Crabcakes an Obvious Favorite on Maryland Million Day
Crabcakes an Obvious Favorite on Maryland Million Day
Multiple-Stakes Winner Defends Title in $100,000 Distaff
Lewisfield Headlines Maryland Million Sprint
LAUREL, MD – Just like every day in Maryland, Crabcakes will be a popular choice at Laurel Park Saturday.
Named by her late breeder/owner Binnie Houghton for her favorite Mid-Atlantic culinary delight, Crabcakes will be featured on the Maryland Million menu while defending her title in the $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff, a seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares.
After drawing the outside No. 7 post position, Crabcakes was installed as the 3-5 morning-line favorite against six other Maryland Million Certified entrants and two also-eligibles.
Laurel has also been a favorite of Crabcakes, who has won six of nine local starts while finishing second in the other three races. Last year, the 4-year-old daughter of Great Notion pressed the pace before taking over in the stretch to win by a half-length as the 1-5 favorite.
Morgan’s Ford Farm’s Maryland-bred filly has finished off the-board only once in 12 career starts, checking in eighth in the 2017 Miss Preakness (G3) after getting off to an awkward start. In her most recent start, Crabcakes won a six-furlong optional claiming allowance race at Penn National in 1:09.99.
“She is so consistent. She very rarely runs a bad race. The race the other night at Penn National was pretty good. That was a fast time,” said trainer Bernie Houghton, the nephew of Crabcakes’ late breeder/owner. “She just sits off the pace and when you ask her, she goes.”
Two starts back, Crabcakes made a solid showing in her turf debut, finishing second in the six-furlong Jameela Stakes.
“She ran good. My aunt, before she passed away a year and a half ago, always wanted to try her on grass. I thought, ‘There’s the opportunity right there – a Maryland-bred race.’ It was worth a shot. I thought she ran good,” Houghton said. “She tried hard, but I think she’s better on dirt.”
Crabcakes demonstrated talent from the start, winning her first three races, including the 2016 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship in her second start.
“She’s always been very mature. From the get-go she’s always been mature. I think she’s gotten bigger and stronger as a 4-year-old,” Houghton said. “Really, as a 2-year-old and 3-year-old, she wasn’t much to look at. She wasn’t a big, strong-looking filly. She’s filled out now. She’s looking more like a nice-looking 4-year-old now.”
Forest Boyce has the return mount aboard Crabcakes, who was honored as the 2017 Maryland-bred 3-Year-Old Filly Champion.
Euro Stable’s My Magician, runner-up to Crabcakes in last year’s Distaff, is slated to take another run at the defending champion. Trained by Claudio Gonzalez, the 6-year-old daughter of Street Musician made a wide rally to come up just a half-length short in last year’s Distaff.
My Magician, who won the 2014 Maryland Million Lassie, was named 2017 Maryland-Bred Older Female Champion. She will seek her first victory in four 2018 starts Saturday after finishing third in the March 17 Conniver and, most recently, finishing sixth in the Timonium Distaff and third in the Pink Ribbon at Charles Town.
“She needed the two races when she came back. She didn’t run for a long time and now she’s doing very good,” Gonzalez said. “We’re going to try to beat Crabcakes. Seven furlongs is a good distance for her.”
Jomar Torres has the mount on My Magician, who will receive five pounds Crabcakes, the 123-pound highweight.
No Guts No Glory Farm’s Anna’s Bandit, a multiple stakes-winning 4-year-old daughter of Great Notion, enters the Distaff off a third-place finish in the $125,000 West Virginia Cavada Breeders’ Classic Stakes at Charles Town last Saturday. The West Virginia-bred filly previously won the seven-furlong Sadie Hawkins Stakes at Charles Town. Anna’s Bandit, who is trained by John Robb, has won seven of 18 starts, including a victory over My Magician in the Conniver.
Xavier Perez has the return mount aboard Anna’s Bandit, the second highweight at 120 pounds.
Rock Talk Farm’s Cee Bee Gee Bee, who finished second in the 2016 Distaff, is scheduled for a Maryland Million return after a year’s absence. The 5-year-old New Jersey-bred daughter of Not for Love had been competing exclusively against state-breds at Monmouth the past couple years before returning to action in Maryland to finish a troubled fifth in the Sept. 29 Shine Again.
Trained by Cathal Lynch, Cee Bee Gee Bee was the victim of bad racing luck in the 2016 Distaff, in which she led early, dropped back to fifth after being steadied, and rallied in the stretch to finish a half-length behind Rockin Jojo.
Trevor McCarthy will ride Cee Bee Gee Bee.
Thomas Coulter’s Item, who finished fifth behind Crabcakes in last year’s Distaff after bobbling at the start, has been winless this year despite racing consistently well at Parx, Penn National and Presque Isle Downs. Trainer Rodrigo Madrigal Jr. named Dana Whitney to ride the Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Orientate Saturday.
Daniel McConnell’s Saint Main Event, V/R Racing LLC’s Singing Sarah and Danny Limongelli’s Up Hill Battle, John Worsley’s Wowwhatabrat round out the field of Maryland Million Certified entrants.
Majestic Reason and Enchanted Ghost are on the also eligible list and will only draw into the race should the field of Maryland Million Certified entrants drops below six horses.
Lewisfield Headlines $100,000 Maryland Million Sprint
Linda Zang’s Lewisfield, who has held his own while racing in graded-stakes races in three of his last four starts, tops a field of eight Maryland Million Certified entrants in Saturday’s $100,000 Maryland Million Sprint at Laurel Park.
Trained by Jeff Runco, the 4-year-old son of Great Notion has shown an affinity for the Laurel Park racetrack while finishing first in five of seven races, including a triumph in the Not For Love Stakes in March. Despite his otherwise sterling record at Laurel, Lewisfield will attempt to rebound from a fifth-place finish in the Sept. 22 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) when he goes to post in Saturday’s six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up.
Lewisfield failed to show his high early cruising speed in the De Francis and was never able to gain on the front-running winner, Steve Asmussen-trained Switzerland.
“He just had a poor trip. He got off bad and then was six and seven-wide. He lost all chance at the start,” Runco said.
Lewisfield had prepped for the De Francis with a narrow first-place finish over Laki in the seven-furlong Polynesian Stakes Aug. 12, only to be disqualified for bumping that rival in the stretch.
“It was unfortunate. I thought it was a close call. The stewards took him down. It’s tough when you bump a horse and you only beat him by a nose,” Runco said. “I thought it was one of those unfortunate things that happen in horse racing.”
Prior to the Polynesian, Lewisfield finished third behind Switzerland in the May 19 Maryland Sprint (G3) at Pimlico, second in the Mr. Prospector stakes at Monmouth and fourth in the Belmont Sprint (G2).
Runco is hopeful that Lewisfield will establish himself as a graded-stakes winner in the near future.
“I think he has a chance. It depends how the race comes up. He’s a young horse. He’s only 4. I think he’s still got some growing to do and some developing to do,” he said. “He’s shown talent the whole time. We always liked him. He’s gotten better all the time. He’s developed into a really nice horse.”
Lewisfield, the 1-2 morning-line favorite and 126-pound highweight, is scheduled to be ridden for the first time by Jevian Toledo Saturday.
Kathleen Willier’s Greatbullsoffire is set to make a run at recapturing Maryland Million glory Saturday. The 4-year-old son of Bullsbay won the 2016 Maryland Million Nursery during a juvenile season in which he won three stakes and the Maryland-Bred 2-Year-Old Male Championship.
The Hamilton Smith-trained Maryland-bred made only one start in 2017, an off-the-board finish in a Timonium stakes, before returning to action with two starts in September to prepare him for a start in the Maryland Million Sprint. Greatbullsoffire finished fifth coming off a year layoff in a Sept. 12 optional claiming allowance at Delaware Park before checking in fifth in a Sept. 30 optional claiming allowance at Laurel following a troubled start.
“I worked him the other day and it was probably the best work he’s had since we brought him back this time. He came out of the work, the next day he was bucking and playing,” Smith said. “The race he’s in is probably going to be one of the toughest races on the card. But the race only comes around once a year so we’re inclined to take a shot. He loves Laurel. Some horses are better off just running out of the barn instead of sticking them on a van and going somewhere else.”
Clover Hill Farm and Clover Hill Racing’s Onemoregreattime, who finished third in last year’s Maryland Million Nursery, will enter the Sprint off one win in four starts this year. The John Robb-trained 3-year-old son of Great Notion finished second in the six-furlong Star De Naskra Stakes two starts back after being bumped at the start and setting the pace into the stretch. Mario Pino has the mount.
Flat Bet Partners’ No More Talk enters the Sprint off a front-running score in a mile allowance transferred from turf to a fast main track. Claimed for $25,000 off a seven-furlong score two starts back by trainer Lacey Gaudet, the 4-year-old gelded son of Not for Love will be ridden by Victor Carrasco.
Stephen Casey’s Rockin On Bye, stakes-placed in two of his three last starts; Edward Maher’s Stolen Love, a winner of 10 of 49 career starts at Laurel; More Abundance, Rol Again Question and Chinquapin round out the field of Maryland Million Certified entrants.
Six Maryland-bred horses, including Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) third-place finisher Laki, are on the also-eligible list but none will draw into the race unless the field of Maryland Million Certified entrants drops below 6.
