Irish Maxima too good in Barbara Fritchie
Sea Dancer now 2 for 2 on dirt after Nellie Morse win
Speedyness lives up to name in John B. Campbell
LAUREL, MD – As he did last month, Quint’s Brew turned into the Laurel Park stretch with a commanding lead in a stakes race and maintained his run to the wire, this time in Saturday’s $200,000 General George for 4-year-olds and upward at seven furlongs.
“That was a big race,” said trainer Ned Allard. “I’m impressed.”
Quint’s Brew was dominant in the General George, beating Celtic Contender by 5 ½ lengths in 1:23.76 over a sealed and muddy track that took a good amount of rain throughout a cold afternoon in Maryland. Prince of Jericho was another 2 ¾ lengths back in third, with Mr. Antonelli, Union Fleet, and Circle P completing the order of finish.
Quint’s Brew returned $3.60 as the odds-on favorite.
Ridden by Mychel Sanchez, Quint’s Brew broke well from post position two, then adroitly moved to the outside to avoid kickback. Prince of Jericho carved out fractions of 23.43 and 46.47, but Quint’s Brew was right on his outer flank, and the chalk took over with a burst of speed at the quarter pole. From there, it was all Quint’s Brew.
Bred in Maryland by Paul W. Berube, Karen Linnell, and Spinnaker Hill Farm, Quint’s Brew races for Berube, Linnell, and Heather Hunter. A 4-year-old gelding by Mosler, Quint’s Brew showed promise from the very beginning, winning his first two starts last year for trainer Michael Gorham.
After being moved up to second by disqualification in his stakes debut, the restricted Star de Naskra on June 24, Quint’s Brew missed the remainder of 2024 after grabbing a quarter.
Allard took over training duties soon thereafter. Confidently placed in the restricted Jennings Stakes over a one-turn mile on Jan. 18, Quint’s Brew rolled to a six-length win and a career-best 98 Beyer Speed Figure.
“A lot of horses do bounce off of a really good race off of a long layoff,” Allard said. “But he just came out of it like a 2-year-old. Didn’t back off at all. Trained super for the race.”
Quint’s Brew swapped leads several times during the stretch drive in the Jennings but stayed firm on his right leg in the General George.
“I watched that race and I told [Sanchez} when you ride him back, if you feel like you need to encourage him, just tap him on his neck. Today, he was straight as an arrow.”
Allard mentioned Aqueduct’s Grade 2, $300,000 Carter Handicap at seven furlongs on April 5 as a potential next spot for Quint’s Brew.
Irish Maxima too good in the Barbara Fritchie
After Irish Maxima broke through the gate before the $200,000 Barbara Fritchie Stakes for fillies and mares at seven furlongs, trainer John Servis got anxious.
“I can’t tell you how many people I made go back and watch Seattle Slew’s race in the Jockey Club,” Servis said. “If you ever want to watch a spectacular race where a horse gets beat, watch that race. He broke through the gate, then the fractions were crazy. My dad, when he was a steward and even before riding, he goes when a horse breaks through the gate, it’s the kiss of death. It’s almost impossible to win after that.”
Thankfully for Servis, Irish Maxima didn’t need to be Seattle Slew to win this year’s Fritchie. Once reloaded, she broke quickly, went immediately to the lead under Frankie Pennington, set splits of 23.14 and 46.55 over the good track, then drove him to score by two lengths over a game Royal Spa. St. Benedict’s Prep was a neck behind in third, with I’m a Cutie Pie and Mary Q next. Aussie Girl scratched.
The prohibitive favorite, Irish Maxima returned $2.60 to win. The Barbara Fritchie was her third stakes triumph.
“She was super sharp,” said Pennington. “She was super ready. I got to give a huge shout-out to the Laurel Park gate crew. They did a phenomenal job.”
Irish Maxima won her first two starts as a 2-year-old before finishing off the board in a pair of stakes races. She won four of five starts last year, culminating with a 13 ¾ length victory in the Mrs. Claus Stakes on New Year’s Eve. For that performance, she received a career-high 101 Beyer Speed Figure.
“She’s got so much speed, and she does it like she’s going so easily,” Pennington continued. “The turn of foot is amazing on her. She’s the kind of filly that she waits for that fight, too. Once they come to her, she’s going to kick on again.”
Bred in Kentucky by Pillar Property Services, Irish Maxima is a 4-year-old filly by Maximus Mischief out of stakes-winner Palace Pier. She sold for $65,000 as a yearling before being purchased for $50,000 as a May juvenile. Owned by Irish Three Racing, Irish Maxima has banked $419,915.
