“It’s unbelievable,” Hazard said. “I don’t have any words.”

Take a Hint, the 2-1 second choice in the field of six, now has five wins from 14 career outings. He increased his bankroll to $209,819. The four-year-old, Maryland-bred Bandbox gelding was bred by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes and is trained by Gary Capuano.

On paper, the Not for Love looked to have plenty of early speed types, which suggested late-running sorts might have the edge. Take a Hint, who entered with two wins from his last three starts, figured to be one of those on the engine after three consecutive tries at 5 ½ furlongs.

In the event, Arden’sluckytobe, with Tais Lyapustina aboard, proved fastest of all, throwing down early fractions of 22.18 seconds for the quarter and 44.87 for the half. By then, Arden’sluckytobe owned a two-length lead over post time favorite Rominski, while Take a Hint spied matters from third, a half-length behind Rominski.

Jockey Jaime Rodriguez “did perfect,” Fowler said. “We said, ‘If you can, rate him,’ because he doesn’t really rate really well. Well, he did today.”

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“That was a good question for [Fowler] to answer because I’d have stumbled all over it,” Hazard joked.

As the field neared the quarter pole, Rodriguez and Take a Hint revved up their run three-wide as Romsinki faltered. He took over in mid-stretch and inched away from Arden’sluckytobe, who held second. Coffeewithchris, who ran in last year’s Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, rallied for third, 2 ½ lengths behind the winner.

Running time for the six furlongs on a fast main track was 1:10.72. Take a Hint paid $6.20 to win and topped an exacta that returned $12.50 for a one-dollar wager.

Hazard and Fowler became friends some 60 years ago, growing up in New Carrollton, MD, they said. Though Fowler got into owning and breeding horses decades ago, Hazard remained on the sidelines, cultivating a rooting interest only.

“I mean, I’ve always been just thrilled for him,” Hazard said. “Anytime something happens, it’s good.”

But a couple of years ago, Hazard started feeling like he wanted more involvement than simply rooting.

“I actually bugged him,” Hazard remembered. “I said, you know, I want to get involved in it a little bit, but I don’t know anything about it. Would you mind taking me under your wing?” 

“I told him all the bad things first,” Fowler interjected.

These days, though, racing life is pretty good. Fowler’s homebred Intrepid Daydream, whom he has since sold, recently was named Maryland-bred Horse of the Year by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. Another of his homebreds, Shaft’s Bullet, won the Harrison Johnson Memorial Stakes at Laurel Park two races after the Not for Love.

And, of course, Take a Hint, who still has allowance conditions available, looks to be a runner on the rise.

“Him getting me involved in this has been, for me, sort of life-changing,” Hazard said. “I’ve got things to do all the time. Now. I come out here on Saturdays. It’s just a lot of fun.”

NOTES In the Harrison Johnson, Shaft’s Bullet, also trained by Gary Capuano, took command leaving the quarter pole and drew off to a four-length win under jockey Carlos Lopez. It’s Sizzling Time was a hard-trying second, while Nimitz Class, the 3-5 post time favorite, faded to fourth after leading early. Shaft’s Bullet bagged his first stakes win and is now five-for-nine in his career… Family and friends of Harrison Johnson, a onetime Maryland trainer killed in a plane crash in 1985 at the age of 45, attended the race and presented the trophy to the winning connections…