Bye Bye Bertie Soars to Impressive Maiden Win Friday at Laurel
Bye Bye Bertie Soars to Impressive Maiden Win Friday at Laurel
First of Back-to-Back Victories for Veteran Trainer Hamilton Smith
Room Left in Saturday’s MJC Champions Handicapping Tournament
Dual Carryovers for Stakes-Filled Maryland Pride Day Card Saturday
Mandatory Payouts in Rainbow 6, Late Pick 5, Super Hi-5 Sunday
LAUREL, MD – Jerry Romans, Charlie Spiring and Zoom & Fish Stable’s Bye Bye Bertie, favored in her second career start, continued trainer Hamilton Smith strong summer meet by soaring to a 5 ½-length front-running triumph Friday at Laurel Park.
Bye Bye Bertie ($4.40) jumped out to a quick lead in the $40,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies and controlled the pace through a first quarter-mile in 23 seconds and a half in 46.62, tracked to her outside by first-time starter Sanguine. After going five furlongs in 58.50, Bye Bye Bertie opened up on her rivals once straightened for home and finished up in 1:10.62 for six furlongs over a fast main track.
A daughter of Alternation out of the Ready’s Image mare Dream of Bertie, Bye Bye Bertie was a game second in her July 22 debut at Laurel, beaten 1 ½ lengths over a muddy and sealed track. She tuned up for Friday’s effort with a pair of sharp works at Laurel.
“She appears to be pretty nice. I thought she’d run real well. I didn’t think she’d dominate quite that way but she’s worked awfully strong all the time not being asked,” Smith said. “The works you see in the paper, she’s doing that more or less leisurely. We think we got a real good one. We hope so.”
Smith said he will examine several options for Bye Bye Bertie’s next start, including the $100,000 Selima Stakes for juvenile fillies going six furlongs on Laurel’s world-class turf course Sept. 15 on the undercard of the $250,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3).
“We may try her in that, but that’s on the grass,” Smith said. “I’ll talk to the owners and see whether we want to try the grass or not. It’d be kind of hard to take her off the dirt and try her on the grass in a stake, but we’ll look around.”
Lonely Drifter ($6.20), owned by his brother, Franklin ‘Goree’ Smith Sr., captured Race 7 to give the trainer back-to-back wins and move him into sole possession of second place in the standings with 14, nine behind leader Claudio Gonzalez.
“Everything started going good, I’ll tell ya. It doesn’t happen too often, so I’m going to ride it while I can. They’ve all been running good, no complaints at all,” Smith said. “I’ve got a good barn over there. The help situation is good and that always helps. Those kids don’t get any credit but they do a lot of work. You’ve got to have good horses and clientele; everything’s got to work together. It’s tough in this business.”
In Friday’s other $40,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies, Howling Pigeon Farms’ Sexyama overtook pacesetter She’s Devine after a half-mile and maintained her advantage through the stretch for a three-quarter-length score in the opener.
Making her third start since being moved to trainer Jeremiah O’Dwyer and switched to the grass, Sexyama ran six furlongs in 1:10.09 over a firm Fort Marcy turf course under jockey Ashley Castrenze, her third win in two days.
“Third time was the charm. Since I got her, she’s done nothing but strengthen up and develop,” O’Dwyer said. “I was confident she’d improve from her last run. She ran into a couple of good fillies already, so she’s been keeping good company. I think there’s a little bit more improvement in her.”
Sexyama ran second in each of her two local starts, beaten a neck by Margie is Livid June 24 and 3 ¾ lengths by Elsa July 20. Margie is Livid came back to be third in Colleen Stakes Aug. 4 at Monmouth Park, and Elsa was third in the Bolton Landing Stakes Wednesday at Saratoga.
“I think she wants to go longer but she probably wasn’t strong enough yet, but she’ll et there,” O’Dwyer said. “I’d say Kentucky Downs is probably the target. She’s Kentucky-bred and there will be allowance races down there and there’s a little stake. We’ll see how she comes out of it and go day by day with her.”
