfield now has four wins and $115,967 in purse earnings from six career starts.
• Eastern Bay won for the second straight time, taking an allowance race Sunday one start after winning a Maryland-bred allowance. This time, with Elvis Trujillo up, Eastern Bay grabbed the early lead and wouldn’t let go, holding second choice Polar Jet safe by three parts of a length. The Ferris Allen trainee, a half-brother to multiple stakes winner John Jones, has three wins and earnings of $103,212 from nine starts.
• Laurel Park canceled its Friday afternoon card after three races because of high winds.

Elsewhere…

• Talk about making up for lost time. Sneaky Cowgirl lost the first dozen starts of her career before finally graduating. But after winning an allowance against open foes on Friday at Penn National, the Pennsylvania-bred Tim Kreiser trainee has now won two straight and five of her last 13 overall. With Julio Hernandez up, she registered a hard-fought, half-length win in the six furlong affair. She has finished first or second in seven straight races.
• Brevard Place dropped into the maiden claiming ranks to graduate in December, and on Friday, in a PA-bred allowance, hhe made it two straight with a half-length win as the 1.30-1 favorite. The Jonathan Sheppard-trained Quality Road gelding ran down the leader late to get the win with Andrew Wolfsont in the irons and now has two wins from seven starts in his short career.
• Black Stetson seems to be enjoying the new year. The More Than Ready gelding, trained by Juan Carlos Guerrero and ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, led throughout en route to a four-length score in the 6 1/2 furlong maiden special weight event. A $55,000 yearling purchase, he now has a win from three starts.