Love Yourself Shrugs Off Trouble
Cartridge appears ready for stakes
LAUREL, MD—Last fall at Timonium, Butch Reid and Brittany Russell went head-to-head in a lively bidding contest for HIP #202, an Army Mule filly out of Hello Now (by Tiznow).
Russell’s interest was understandable. Maryland’s perennial leading trainer had extensive experience with Hello Now’s top progeny. In 2019, Hello Beautiful became Russell’s first stakes winner. Two years later, Hello Hot Rod shipped up to win New York’s Jimmy Winkfield Stakes.
“It was her and me, I think, from about $50,000 on,” Reid said.
The auctioneer’s hammer fell at $210,000, and the filly, now named Just Gia, went home with Reid. Just Gia was the top-priced filly at the auction and the second-highest overall.
Russell had two chances for revenge Sunday at Laurel Park, entering Hidden Rhythm and Floreana in a $49,000 first-level allowance for juvenile fillies at six furlongs against Just Gia.
Ridden by jockey Abner Adorno, Just Gia, the 13-10 favorite, took the early lead outside Katz On Fire through the opening quarter in 22.68 seconds, then faced Floreana’s three-wide surge just outside the quarter pole. The pair raced the half in 46.25 seconds, but Floreana couldn’t pass Just Gia, who gamely hung on to win by a length in 1:11.40 on a fast track.
“She’s a big, strong filly,” Reid said. “Even Brittany was surprised to see her in the paddock today. She’s really blossomed. I was a little concerned turning for home. You never know how they’ll respond, but she drew off on that filly. Abner thinks we’re just scratching the surface with her in terms of distance. He thinks she’ll get plenty further, too.”
Bred by Holly House Farm and Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds, Just Gia now races for Glenn Bennett’s LC Racing.
Just Gia debuted in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight race at Parx on September 19. She battled for the lead before tiring and finishing fourth, ten lengths behind the winner.
The following month, she pressed the leader in a six-furlong maiden special weight race at Delaware, then drew away to win by 5 ¾ lengths.
“She always trained very well,” Reid continued. “The surprising race was her first run, really. She was looking around, unsure exactly what she wanted to do, but she’s been a nice horse since the beginning.”
Based at Parx, Reid expects to ship Just Gia back to Laurel for the restricted $125,000 Juvenile Fillies Stakes at seven furlongs on December 26.
*Love Yourself shrugs off trouble
Love Yourself gave Equibase chart callers Bill Brasaemle and Keith Feustle plenty to discuss in the seventh race, a $49,000 first-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up at one mile.
The official chart reads “Love Yourself rated near the inner rail on the turn, drifted out bumping Compatriot entering the stretch, bumped with that one in upper stretch, bumped and herded out Compatriot near the eighth pole, closed while steadily drifting out and was up at the finish.”
“I nearly walked away after seeing the first quarter mile because the only instructions were to let him get somewhere he could run,” Love Yourself’s trainer, Niall Saville, said after Love Yourself got his nose down at just the right time at 1:39.31 on the fast track.
Saville had seen this movie before. On May 16 and September 13, Love Yourself found himself tight along the rail and settled for second place on both occasions.
“You saw him get beat going six,” Saville said. “He just didn’t have quite that early speed to put him in better spots going six, and he was getting the inside post. With seven [furlongs] and a mile, it just helps him, but I didn’t want to see that trip again.”
Saville must have felt déjà vu when Love Yourself pulled forward on the inside as Joel’s Boy and Prince Almasty set fractions of 24.38 and 48.72 seconds. Jockey Jeiron Barbosa had to tap the brakes entering the turn, and they eased off the rail midway through the bend.
Barbosa spied a three-wide seam between horses as they turned into the long stretch, but Jose Batista and a four-wide Compatriot were intent on denying Barbosa a clear path.
Love Yourself and Compatriot banged into each other like charging sumo wrestlers before Love Yourself found his opening. From there, the Maryland-bred got back to business and ran down The Great Oscar right on the line. Forrest City finished another three-quarters of a length behind in third. Pea Ridge, Compatriot, Prince Almasty, Armed N Dangerous, and Joel’s Boy were next.
