Mid-Atlantic racing roundup, November 27

Honor the Fleet (#1) in a 2017 race. Photo by The Racing Biz.

Plenty of racing action took place throughout the Mid-Atlantic this past week.

Here’s your five-minute read to get caught up on all of it:

LAUREL PARK

Honor the Fleet impressed in Saturday’s feature, winning a n/w3x allowance at 7 ½ furlongs. He had the lead in a slow-paced speed duel early, battling Threes Over Deuces through an opening quarter of 24.61 seconds before ripping off back-to-back sub-24 second quarters to take command.He left the field in his wake turning for home, winning by three lengths. His time of 1:29.63 just missed the track record of 1:29.52, set by Tidal Surge in 1994, albeit at a distance that’s almost never been run in recent years. Honor the Fleet is trained by Louis Albertrani for Frank DeMarco.
It got dicey in the late stages, but Lady by Choice got the job done in Sunday’s feature, a n/w2x allowance optional claiming at six furlongs. Sent off as the 3-5 favorite, she was put on a clear lead early, and opened up a 4 ½-length lead at the eighth pole. However, She’s Quiet rallied strongly in the late stages, and looked a threat to run down the leader and pull off the 7/1 upset. The wire came in time for Lady by Choice, and she won by ¾ of a length. This is the second win of the year for the Claudio Gonzalez-trained filly.
Alex Cintron and Sheldon Russell each won two races this week, keeping them tied in the jockey race, with 33 winners each. Trevor McCarthy had four wins on the week, keeping him in third with 28 victories.
Claudio Gonzalez had three training wins, including Lady by Choice, improving his total to 32 victories on the meet, good for first place.

Grace Elizabeth won her third straight race on Saturday night, and her fifth race of the season. Sent off as 3-10 favorite, she rated off loose leader Aussie Gold, then pounced at the five-sixteenths point. She won by 2 ¼ lengths, stopping the clock for seven furlongs in 1:27.65. Leading trainer Jeff Runco and leading jockey Arnaldo Bocachica teamed up for the win.
Bocachica picked up another feature win on Thursday, guiding Two Hot Betty to a win in a n/w1x allowance at seven furlongs. She got into an early tussle with Sainte Therese, before pulling away in the final three-eighths to win by five lengths. The Laurel Park shipper is owned by Neil Glasser and trained by Dale Capuano.
It took her a while to make the races, but four-year-old Gandari made her debut on Wednesday count. The West Virginia-bred Gandhi filly sped right to the front and never looked back, cruising to a five-length victory in 53.45 seconds for the 4 ½-furlong distance over a fast track. Victor Rodriguez was up for trainer Sara Kopecki on a runner owned by Swoosh LLC.

Smooth B turned in a smooth performance in Saturday’s feature, winning by almost five lengths in a n/w3x allowance at six furlongs. Breaking from post one, he rushed up after a slow break and battled on the early lead with Long May You Run. In the stretch, Smooth B pulled clear to win, going the distance in 1:11.23. Long May You Run held off his rivals to finish second. The winner is trained by Robert Reid, and was ridden by Frankie Pennington.
Fly on Angel was visually impressive on Sunday afternoon, as the 2-year-old filly won a n/w1x allowance by 11 1/2 lengths. She splashed home in 1:13.36 for six furlongs, over a sloppy track. A maiden winner at Penn National in September, she was coming off a second-place finish in the Parx Juvenile Fillies last out. She’s trained by Guadalupe Preciado and ridden by Mychel Sanchez.
Pennington has pulled clear of Sanchez in the jockey race, with 135 wins to Sanchez’s 130.
Joseph Taylor had two training wins this week, expanding his meet-leading total to 89 wins. He’s 22 clear of Scott Lake, the runner-up.