Anna’s Bandit, Late Night Pow Wow, and more: The week in social media

by Chelsea Lowman | Jan 3, 2020 | Breaking, Business, Regionwide, Top Stories

The Timonium Distaff was one of Anna’s Bandit’s nine wins in 2019. Photo by The Racing Biz.

A daughter of Great Notion was named the winningest horse of 2019, Maryland stallion Imagining was represented by his first stakes winner, and a Mid-Atlantic fan favorite has been retired from the races.

Here is the 411 on what racing fans in the Mid-Atlantic region have been talking about on social media this week:

Anna’s Bandit wins and wins

The 2019 racing season came to an end this week as we welcomed in the new year. With the year complete, the season’s winningest horse honors go to a West Virginia-bred mare by a Maryland stallion: Anna’s Bandit.

Beginning her 2019 campaign on January 10 of last year, Anna’s Bandit won nine of 11 starts on the season. The dark bay daughter of Great Notion picked up wins in seven stakes races along the way, among them in the Conniver Stakes, the Original Gold Stakes, the Timonium Distaff Stakes, the Sadie Hawkins Stakes, the West Virginia Cavada Breeders’ Classic, the Maryland Million Distaff, and the Politely Stakes.

Anna’s Bandit was not the only horse in North America to win nine races in 2019. Peekacho, Heavens Whisper, Phonemyposseagain, Timely Prize, Frosty Star, and the Puerto Rico-based Mi Amigo Badua each made nine trips to the winner’s circle themselves last year. However, Anna’s Bandit led them all with earnings of $401,803 in purse money.

Bred by John Robb and owned by No Guts No Glory Farm, Anna’s Bandit is conditioned by John Robb, and ridden by Xavier Perez. To date, the six-year-old mare has competed in a total of 32 races, emerging on top in 16 of those outings with career earnings of $703,715.

Last call for Late Night Pow Wow

A local fan favorite will be missing from the racetrack in 2020, as it was announced this week that multiple graded stakes winner Late Night Pow Wow has been retired from racing and will start a new chapter as a broodmare.

Late Night Pow Wow was last seen finishing sixth in the Grade 2 Presque Isle Downs Masters back in September. It was a taxing race on the West Virginia-bred daughter of Fiber Sonde, who was boxed in and bumped around by her competition throughout the entire trip. Her owners, Breeze Easy LLC, gave the mare some time off at their farm after the rough race and planned on bringing her back to the track. However, her connections have since decided that it would be in the best interest of the mare to retire her instead, as she has reportedly not displayed the same competitive spark that she once possessed.

According to the mare’s trainer and prior owner, Javier Contreras, Late Night Pow Wow has “never really acted like she wanted to run again” after that loss.

During her career on the track, Late Night Pow Wow marched to victory 12 times in 15 starts, picking up wins in the Charles Town Oaks (G3) and Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie Stakes, West Virginia Cavada Breeders’ Classic, and other added-money events. In total, Late Night Pow Wow collected earnings of $700,400.

Thanks for all the memories, big girl! Can’t wait to meet the future little Pow Wow’s! @TheRacingBiz https://t.co/8kbEu47SAu
— Race Charles Town (@RaceCharlesTown) January 1, 2020

First stakes winner for Imagining

Anchor & Hope Farm’s stallion Imagining was represented by his first stakes winner on December 28, when his son Monday Morning Qb soared to victory in the Heft Stakes at Laurel Park.

The $100,000 Heft Stakes was the first black-type event in which Monday Morning Qb had ever competed (and just his third career start), but the young colt proved more than capable of handling the challenge. The Maryland-bred juvenile circled his competition on the turn for home and was able to strike the lead by the time the field reached the three-sixteenths pole. Digging in, the dark bay colt earned the win by three-quarters of a length in 1:23.46 for seven furlongs on a fast main track, with Monday Morning Qb returning $6.20 to those who supported him with a $2 win bet.

Bred by Bowman & Higgins Stable and Cary Frommer, Monday Morning Qb is owned in partnership by Cash is King LLC and LC Racing LLC. The colt is in the training care of Robert Reid Jr., and was ridden by Jorge Vargas, Jr. Currently, Monday Morning Qb has visited the winner’s circle twice from three starts and has collected earnings of $105,000.