Antoaneta Gives Allsop First Career Training Victory
Antoaneta Gives Allsop First Career Training Victory
Chief of Staff Takes Command in Laurel Sunday Feature
Rainbow 6, Super Hi-5 Carryovers for Return of Live Racing Friday
LAUREL, MD – Big Lick Farm’s Antoaneta emerged from a stretch duel with Sophia Is an Angel a head in front at the wire in Sunday’s ninth race to give trainer Carl Allsop his first career victory.
Antoaneta ($17.20), a chestnut daughter of Skipshot who had been running under trainer and Big Lick Farm owner-operator Reid Nagle in South Florida, ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.92 over a firm Bowl Game turf course to improve her record to 3-3-0 from nine starts.
“She’s a proper, professional filly. The guys have done a great job thus far with her,” Allsop said. “They’ve had her a while and since I joined the team, she’s done nothing but train great [since] moving to Virginia and she showed it there today. She came out and performed how we wanted her to. She’d been training fantastic into it and she laid it on the line for us.”
A native of England, Allsop joined Nagle’s operation in April following the Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park. He worked at Oak Ridge in Ocala before relocating to Nagle’s northern base at the Braeburn Training Center in Virginia, and purchased some horses for Nagle at Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale in May at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.
“I bought a few nice babies, some prospective 2-year-olds for next year, and we’ll see what we got,” Allsop said.
At one time Allsop was breaking babies for Shadwell in Dubai where he met trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who brought him to America. Following five years with McLaughlin, Allsop worked as an assistant to another New York-based trainer in Dominick Schettino and in 2013 began working for trainer Ralph Nicks in Florida.
“I had been with Ralph pretty much since then,” Allsop said. “After four years or so it was time for a change, and here we are now.”
Chief of Staff Takes Command in Laurel Sunday Feature
Winners Circle Partners XII’s Chief of Staff, a veteran campaigner in the West and Midwest, made his Maryland debut a successful one with a half-length victory in Sunday’s featured eighth race at Laurel Park.
Ridden by Feargal Lynch for trainer Hugh McMahon, Chief of Staff ($7.20) ran seven furlongs in 1:22.57 over a fast main track in the $45,000 second-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up.
It was the 34th career start for Chief of Staff, a 6-year-old California-bred son of Grade 1 winner Majestic Warrior whose previous starts came at Emerald Downs, Santa Anita, Del Mar, Los Alamitos, Fresno, Oaklawn Park and Churchill Downs, where he was second in his previous outing May 27.
“My owner, Stewart Nickel, he scouted him, he picked him out. The credit goes to him,” McMahon said. “I’ve only had him for 2 ½ weeks. We just got him accustomed to the program. He responded really quickly. He’s full of life, full of energy, and I think it’s a bit of class relief being here. I think he just felt that relief a little bit and he prevailed.”
Chief of Staff was bumped out of the gate before prompting a pace of 23.42 and 46.14 seconds set by Cozze Cat. Chief of Staff got floated wide when Cozze Cat drifted out heading into the stretch, but was able to take command and hold off a bid from Stolen Love inside the eighth pole for his fifth lifetime win.
“He’s one of those old, classy horses that’s been running in strong competition,” McMahon said. “I was telling Feargal, I think he needed that class relief just to get his head back in the game. Once they get their head back in the game, it builds up their competitiveness.”
Rainbow 6, Super Hi-5 Carryovers for Return of Live Racing Friday
Live racing returns to Laurel Park with a 10-race program Friday, July 6 that includes carryovers in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and $1 Super Hi-5 wagers.
The Rainbow 6 (Races 5-10) will have a carryover of $3,156.72 after tickets with five of six winners were worth $207.74 Sunday. Friday’s sequence includes three races scheduled over Laurel’s world-class turf course which drew 38 entries, an average of 12.7 starters per race.
Friday’s opener, also on the grass, will have a carryover of $1,426.18 in the Super Hi-5. First race post time is 1:10 p.m.
Notes: Jonathan Stark’s Maryland homebred Aunt Mitzi lit up the toteboard with a 2 ¼-length upset at odds of 87-1 in Sunday’s third race, a maiden claiming event over the Exceller turf course. Ridden by J.D. Acosta, 4-year-old Etched filly Aunt Mitzi returned $176 for her first win from six career starts.
