Eastern Bay, Factor It In among General George workers
Press Release- February 12, 2023
Multiple graded-stakes placed Eastern Bay and stablemate Pirate Rick, and back-to-back stakes winner Factor It In, all being pointed to the $250,000 General George (G3) Feb. 18, breezed Saturday at Laurel Park for their upcoming stakes engagement.
Built Wright Stables’ Eastern Bay, unraced since being beaten a nose in the Oct. 29 Bold Ruler (G3) at Aqueduct, worked three furlongs in 35.20 seconds, the fastest of 10 horses at the distance. The 9-year-old gelding owns 18 career wins, 14 at Laurel, including the 2020 Polynesian.
“He worked three-eighths this morning pretty impressively,” owner-trainer Norman ‘Lynn’ Cash said. “My assistant was very pleased with how nice he worked.”
The seven-furlong General George for 4-year-olds and up co-headlines a Winter Carnival program featuring six stakes worth $900,000 in purses, including the $250,000 Barbara Fritchie (G3) for older filly and mare sprinters.
Eastern Bay has run second in three prior graded attempts – the 2020 Frank J. De Francis Memorial (G3) at Laurel and the Vosburgh (G2) and Bold Ruler three weeks apart at Aqueduct to close his 2022 campaign. Saturday was his fifth timed work since early December, all at Laurel.
“He’s been there the whole time. He likes it there,” said Cash, who lives in Kentucky but maintains a string of more than two dozen horses at Laurel. “He’s ready to go.”
Pirate Rick, 6, worked a half-mile in a sharp 47.40 seconds Saturday, the fastest of 52 horses. He had a four-race win streak snapped when fourth in the seven-furlong Toboggan (G3) Jan. 28 at Aqueduct, his stakes debut.
“He worked a solid half this morning,” Cash said. “I don’t know who else [will be] in there but he’s probably going to be the speed of the race. They may not catch him.”
Cash had another stakes contender out Saturday in Gormley’s Gabriela, who went three furlongs in 36 seconds, second only to her stablemate. Claimed for $62,500 out of her last race, a Jan. 28 win at Laurel, she is being pointed to the $100,000 Wide Country for 3-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs.
“She had a monster three-eighths work today,” Cash said. “We’ll probably also enter in the allowance race [for] the next day and make our choice, but my assistant called me [after the work] and said, ‘Boss, I’m telling you she’s going to win the stake.”
Michael Scheffres’ Factor It In went four furlongs in 48.40 seconds, ranking eighth. The 7-year-old gelding, third by a half-length in the Bold Ruler and a neck in the Fall Highweight (G3), exits Laurel stakes wins in the six-furlong Dave’s Friend Dec. 30 and 6 ½-furlong Fire Plug Jan. 21 for trainer Carlos Mancilla.
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