El de Larry completes hat trick
LAUREL, MD—Five starts into his career, Just a Fair Shake looked like a Cinderella story in the making. The $8,000 yearling, trained by Daniel McKenzie, hadn’t finished off the board, with two wins and stakes placings in the Laurel Futurity, Federico Tesio Stakes, and Sir Barton Stakes.
Just a Fair Shake’s star faded for a bit, but the 4-year-old Laoban colt may be on the comeback trail after a gallant win in Friday’s co-feature at Laurel Park, a $53,000 allowance race for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles.
After placing second in the Sir Barton, Just a Fair Shake was listed as a $590,000 RNA at a digital auction and went on to compete in four tough stakes, finishing fourth in both the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby and the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes.
Just a Fair Shake next raced twice on turf, then left McKenzie’s stable and moved to trainer Dale Romans in Kentucky.
“It’s been a long, long road,” McKenzie said. “A couple of situations happened, and I lost him.”
Just a Fair Shake was claimed for $35,000 by trainer Kent Sweezey after a victory at Churchill Downs on May 26, then was reclaimed by McKenzie following a runner-up effort at Colonial on July 26.
McKenzie immediately noticed a change in his one-time stable star. “I have to train him differently than I did when I had him before. He matured. He’s sharper, and I let him do too much when I first got him. I had to reel him back and give him more time between races.”
Just a Fair Shake displayed his aggressive demeanor this afternoon, grabbing the lead and the rail under jockey Jeiron Barbosa, then rating the pace through fractions of 23.97 and 48.42 seconds while pressured by both Assume Nothing and Honor Mags.
Otago made a wide, looping bid from last under Jevian Toledo to challenge the leaders after six furlongs, clocked at 1:13.53, but Just a Fair Shake had other ideas.
Head low, Just a Fair Shake found another gear and outran Otago to the wire by a neck in 1:45.06 on a fast track. Favored Worcester was another two lengths back in third. Energize, Honor Mags, and Assume Nothing followed.
Just a Fair Shake returned $7.20 to win.
“We were hoping to sit right off [Assume Nothing],” McKenzie said. “He was just chilling. He wasn’t rushing. That’s how he won at Kentucky. He was on the inside, lost the lead briefly at the head of the stretch, and fought back.”
Barbosa won two races on Friday’s program. Marcan Love ($7.40) rallied from last to win the fourth race by 8 ½ lengths. Barbosa was impressed by Just a Fair Shake.
“He broke sharply,” he said. “I tried to ease the pace. I had a lot of horse at the three-eighths. When he felt [Otago] coming, he liked the fight.”
Bred in Kentucky by Brookstone Farm, Lee Mauberret, and James Blazek, Just a Fair Shake races for Lorie Bennett and MIH Affiliates. He is out of Grade 3 turf winner Ladymidtown (by Midshipman).
Just a Fair Shake, a winner in 4 of 21 starts, has earned $274,697.
*El de Larry completes hat trick
“He’s a fighter,” jockey Mychel Sanchez said after El de Larry scratched and clawed his way to a third straight win in Friday’s sixth heat, a $53,000 allowance race for 3-year-olds and older at one mile on the All Along Turf Course.
Sanchez would know. He’s now won four of five races aboard the gelding.
On paper, the race looked to have plenty of speed. Two-time Maryland Million Turf winner Wicked Prankster runs best on the lead. Dynacito led at the pace call in three of his last four starts. Cloud Music is a confirmed front-runner. Mongolian Apple wired the field in his most recent start, the fastest one-mile turf race of the current meet.
Then there was El de Larry, who won his last two starts under Sanchez in a gate-to-wire fashion.
Handicappers expecting a hot pace weren’t disappointed. Cloud Music was the fastest of the speedsters, setting the opening mile fraction in 22.84 seconds while pressured from the outside by Mongolian Apple. Dynacito raced in the pocket behind the leaders, with El de Larry just outside.
Mongolian Apple ratcheted up the pressure on Cloud Music after a half-mile in 47.04 seconds and poked a head in front after six furlongs in 1:11.38. El de Larry pounced three wide turning into the stretch, snatched the lead from Mongolian Apple, and went about his business to prevail by a length in 1:36.62 on good turf. Mongolian Apple finished 2 ¼ lengths ahead of late-running favorite Write Off Jerry. Dynacito, Wicked Prankster, Dowagiac Chief, Cloud Music, Virginia Fitz, Final War, and My Imagination followed. Market Maven and Tee At One scratched.
El de Larry returned $27.60 to win
Sanchez credited trainer Jose Magana, who claimed El de Larry for $12,500 two weeks ago, with getting the horse to relax.
“We knew there was going to be an aggressive pace,” Sanchez explained. “[Magana] did a little change on the bit,” Sanchez explained. “Sometimes, he can be a little aggressive and fight you. In some races, he’s been really good. In some races, he’s been tough. I think whatever he did with his mouth, it worked out today. He was able to sit, and he didn’t fight me. He was nice and comfortable, and I knew I was in a good spot all the way around.”
Bred in New York by Bloom Racing Stable, El de Larry is owned by Pepe Stable and J L M Jacona Stable. The 5-year-old Paynter gelding, a $41,000 yearling who resold for $10,000 as a juvenile, has 11 wins from 39 starts and lifetime earnings of $304,041.
El de Larry is a rock-solid turf horse, but he’s also pretty darn good on the main track, with seven wins in 22 dirt races.
“He’s a good horse to have,” Sanchez said. “Even the days he’s not going to win, he’s always [right there]. He gives you his all.”
*Around the track:
Live racing resumes Saturday with a ten-race program. Gates open at 11 am ET, and the first post is at 12:00 pm. Two “Value Pick 5” wagers carry a LOW 12% takeout. The feature race is the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles. Read the race advance here.
Visit the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center in Reisterstown on Wednesday, November 18, from 6 to 8 pm for a special screening of “Pimlico from the Heart.” Produced by Eclipse Award-winning racing writer John Scheinmann and featuring fellow Eclipse Award-winning racing writer Vinnie Perrone, the film follows the two friends as they revisit the historic Pimlico racetrack one final time before its demolition, reminiscing about the horses, people, and events that made “Old Hilltop” so special. Reserve your spot here.
Join us at Laurel Park on Saturday, November 21, starting at 11 AM, for a special hat giveaway celebrating Pimlico Race Course’s new look. Purchase a live racing program (2 MAX per person) to receive a FREE Pimlico hat, while supplies last. It’s a great way to show your Maryland racing pride and take home a piece of Pimlico’s exciting new chapter.
Enjoy Thanksgiving Day at the Races at Laurel Park on Thursday, November 26. Doors open at 10:00 am, and the special first post time is 11:25 am. Purchase a live racing program to receive a complimentary apple or pumpkin pie, and join us for the all-inclusive Thanksgiving luncheon. For tickets and menu options, visit here.
Never miss a second of the action on the Laurel Park YouTube channel. Click here to watch full pan and head-on replays.
Watch “Today at the Races,” the Maryland Jockey Club’s morning handicapping show every racing day at 11 am ET on the Maryland Jockey Club’s X account. Click here to watch.