Give It a Whirl Captures $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby
Roanan Goddess Rules in $100,000 Searching
LAUREL, MD – ZWP Stable, Inc. and Non Stop Stable’s 6-year-old homebred mare Malibu Beauty dueled with favored Saddle Up Jessie through the stretch before edging clear inside the eighth pole and drawing away to a 2 ¾-length victory in Sunday’s $100,000 Caesar’s Wish at Laurel Park.
The 1 1/16-mile Caesar’s Wish for fillies and mares 3 and up was the second of three $100,000 stakes on a nine-race program, preceded by Roanan Goddess’ romp in the one-mile Searching for 3-year-old fillies and followed by Give It a Whirl’s front-running triumph in the 1 1/8-mile Bald Eagle Derby for 3-year-olds.
Both the Searching and Bald Eagle Derby, originally scheduled for the turf, were moved to the main track following heavy overnight rain.
Malibu Beauty ($20.80), trained by Gary Capuano, covered the distance in 1:45.00 over a fast main track to complete a natural hat trick for jockey J.G. Torrealba, who also won Race 5 with Princess Indy ($4) and the Searching on Roanan Goddess ($5).
“Thank you to the trainer and the owner for the opportunity,” Torrealba said. “I’m just very happy.”
Overlooked at 9-1 despite four prior stakes victories, finishing third or better in nine of 17 career starts at Laurel and coming out of a 4 ¼-length allowance score July 24 at Delaware Park, Malibu Beauty took command from the outset and went an easy opening quarter-mile in 25 seconds with Saddle Up Jessie tracking to her outside in second. Brazilian Group 1 winner Evidencias raced third along the trail with 2023 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) winner Affirmative Lady – making her first start in 458 days – in the clear three wide in fourth.
Malibu Beauty was still in front after a half in 49.05 as Saddle Up Jessie inched closer, Affirmative Lady dropped back to last and the top two began to pull away from their rivals. Saddle Up Jessie moved alongside Malibu Beauty midway around the far turn and forged a short lead to set up their stretch battle, which saw a resurgent Malibu Beauty kick again late for her 11th career victory.
Saddle Up Jessie was a clear second, five lengths ahead of Evidencias. It was three lengths back to Lexa in fourth, followed by Malibu Beauty’s stakes-winning stablemate Intrepid Dream and Affirmative Lady. Majestic Creed, Continentalcongres and Foggy Night were scratched.
Bred in Maryland, Malibu Beauty improved her record to 11-9-5 from 37 starts with $693,699 in purse earnings. She has won or placed in 12 stakes with victories in the 2021 Miss Disco at Pimlico, 2022 Peach Blossom and George Rosenberger Memorial at Delaware, and 2022 Carousel at Laurel.
The Caesar’s Wish debuted in 1978 at old Bowie Race Course and was held at both Pimlico and Laurel before it was renamed the Beyond the Wire for 2018. Returned to the stakes schedule in 2021, it honors the Maryland-bred mare that won 11 of 16 starts over two seasons including the 1978 Mother Goose (G1) and Black-Eyed Susan (G2) and 1977 Demoiselle (G2) and Villager (G3) and was inducted into Maryland’s Thoroughbred Hall of Fame in 2018. Her winning time in the Mother Goose broke Hall of Famer Ruffian’s stakes record and stood until 1994.
Give It a Whirl Captures $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby
Runnymoore Racing’s Give It a Whirl, a homebred son of Grade 1-winning millionaire Hard Spun, led from start to finish and turned back a late bid from Triple Crown race veteran Mugatu for a 1 ¾-length triumph in the $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby.
Named for the two-time Washington D.C. International winner and the nation’s champion handicap horse of 1960, the Bald Eagle Derby was the first stakes victory for Give It a Whirl ($8.80). The winning time was 1:54.29 over a fast main track.
“He’s a very nice horse,” Joe Cassidy, racing manager for Runnymoore’s Greg and Caroline Bentley, said. “This was a target for us. We were hoping it stayed on the turf. We think he’s a better turf horse, but this is what we got given and we’re very happy that he got the trip.”
Give It a Whirl broke alertly under jockey Jose Batista and ran the first quarter-mile in 25.77 seconds to lead Wine Collector racing in second along the inside with 6-5 favorite Cinder Block third and Mugatu fourth. Cinder Block moved into second after a half in 51.16 and was joined by Mugatu following six furlongs in 1:15.97 until Mugatu – last seen in Maryland finishing eighth in the 149th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 18 at Pimlico – moved up to engage the leader.
Batista and Give It a Whirl straightened for home with the lead as Mugatu gave chase out in the center of the track but was unable to get by, finishing four lengths ahead of Cinder Block in third. Wine Collector and Give It a Whirl’s stablemate Trevesso, who stumbled badly at the break, completed the order of finish. Elevated Game and stakes winner Desvio were scratched.
Give It a Whirl won both of his first two starts last summer, one each at Delaware and Laurel, before finishing fourth in the Sapling at Monmouth Park. He raced twice more at 2 and had been on turf for each of his two outings this year, heading into the Bald Eagle Derby after running second by a half-length in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance against older horses July 7 at Delaware.
Roanan Goddess Rules in $100,000 Searching
Mens Grille Racing’s Roanan Goddess, who became a stakes winner in her 3-year-old debut in January, rediscovered that form under a patient ride from J.G. Torrealba for a 6 ¼-length triumph in the $100,000 Searching.
Roanan Goddess ($5) covered a fast main track in 1:39.53 for one mile, shortened from 1 1/16 miles with the surface switch, under Torrealba – aboard for the first time – for his second of three straight wins.
Fellow stakes winner Call Another Play, the 6-5 favorite, led through moderate fractions of 25.16 and 50.22 seconds pressed by Madame Mischief. Distorted d’Oro, unbeaten in her only two starts, both on turf, raced three wide while Torrealba had Roanan Goddess positioned between horses in fourth.
Roanan Goddess split horses to get into contention on the far turn and was tipped outside at the head of the stretch, surging past Call Another Play and earning her fourth win from 11 starts and first since the Jan. 27 Xtra Heat sprinting six furlongs at Laurel. Call Another Play nosed out Distorted d’Oro for second, with Madame Mischief fourth. Play Good Pay Good, Belle of Rights and Juniper Juice were scratched.
Trained by Hamilton Smith, Roanan Goddess got a break after finishing third in the seven-furlong Wide Country Feb. 24 and returned to be sixth in the one-mile Hilltop May 17 on the turf at historic Pimlico Race Course. She stayed on grass for her prior start when she ran a troubled ninth in Laurel’s 5 ½-furlong Stormy Blues June 16.
Searching, a 1978 Hall of Fame inductee, was a bay daughter of 1937 Triple Crown champion War Admiral bred by Odgen Phipps that won the Gallorette Stakes at Pimlico in 1955 and 1957 for trainer Hirsch Jacobs, retiring with a record of 25-14-16 with $327,381 in purse earnings from 89 starts. As a broodmare, Searching also enjoyed great success with offspring such as Affectionately, an 18-time stakes winner and dam of 1970 Preakness winner Personality, and Admiring, the grand-dam of 1993 Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero.