Blue skies and sun arrived too late for Laurel Park to keep its three stakes on the turf Saturday, but that suited trainer Arnaud Delacour and Pascaline just fine.

Pascaline, a two-year-old Upstart colt trained by Delacour, was a main-track-only entrant in the day’s featured $150,000 Laurel Futurity, which was taken off the turf and moved to a main track rated good. Getting a good stalking trip under Victor Carrasco, Pascaline moved clear in upper stretch and went on to win by two lengths to improve to two-for-two in his young career.

“I was pretty confident that we could stretch to a mile,” Delacour said. “It’s a difficult mile here, obviously, because it’s one turn, but he did everything right.”

Pascaline had won at first asking in a 6 ½-furlong maiden event at Colonial Downs, rallying from seventh to win going away under Carrasco. Coming from off the pace, Delacour said, was the plan that day.

“I told Victor, you know, ‘I quite like him no matter what,’” Delacour explained. “‘Make sure you teach him something. You know, I don’t want to get him out of there and be in front and looking around and stuff. Get him in the kickback and see. And he did it great.”

That race set him up nicely to tackle the Futurity, and the way this race developed was even more favorable. Longshots Notmyfirstrodeo (36-1) and Kitty’s Son (37-1) hooked up to set the early tempo while heads apart, getting the opening half-mile in 47.68 seconds with Pascaline perched just 1 ½ lengths back. 

Notmyfirstrodeo soon tired, with Kitty’s Son leading after three quarters in 1:13.71. But by then, Pascaline was breathing down his neck, and soon he went clear.

Post time favorite Studlydoright, winner of the Tremont at Saratoga in June and runner-up in the Grade 3 Sanford at that same track in July, had a wide journey but rallied willingly to be second, two lengths behind the winner and just a head in front of Just a Fair Shake. But neither was a threat to Pascaline, who came home fast, getting the last quarter-mile in 25.16 seconds to hold his rivals safe.

Running time for the one-turn mile was 1:38.87.

Pascaline paid $10.00 to win. The exacta, with the favorite underneath, returned $13.00 on a one-dollar wager.

Now two-for-two, Pascaline has earned over $125,000.

While it’s been smooth sailing for Pascaline on the racetrack, it’s been quite a journey for the youngster to get there. Bred in West Virginia by Jim Miller, Pascaline is a half-brother to Social Chic, a West Virginia-bred stakes winner who has earned over $430,000.

Pascaline has gone through the sales ring three times. Offered at Keeneland as a weanling, he failed to meet his reserve. He then sold for $40,000 at the following September’s Keeneland yearling sale. 

His purchasers, Bushypark Stables, took him to England to pinhook, selling him for just shy of $85,000 at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale in April at Newmarket, England. 

His buyers? West Point Thoroughbreds, who brought him back to the U.S. and own him in partnership with Jimmy Kahig Racing, CJ Stables, and Edwin Barker. 

So, yes, he’s a West Virginia-bred exported to England and reimported to the United States who’s now a stakes winner.

“It’s a funny story, because he’s been sold in America, went back to England, West Point and the team went over there to buy him at the breeze up on the turf and running him on the dirt,” Delacour said. “And he’s a West Virginia-bred, so he’s well traveled.”

Delacour said he had not picked out a next step for his promising colt – “We’re gonna let him tell us where he wants to go,” the trainer said – but he should have plenty of options.

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