Servis said that Aqueduct’s Grade 3, $175,000 Distaff Stakes at Aqueduct on April 5 is a likely next race for Irish Maxima.
Sea Dancer rides rail in Nellie Morse
Sea Dancer isn’t yet the “GOAT” of Brittany Russell’s star-filled barn, but she shares a stall with two of them.
On a recent visit to Russell’s Laurel shed row, there was Sea Dancer, happily nuzzling two goats that Russell had obtained to calm another nervous horse in her care.
“The goats weren’t meant for her,” Russell said after Sea Dancer worked out a pace-tracking, ground-saving trip under Sheldon Russell to capture the $100,000 Nellie Morse Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles. “She just ended up really enjoying the company. She’s a high-strung, high-energy filly.”
Sea Dancer is so sharp right now that she won the Nellie Morse under a jockey who sported a grotesque-looking finger that appeared broken. That didn’t stop Sheldon Russell from giving his mount a perfect ride.
After an awkward beginning, longshot Sweet Heidelberg cleared to the lead and the rail and set moderate fractions of 24.73 and 49.98 seconds while pressured from the outside under Headline Numbers.
Confidently ridden by jockey Angel Cruz, Headline Numbers easily dispatched Sweet Heidelberg after six furlongs in 1:16.08 but was immediately confronted by a rail-skimming Sea Dancer, who had traveled sweetly in the pocket at the back of the pack.
For a moment, it appeared that the two favorites would throw it down for an epic stretch drive, but Sea Dancer always had Headline Numbers’ number, and she streaked through the drizzling rain to prevail by 3 ¾ lengths in 1:47.07 over the good track.
Sea Dancer, a half-sister to Grade 1 turf winner Johannes, began her career in Southern California for trainer Tim Yakteen. She raced exclusively on turf with middling results before being purchased for $150,000 last fall by Tom Ryan’s SF Racing.
Ryan sent Sea Dancer to Brittany Russell with the primary objective of earning valuable blacktype, and the Russells came through right away, with Sea Dancer winning Laurel’s Carousel Stakes on Dec. 21.
“She’s a really eager, really good-training filly,” Brittany Russell said. “When she breaks, she breaks ready to go. She’s handy. She’s nice to have around.”
A 4-year-old filly by Mastery, Sea Dancer was bred by Cuyathy LLC, and has won five of 16 starts for career earnings of $319,095.
Speedyness lives up to name in John B. Campbell
“I hate the rain, man,” jockey Jaime Rodriguez said after Speedyness held firm in the $100,000 John B. Campbell Stakes for 4-year-olds and upward at 1 1/8 miles.
Rodriguez likes to win races, however. The two-time defending Maryland riding champion by number of victories, Rodriguez currently leads the Laurel Park winter meet jockey standings by seven wins over Sheldon Russell.
Trained by Jamie Ness, Speedyness showed good speed from the gate and set a relaxed opening fraction of 24.74 while clear of a tracking Offaly Cool. The pace stayed moderate on the backstretch, with Speedyness stepping the half-mile in 49.60 before racing six furlongs in 1:14.43.
Offaly Cool kept trying, but Speedyness held him at bay to win by a half-length in 1:53.63 over the muddy track. Favored Hittheroadjak was another three-quarters behind. Then came Cataleya Strike, Brilliant Ice, Deposition, and Wild Vine.
“Like Jamie says all the time, clean faces win races,” Rodriguez said about Speedyness’ gate-to-wire tactics. “When I saw [Abner Adorno on Offaly Cool] take a little bit of a hold, I let [Speedyness] run free. Every time the horses got close to him, he never gave up. When you put him in cruise control, he did everything by himself. Once we turned to the top of the lane, I looked and saw [Adorno] riding now. I waited, made [Speedyness] change his leads, and tipped out a little to keep him moving. Once he was one or two lengths in front, he pricked his ears a little bit and started looking around. He got me a little bit worried.”
Bred in Maryland by Ness’ Jagger Inc. and owned in partnership with Morris Kernan Jr., Speedyness is a 4-year-old gelding by Great Notion out of multiple stakes-winner Hartigan.
A three-time winner as a 2-year-old, Speedyness placed in the Maryland Juvenile that season before capturing the Miracle Wood at Laurel as a 3-year-old.
He made his 2025 debut in the Jennings and finished fourth, beaten eight lengths by Quint’s Brew.
Speedyness has won seven of 17 starts for $390,340.
