Fillies and mares clash in Sensible Lady Turf Dash
LAUREL, MD—Horse Racing Nation named Live Oak Plantation’s Victory Achieved the 5-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s $100,000 Laurel Dash, a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up on the Fort Marcy Turf Course.
The Laurel Dash shares top billing on the nine-race program with the $100,000 Sensible Lady Turf Dash for fillies and mares, also run at six furlongs over the Fort Marcy.
Gates open at 11 am ET, and the first post time is 12 pm ET. There are two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout.
Victory Achieved has raced three times in 2026, winning a high-level Gulfstream allowance on Tapeta on May 30, placing second in the Karl Boyes Stakes at Presque Isle Downs on July 3, and finishing a close second in Colonial’s Van Clief Stakes on turf at 5 ½ furlongs on August 1.
“At one time, we thought Victory Achieved really might be a top horse,” said trainer Mark Casse about the Grade 3-placed 5-year-old gelding by Street Sense. “He’s had a few little things along the way, but he’s come back this year and run very consistently. He looks like he should be fairly tough, and I think he’ll like that three-quarters on the turf.”
Kentucky Derby-winning rider Sonny Leon rides Victory Achieved, whom Casse believes will race near the pace.
One of the horses that finished behind Victory Achieved in the Van Clief is Witty, owned by Elizabeth Merryman and Marc Detempel. The popular 7-year-old finished second in the 2023 Laurel Dash and became a millionaire by winning the restricted Ben’s Cat Stakes here on June 20.
Trainer Merryman said during Laurel’s spring meet that Witty, a half-brother to Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Caravel, missed the end of the 2025 turf season due to a wrenched ankle but healed beautifully over the winter.
He won his first two races this year, including the Ben’s Cat, then finished eighth in the Van Clief after a slow start compromised him.
Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Darlene Bilenski’s Senbei, a Grade 3-winning gelding by Candy Ride, ships down from his New York base. Trained by Miguel Clement, Senbei, a 7-year-old New York-bred, hasn’t raced since finishing last of seven in the restricted New York Turf Sprint Championship at Aqueduct in October.
Hollywood Racing’s Isivunguvungu drew into the Laurel Dash from the Also Eligible list. Conditioned by Graham Motion, Isivunguvungu won his seasonal debut at Laurel Park in a high-level allowance race on June 19.
“That was really cool,” said Motion’s assistant trainer, Ian Wilson, in the winner’s circle. “We thought he needed a little more time to get him to the races this year, and it obviously worked out well today.”
A true globe-trotter, Isivunguvungu was bred by Narrow Creek Farm and made his first 15 starts in his home country, where he won two Group 1 sprints.
Isivunguvungu brought a strong reputation to Motion’s barn in 2024. He won Colonial’s Da Hoss Stakes immediately, then finished seventh, two lengths behind, in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
Motion brought Isivunguvungu back to the races for a 2025 campaign that included a trip to Dubai for the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint. Isivunguvungu has raced once since his Laurel victory this year, finishing sixth in the Van Clief.
Trainer Ned Allard expects to saddle two horses in the Laurel Dash. Alogon, owned by the Estate of Charles T Matses, won the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint at Aqueduct, completing his 2025 campaign. The son of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome has raced twice this year.
“His first start [fourth in Monmouth’s Get Serious Stakes on June 21], he stumbled pretty badly and almost lost the rider,” Allard said. “Then he got back in gear. He hadn’t run in eight months. I think he might have even needed one. He needed a perfect trip, and he didn’t get it.”
Allard felt that Alogon had a “less-than-perfect trip” when finishing seventh in the Van Clief. The veteran trainer is happy not to have drawn the rail post position, as he did in both the Get Serious and the Van Clief. “I think he’s ready for a good effort.”
Allard also trains Card Trick for C J T Stable. The 5-year-old rallied to finish fifth in the Van Clief.
“He really needed to be castrated, and we castrated him last winter,” Allard explained. “He’s come back, I think, a much better horse. A lot more focused and trying a lot harder. And I think sprinting is probably his game on the turf.”
