LAUREL, MD – Hillwood Stable’s Cordmaker, stretching out around two turns for the first time in his 11th career start, took a short lead at the top of the stretch and turned back favored Unbridled Juan through the lane for a 1 ½-length victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial at Laurel Park.

The 34th running of the 1 1/8-mile Harrison Johnson for 4-year-olds and up was the first of five stakes worth $450,000 in purses on an 11-race St. Patrick’s Day eve program highlighted by the $100,000 Private Terms for 3-year-olds.

With Victor Carrasco up for trainer Rodney Jenkins, Cordmaker ($10.80) covered the distance in 1:50.29 over a fast main track for his second career stakes win and first in open company, after capturing the one-mile Jennings Dec. 29 against fellow Maryland-breds.

Unbridled Juan, a narrow 2-1 choice over Twisted Tom, held off a late bid from Bonus Points to be second by a head. It was 3 ¼ lengths back to pacesetter John Jones in fourth, followed by General Downs and Twisted Tom.

“The horse has been running really well,” Jenkins said. “A mile and an eighth, he’s bred for it but you never know if they’ll do it. The horse has been training beautiful and doing great.”

A gelded son of two-time Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Curlin, Cordmaker had never been further than a mile on the dirt, two of them wins including the Jennings and beaten a neck in the other. His longest race came on the grass, when he was ninth in a 1 1/16-mile allowance last spring on Laurel’s world-class turf course.

“I’ve always had faith in him. I thought he’d be the best turf horse in the world. I ran him once on the turf and he left out like a bullet, runs a half-mile and stops. So, he was a lot smarter than I was,” Jenkins said. “He’s a good horse and we are very pleased.”

Cordmaker broke cleanly from Post 5 in a field of six, all stakes winners, unlike his 4-year-old debut in the seven-furlong General George (G3) Feb. 16, where he was squeezed back at the start and didn’t get to his best running until late, finishing eighth, beaten 4 ½ lengths.

Carrasco settled Cordmaker on the outside ahead of just trailing Bonus Points as John Jones set easy fractions of 25.40 and 49.29 seconds, tracked by Twisted Tom and General Downs, with Unbridled Juan in the clear in fourth. Carrasco gave Cordmaker his cue on the far turn, splitting horses and tipping to the center of the track to take over the top spot straightening for home.

“I saw that we didn’t have any speed in the race, so I was trying to be as close as possible,” Carrasco said. “I followed Rodney’s instructions and when we got to the far turn, I knew we were going to be right there.”

Unbridled Juan loomed a threat on the outside but could not reel in Cordmaker down the stretch, as late-running Bonus Points made one final rush. Cordmaker now owns four wins, two seconds and a third in 11 his career, all at Laurel.

“In the General George he got beat four or five lengths, but he got killed at the break so we just threw that out,” Jenkins said. “He’s not the biggest, most muscular horse in the world and you have to keep him happy. I think he’s happy now and I think he’s matured now a little more. He’s going to get better. You didn’t see the best of him, I’ll tell you that.”

The Harrison Johnson is named for the trainer who died in a 1985 plane crash at the age of 45. A native of Adelphi, Md., Johnson began training in 1969 and conditioned 1973 Hopeful Stakes winner Gusty O’Shay, named that year’s Maryland-bred champion 2-year-old.
    
Anna’s Bandit in Conniver
    
It took the length of the stretch, but No Guts No Glory Farm’s 6-5 favorite Anna’s Bandit got up in the final strides under jockey Xavier Perez to win the $75,000 Conniver by a neck over S W Briar Rose. Enchanted Ghost was third.
    
A 5-year-old mare by Great Notion bred and trained by John Robb, Anna’s Bandit has won nine of 23 starts and nearly $400,000.  “She’s an unbelievable filly,” said Perez. “She’s been training so good.”
    
Anna’s Bandit was rated sixth down the backstretch before moving four-wide entering the stretch and eventually running down S W Briar Rose and Enchanted Ghost.

Lewisfield Makes Triumphant Return in $75,000 Not For Love

Linda Zang homebred Lewisfield, racing for the first time as a 5-year-old, made a triumphant return to competition with a front-running 3 ¼-length defense of his 2018 victory in the $75,000 Not For Love Stakes.

Second choice in a field of six at 2-1, Lewisfield ($6.60) ran six furlongs in a sharp 1:08.68 in his first start since finishing third in the Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial Dec. 8 at Laurel.

“He needed a little break at the end of the year,” winning trainer Jeff Runco said. “We took him back to the farm and put some weight on him. He looked a lot better when he came back in, and when he came back training he was just moving better. A little ‘R&R’ did great things for him.”

Lewisfield was quickest from the gate and went the opening quarter-mile in 22.80 seconds, pressed by 50-1 long shot Eastern Bay along the rail and 4-5 favorite Laki to their outside. Struth, unraced since last April, split the stalkers to gain a threatening position on the turn but Lewisfield was up to the task, sprinting clear through the stretch under jockey Arnaldo Bocachica.

“I went to the lead because of the way he broke,” Bocachica said. “We expected [Eastern Bay] to go to the lead but he didn’t go, and I felt like I was going too comfortable on the lead so I just kept going.”

Rockinn On Bye came running late to be second – his 24th runner-up finish in 66 career starts – followed by Laki, Struth, Clubman and Eastern Bay.

Lewisfield won his first career stakes in last year’s Not For Love, also capturing the Maryland Million Sprint at Laurel, where he owns six wins from 10 lifetime starts. He was third in the 2018 Maryland Sprint (G3) at Pimlico.