Icona Mama makes seasonal debut in Wide Country
LAUREL, MD – The top three finishers from last month’s Spectacular Bid Stakes square off once more in Saturday’s $100,000 Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds racing one mile at Laurel Park.
The Miracle Wood shares top billing on the nine-race program with the $100,000 Wide Country Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs. The first post time is 12:10 pm ET.
AJ Will Win Stables’ Barbadian Runner earned his first stakes victory in the Spectacular Bid after finishing third in his two previous starts, the Heft on Dec. 28 and the restricted Maryland Juvenile on Dec. 7.
Barbadian Runner tended to drift inward during his races, so trainer Henry Walters made key equipment changes before the Heft.
“The first time he lugged in [when third in a first-level allowance on turf on Oct. 25], we took it as something that just happened,” Walters said after the Spectacular Bid. “After he did it the second time [in the Maryland Juvenile), we put the blinkers on and changed the bit, and it’s all worked well.”
Jockey Forest Boyce noticed a difference in the Spectacular Bid. “The last couple of times, he lugged in real bad. He ran a little straighter today. I think that really made a big difference.”
Never worse than second from four starts, Brian Schartz’s Crab Daddy won his maiden in the restricted Pennsylvania Nursery at Parx on Nov. 27, then completed his juvenile campaign with a rallying second in the Future Stars Stakes there on Dec. 30.
Crab Daddy finished a game second in the Spectacular Bid, a head behind Barbadian Runner.
“He probably had to move a little earlier than he wanted to just the way the race was setting up,” said trainer Linda Albert. “It looked a little scary down the stretch like he might get nothing, and then he charged on home. He did pretty good. I was proud of him.”
The Spectacular Bid marked Crab Daddy’s first race in blinkers. “We were thrilled with that, having him get up on the bit,” Albert continued. “It was the first race he ran in where he actually took some hold instead of wandering around aimlessly the first part of the race.”
Recently, if not for bad luck, John Hazard’s Sacred Thunder would have no luck. After winning the James F. Lewis Stakes on Nov. 9, Sacred Thunder had troubled trips in his subsequent three efforts, including the Spectacular Bid.
After breaking from the inside post, Sacred Thunder was behind horses most of the way before rallying stoutly once clear in the stretch to finish third, a half-length behind the winner.
“That’s three in a row where he’s had rough trips,” trainer Gary Capuano said after his Secret Zipper won an allowance race at Laurel on Jan. 31. “Post position is so critical. That race there, even turning for home, you figure somebody’s got to move, but what are you going to do?”
Sacred Thunder again drew the tricky inside post position, but Capuano has looked forward to stretching the colt back out in distance. Sacred Thunder wired a maiden special weight field at Delaware in his lone prior race at a mile.
RKTN Racing’s Pay Billy steps up into stakes company following two consecutive wins. He took a first-level allowance field gate to wire over this course and distance on Jan. 25 and received a career-best 80 Beyer Speed Figure.
“That was a great race,” said trainer Michael Gorham. “When he turned for home, and [jockey Raul Mena] was sitting on him, and the other horses were riding behind him, I felt pretty confident. He was a big 2-year-old,” Gorham mentioned. “I always thought he wanted to run longer, and it just took a little time to get him focused on what he’s doing. He’s really put it together.”
Gorham prefers to see Pay Billy “fairly close to the pace, if not on the pace” in the Miracle Wood.
Trainer Jerry Robb entered two sophomores, but he said on Tuesday morning that morning line favorite Studlydoright would likely run Saturday in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway Park.
Robb will start Hard Ten Stables’ All the Hardways, who finished second to Pay Billy on Jan. 25 before taking a first-level allowance two weeks later.
Icona Mama makes seasonal debut in Wide Country
DeSales 85 LLC’s Icona Mama enjoyed a very successful 2-year-old campaign and should be a strong contender when she makes her seasonal debut in the Wide Country.
A debut winner over the Tapeta surface at Presque Isle Downs, the Maximus Mischief filly next placed second in the off-turf Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga before finishing third, beaten less than a length, in Churchill’s Grade 3 Pocahontas Stakes.
“She was pretty nice [from the beginning],” Stites said. “The biggest question we had was whether she’d prefer dirt or turf. Her mother was a fairly decent turf horse. She ran really well [when washed off] at Saratoga, so we stayed on the dirt from that point on.”
After finishing fifth at 5-1 odds in the Grade 1 Frizette in New York, Icona Mama polished off her season by dominating fellow Pennsylvania-breds in the Shamrock Rose Stakes at Penn National.
Trained at Penn National by Flint Stites, Icona Mama’s training has been interrupted by Mother Nature.
“It’s been spotty,” Stites admitted. “We’ve tried to get our works in at a regular fashion, but that was really hard to do. We haven’t been able to gallop as much as we’d liked. We had several days here where the track was closed for training, but we were able to jog her, so that helped. She’s not as fit as I’d like her to be, but she’s not far from it, and she’s fairly talented. I think she can overcome it, even if she is a little short.”
Stites noticed that Icona Mama matured over the winter.
“She filled out really well physically,” Stites said. “Emotionally, she was already fairly mature. Very precocious. Loved to train. Wanted to be competitive with other horses. She didn’t do many silly things.”
Stites believes that Icona Mama “has been pretty sharp lately” and that he expects her “to break quick and be fairly close” to the pace.
Onyx Ten enjoyed a perfect pace-tracking, ground-saving trip to take Laurel’s Xtra Heat Stakes at six furlongs on Jan. 25. Trained by Capuano for breeder-owner Frank Sample, Onyx Ten cut back in distance after finishing second as the odds-on chalk in a two-turn allowance on Dec. 27. In that race, she was rank in the opening furlongs, made an early bid to the lead, and understandably faltered late.
“She’s a little nervous filly,” assistant trainer Tori Capuano said after the Xtra Heat. “I think that was the reasoning [why she was pulling in the allowance]. She just needed to settle down. She finished great [today]. She didn’t stop. She just kept going and galloped out good.”
Trainer Jose Corrales entered two for the Miracle Wood. Barak Farm and Dino’s Thoroughbreds’ Shkhara Fire rallied from last to win last year’s restricted Maryland Million Lassie. She finished second, beaten 1 ¾ lengths in the Xtra Heat.
Barak Farm’s Safe Trust, third in the Maryland Million Lassie, finished ahead of Onyx Ten when second in the Maryland Juvenile Filly on Dec. 7. She was a sharp winner of a first-level allowance over muddy going on Feb. 7.
Thrice stakes-placed, Not Too Late finished third in the Xtra Heat after setting the pace. She’ll break from the outside post for trainer Uriah St. Lewis’ Trin-Brook Stables.
Bran Jam Stable and David Clark’s Ourdaydreaminggirl finished second in her first start against winners when ten lengths behind stablemate Volleyball Princess in Aqueduct’s Ruthless Stakes on Feb. 1.
Richard Burnsworth’s Field of Roses, unbeaten from two starts, steps up in class for trainer Anthony Farrior after earning a pace-pressing victory in a $40,000 claimer on Feb. 2.
Random Guys Stables’ New Boots, claimed for $12,500 by trainer Charles DeMario when graduating by 18 ¼ lengths, completes the field.