Love Yourself survived a stewards’ inquiry and returned $6.60 to win. It was Barbosa’s second win of the afternoon, after Palmetto Fury’s wire-to-wire victory in the second race.
“It was race-riding down the lane,” Saville explained, but I thought Batista took it way too far by going back in at him like that. I wasn’t happy to see that. I like this horse. I honestly expected this horse to be able to beat these horses pretty handily, and with the trip, even though he only won by a nose, he was the best horse.”
Love Yourself is a homebred owned by High Kings Racing and is by Blofeld out of La Piu Bella (by More Than Ready). Love Yourself needed six tries to break her maiden, but he’s been unstoppable since. A win on a muddy track on October 4 was followed by a restricted allowance victory just five days later, his final start before Sunday’s race.
“He’s enjoying his racing, and we’ve never gotten to the bottom of him,” Saville said. “When he was a baby, he never got tired after his breezes; he got more excited. I feel like he’s got a great constitution. He loves his job. I put a lot of science into the heart monitors and recovery, and I know where they are by their breezes. He’s never tapped out. He’s had the fastest recovery in my whole barn.”
In eight starts, Love Yourself has never been off the board and has earned $131,050. Saville toyed with entering Love Yourself in Saturday’s $100,000 City of Laurel Stakes, but “we’ll just enjoy this bit for the time being.”
*Cartridge appears ready for stakes
Cartridge, the odds-on favorite in the third race, a $49,000 first-level allowance for juveniles at 1 1/16 miles, might be headed for stakes action after a sharp 3 ½-length win over I’m With Her.
Trained by Jeremiah Englehart for Flash Toga Farm, Deann Baer, and Stony Points Stables, Cartridge picked up jockey Mychel Sanchez after his scheduled jockey, Jaime Rodriguez, was removed from his remaining mounts earlier that afternoon due to soreness from a post-race fall the previous afternoon.
Shortly before the race, Sanchez spoke with Englehart.
“He told me this is a prep for a stakes race, so we didn’t want to change anything,” Sanchez said. “Just keep learning and let him do his thing.”
Cartridge settled at the back of the pack as they entered the first turn.
“The fractions were a little slow, so [I’m With Her] got on the bridle a little and took a few steps out [in front of me],” Sanchez noted. “I wanted to ride him like he was the best horse, as he looked in the program. The other horses had a little bit of speed, so even if they’re going to go slow, I’m going to sit back and make a nice move.”
The four other entrants sparred for the lead through fractions of 25.18 and 50.16 seconds, with Sanchez and Cartridge in last place until the second turn. At the three-eighths pole, Cartridge launched a three-wide bid for the lead and stayed on task against a hard-trying I’m With Her, a filly facing the boys.
“The whole time, he felt like a winner,” said Sanchez, who won two races on Sunday’s card. “Always in the bit, waiting for a good run, waiting for a clean spot. It was really good.”
Cartridge covered the distance in 1:47.34, returning $3.20 to win.
Bred in New York by Delehanty Stock Farm, Cartridge is by Maxfield out of Tent City (by Desert Party). He sold for $80,000 as a weanling; was bought back for $190,000 as a Keeneland September yearling; and was purchased for $75,000 a month later at Fasig Tipton.
After finishing a well-beaten ninth in his career debut at Belmont on September 25, Cartridge improved dramatically a month later, rallying from last to win a one-mile maiden special weight restricted to New York-breds despite jumping a shadow at the finish line.
Sunday’s race was Cartridge’s first start around two turns, and he appears to have plenty of stamina.
*Around the track:
Live racing resumes Friday 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 free “Laurel Park Handicapping Guide” is available on every race day. It features picks, analysis, trainer stats, trip notes, horses to watch, track bias information, and more from The Maryland Jockey Club’s handicapping team. Friday’s guide is available Thursday evening. Click here to view it.
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.