Region’s Best

FIRST STAR: TONY ECLIPSE. Maryland-bred 2-year-old males took to the Laurel Park track for Saturday’s co-feature, the Maryland Juvenile Stakes. Tony Eclipse, previously second in the Rocky Run Stakes and the Nashua Stakes, broke through to win by 3 3/4 lengths. He pressed early leader Executive Order in the two-path in the early stages of the seven-furlong contest, then kicked on at the top of the stretch under Jevian Toledo. Saxton, Barbadian Runner, and Sacred Thunder all chased gamely, but Tony Eclipse could not be caught, and crossed the wire as much the best. The Elkstone Group LLC homebred is trained by Brittany Russell, who won this race two years ago with Post Time.

SECOND STAR: CAPRICE. One race prior, Maryland-bred and/or Maryland-sired 2-year-old fillies competed in the female equivalent, the Maryland Juvenile Filly Stakes. Pennsylvania-bred Caprice, by Northview’s stallion Golden Lad, caught a break when her chief rival, Ms Notion, stumbled at the start and unseated her rider. With Ms Notion out of the way, Caprice, who was sent off as the 6-5 chalk, had a much easier task ahead of her. She received pace pressure from Safe Trust in the early stages, but shook off that rival and won by 1 1/4 lengths, for her fourth stakes win of her young career. She previously captured the Small Wonder Stakes and the Blue Hen Stakes at Delaware Park and the Smart Halo Stakes on this track. She was bred by her owners, Runnymoore Racing LLC, and is trained by Cal Lynch and ridden by Jaime Rodriguez.

THIRD STARS: JAMIE NESS AND J.G. TORREALBA. Trainer Ness and jockey Torrealba both pulled off grand slams at Laurel this week. Ness saddled four winners on Friday, three of whom were ridden by Jaime Rodriguez. Ness and Rodriguez teamed up to win race 1 with Brzina, race 5 with How Sweet She Is, and race 9 with Pistol Liz Ablazen. Ness also won race 3 with Greener Pastures, with Mychel Sanchez aboard. Torrealba, meanwhile, had his big day on Saturday. He completed a natural hat trick in races 3 through 5, winning with Nancy Mary, for trainer Damon Dilodovico, Kieron Magee trainee Pit Stop Man, and Bond’s Belle, trained by Charles Frock. In race 9, Torrealba publish off the grand slam, taking the finale with Mor Mor Mor for trainer Claudio Gonzalez. With nine days left in the winter meet, Ness is in second place in the trainer race with22 wins, while Torrealba is third in the jockey standings with 34 victories.

Laurel Park

FIRST STAR: TONY ECLIPSE. Earned his breakthrough win on Saturday; we’ll see if he stretches out in the near-future.

SECOND STAR: CAPRICE. The Princess of Pennsylvania has enjoyed great success in her freshman year.

THIRD STAR: JAMIE NESS/J.G. TORREALBA. Two of the best at the meet enjoyed some of their greatest success this weekend.

Charles Town Races

FIRST STAR: GRAN ANDREWS. Earned his ninth victory of the year on Saturday, taking a 1 1/16-mile starter allowance contest as the 3-5 choice.

SECOND STARS: TIM GRAMS AND LARRY REYNOLDS. This trainer/jockey combo teamed up for three winners on Friday.

THIRD STAR: MENDYS HONEY. Sat the trip and crushed a first-level field as the 1-10 favorite on Friday, improving to 4-for-6 on the year in the process.

Parx Racing

FIRST STAR: MYCHEL SANCHEZ. Won seven races on the week, including a grand slam on Monday and a three-win afternoon on Wednesday.

SECOND STAR: WINDSOR GOLD. Crushed a second-level field by 7 3/4 lengths on Thursday.

THIRD STAR: OUR UPTOWN GIRL. Led for every step and held on to beat second-level Pennsylvania-bred foes on Monday.