Bold Diversion and Alder are also expected.
Had to Have Him, Fierce and Strong, Creeds Vision, and Jet Sweep Joe will scratch.
*Fillies and mares clash in Sensible Lady Turf Dash
It could be a family affair at Laurel Park on Saturday, as Witty’s younger half-sister, Somnium, is a strong contender in the Sensible Lady Turf Dash for fillies and mares.
Both Witty and Somnium are out of the remarkable Congrats mare Zeezee Zoomzoom, who won her maiden at Saratoga and excelled after retiring from racing.
Zeezee Zoomzoom’s first foal, Caravel, won 15 of 26 starts, including Grade 1 wins over males in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and the Jaipur Stakes. Witty was born two years later and has 13 wins and 11 seconds from 37 starts, including nine stakes wins.
Somnium is Zeezee Zoomzoom’s latest success story. A 4-year-old filly by Street Boss, Somnium won a second-level allowance at Laurel on June 12 and then finished a close second in Colonial’s Andy Guest Stakes on August 1.
“She’s game and loves the turf,” Merryman said in the winner’s circle after her victory at Laurel.
Somnium drew the rail in the Sensible Lady Turf Dash and will be reunited with jockey Jevian Toledo.
Mopo, owned by Maury Povich’s Mopo Racing, is Horse Racing Nation’s 3-1 morning-line favorite. Forest Boyce is scheduled to ride.
Trained by Phil Capuano, Mopo won the restricted Jameela Stakes here on June 20, then finished second in Monmouth’s Incredible Revenge Stakes on August 1. Four weeks later, Mopo gamely captured a first-level allowance at Delaware Park.
“She’s always been game,” Capuano said after the Jameela. “Even when she broke her maiden at Pimlico last year, she got passed, but she digs in and finds another gear. She’s tough.”
Mopo is Capuano’s second stakes winner. He hung out his shingle in 2023 after his uncle, Dale Capuano, retired. Dale Capuano, a legendary figure in Maryland racing, won 3,662 races, led all Maryland trainers in annual wins eight times, and notched 31 meet championships at Laurel and Pimlico.
Capuano’s father, Gary Capuano, is no slouch. He trained Captain Bodgit to win the Grade 1 Florida Derby and the Grade 2 Wood Memorial as a 3-year-old, then finished second by a head in the Kentucky Derby and third by a head in the Preakness Stakes.
James Chicklos’ Gerrards Cross, a 3-year-old filly by Midshipman, trained by Kathleen O’Connell, faces older rivals for the first time on Saturday but seems fast enough to control the early pace.
A multiple stakes-winner on turf at Monmouth, Gerrards Cross is no stranger to Laurel, finishing a close second in the Stormy Blues Stakes here on June 14. In her most recent start, Gerrards Cross placed third in Saratoga’s Galway Stakes. Jeiron Barbosa rides Gerrards Cross in the Sensible Lady Turf Dash.
Vicente Stella Stables’ Le Amazonia has hit the board in 12 of 15 starts and exits a third-place finish in Saratoga’s Smart N Fancy Stakes on August 14. Conditioned in South Florida by Victor Barboza Jr., Le Amazonia won her only previous start at six furlongs, her debut on dirt in 2024. Jaime Rodriguez rides Le Amazonia.
Casse’s entrant, Minty, drew in from the Also Eligible list. Owned by Gary Barber, the versatile 4-year-old filly rallied from off the pace to win a second-level allowance at Colonial on July 24.
“She’s come along,” Casse said. “We’ve taken our time with her, and it’s paid off. She’s a hard-trying filly.”
Clement entered Les Reys, a Grade 3 winner on Woodbine’s Tapeta surface in 2025. Les Reys finished fourth in last month’s Incredible Revenge Stakes.
Multiple stakes-placed Gift of Gab, stakes-placed Obstreperous, Secure’s Hope, and Come to Mama are likely starters.
Quiet Confidence, Cougar Cocktail, and Mystic Realm remain on the Also Eligible list.
Capturing and Wisconsin Gal are expected to scratch.