Room Left in Saturday’s MJC Champions Handicapping Tournament
Spots remain open for the second and final session of the 2018 Maryland Jockey Club Champions Handicapping Tournament being held Saturday in the second-floor clubhouse sports bar.
A maximum of two entries per person will be accepted at a cost of $300 each, covering the $100 entry fee and $200 bankroll. The Champions Tournament will be capped at 300 entries.
Berths to the NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC), Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) and BIG ONE tournaments are on the line, as well as guaranteed prize money to the top 10 finishers.
The tournament winner will have their choice of one of two berths to the NHC or a berth in the BCBC or BIG ONE. The second-place finisher has the choice of one of the remaining three berths, the third-place finisher has the choice of the final two berths, and the fourth-place finisher will receive the remaining berth.
Tracks available for the tournament are Laurel Park, Gulfstream Park, Saratoga Race Course, Monmouth Park and Woodbine. The minimum wager is $20, with no mandatory races.
Brian Conley of Columbia, Md. ended the spring session of the MJC Champions Handicapping Tournament March 3 at Laurel with a bankroll of $2,192 to edge runner-up Coleen Curley of Raleigh, N.C. by a difference of $3.20.
For a registration form or further information, visit www.laurelpark.com/handicapping/champions-tournament/. Walk-up entries will be accepted starting at 10 a.m.
The BIG ONE takes place Sept. 22-23 at Laurel Park, while the BCBC will be Nov. 2-3 at Churchill Downs and the NHC is held February 2019 in Las Vegas.
Dual Carryovers for Stakes-Filled Maryland Pride Day Card Saturday
In addition to a live program of 12 races featuring four stakes for Maryland-bred/sired horses worth $300,000 in purses, there will be carryovers in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and $1 Super Hi-5 wagers on Saturday’s Maryland Pride Day program.
First race post time is 1:10 p.m.
Three horses were live to take down the jackpot heading into the 10th-race finale, won by Oh So Lovely ($17.60), which grew the carryover to $14,816.64 for Saturday’s sequence. Tickets with five of six winners Friday returned $221.20.
Saturday’s Rainbow 6 kicks off with the $75,000 Jameela Stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up going six furlongs on the Fort Marcy turf course in Race 7, and also includes the $75,000 Star de Naskra Stakes at six furlongs on the main track for 3-year-olds in Race 9.
The Super Hi-5 will have a carryover of $4,120.41 for Saturday’s opener, a five-furlong waiver maiden claimer for 2-year-olds on the main track.
Stakes action begins Saturday in Race 4 with the $75,000 Ben’s Cat Stakes for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs, also on the Fort Marcy, and continues in Race 6 with the $75,000 Miss Disco Stakes presented by Ourisman of Clarksville for 3-year-old fillies on the dirt at six furlongs.
In all, the Maryland Pride Day card attracted a total of 112 entries, an average of 9.3 starters per race. Six races contested over the world-class turf course drew 59 entries, an average of 9.8 starters per race. Along with food and drink specials and crafts from local artisans celebrating Maryland’s heritage, a free polo shirt will be given away with the purchase of a program, while supplies last.
Sunday’s meet-closing program will include mandatory payouts in the Rainbow 6, 50-cent Late Pick 5 and Super Hi-5. Any carryovers in those wagers from Maryland Pride Day will be forced out and start anew with the opening of Laurel’s calendar year-ending fall meet Friday, Sept. 7.
Notes: Jockey Jevian Toledo won two of the last three races Friday aboard Not in Jeopardy ($5) in the eighth and Oh So Lovely ($17.60) in the 10th to extend his meet-leading total to 31, six more than runner-up Feargal Lynch. Jockey Angel Cruz also had a pair of winners Friday with So Innocent ($20.40) in the fifth and My Own Lane ($63.40) in the ninth.
