Old Time Revival revives, crushes allowance foes

Jacks or Better Farm’s graded-stakes placed homebred Old Time Revival, winless in five tries since a victory in the Challedon last fall, rediscovered his stakes-winning form with a front-running 4 ¼-length triumph in Thursday’s featured eighth race at Laurel Park.

Ridden by five-pound apprentice Julio Correa for trainer Ken Decker, Old Time Revival ($9.80) ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:16.01 over a fast main track to earn his third career win, all at Laurel, in the $45,000 second-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up.

“When he relaxes and does his thing the way he’s supposed to, he’s tough. He did it today. Julio did a fantastic job on him and let him relax,” Decker said. “This kid has nice hands and got him to relax. I have to give him credit. The [horse] ran big, but he did a good job.”

Correa had never before ridden Old Time Revival, a 4-year-old Brethren gelding making his 19th career start. He was second by a neck to Grade 2 winner Still Having Fun in the Miracle Wood and was runner-up to Enticed in the Gotham (G3) in back-to-back 2018 starts, but cut back to sprinting after a failed attempt to stretch out in the Wood Memorial (G2).

Old Time Revival beat his elders in the Challedon last Sept. 29, and most recently was sixth behind multiple stakes winner Cordmaker in the Polynesian June 26, both seven furlongs at Laurel.

“He gets too wound up, He wants to go. He wants to go all the time,” Decker said. “I think six, six and a half [furlongs] suits him. He didn’t run a bad race in the stake. There again, he was just too anxious.”

Old Time Revival set fractions of 22.56 and 45.33 seconds with a riderless Cerulean Springs on his outside. Correa let Cerulean Springs go by once straightened for home, angled to the middle of the stretch past the eighth pole and cruised past the wire. Threes Over Deuces was second, with Nottoway third. Juvenile stakes winner Scrap Copper, making his first start in more than seven months, finished sixth.

“I think they hooked that horse that was loose, but he stayed out of our way,” Decker said. “Julio said he relaxed nice and turning for home, he just re-broke.”

Jockey Rosario Montanez had his rein break as the field left the gate and was unseated. Both he and Cerulean Springs were unharmed.