Crabcakes On a Roll for $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff
Crabcakes On a Roll for $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff
Honors Memory to Late Breeder/Owner ‘Binnie’ Houghton
Lewisfield Ready for Test in $100,000 Maryland Million Sprint
LAUREL, MD – Crabcakes provided Elizabeth ‘Binnie’ Houghton a lot of enjoyment before the prominent Maryland breeder and Thoroughbred owner’s passing at the age of 79 on Aug. 7.
“She bred her and did all the work. It’s more of a satisfaction when you’re actually there and delivering them and watching them grow up,” said nephew Bernie Houghton, who trains the 3-year-old homebred filly. “My Aunt really was good for horse racing. She loved the sport more than anything.”
Crabcakes has gone on to honor Houghton’s memory with back-to-back emotion-charged triumphs at Laurel Park since Binnie Houghton’s passing, achieving peak form for Saturday’s $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff. The Distaff, a seven-furlong sprint that drew a field of nine fillies and mares (and three also-eligibles), is one of seven Maryland Million stakes on Saturday’s Laurel Park program.
Crabcakes enters the Distaff off a pair off convincing victories, including a 1 ¼-length triumph in the $75,000 Miss Disco, a six-furlong sprint for Maryland-bred and –sired 3-year-old fillies in which she rated off the pace before kicking away in the stretch Aug. 19. The daughter of Great Notion most recently romped to victory by 5 ¾- lengths in a second-level allowance at six furlongs while meeting older fillies and mares for the first time Sept. 15.
“She’s doing really well. As she’s gotten older, she’s gotten bigger and stronger,” Houghton said. “She’s been training excellent.”
While Crabcakes has blossomed in recent races, the Maryland-bred filly was quite precocious during her early training.
“After her last couple works before her first race, I realized she was a pretty nice horse. I told my aunt, ‘You have a pretty nice horse here. You’re going to have some fun with her, especially in Maryland,’” Houghton recalled. “We knew we had a pretty nice horse.”
Crabcakes debuted at Penn National Dec. 3 with a five-length romp that the chart-caller viewed as achieved ‘easily.’ She came right back a week later to capture the seven-furlong Maryland Juvenile Fillies Championship at Laurel Park by 1 ¼ lengths.
“[The week between races] was close. I was a little worried about that, but I did like her, as long as she didn’t get too tired from her first race,” said Houghton, noting the ease with which she romped in her debut.
Crabcakes won her third race, an optional claiming allowance, at Laurel by 5 ¼ lengths before tasting defeat for the first time while finishing second in the Wide Country in February. She finished second again in the Allentown Filly Sprint at Mahoning Valley before making the jump to graded-stakes company in the Miss Preakness at Pimlico May 19th. She started awkwardly and was never a factor while finishing off the board for the only time in her career.
“We were trying her at the next level, and I’m not sure she was mature and ready for that company yet,” Houghton said.
Crabcakes finished second in the Alma North at Laurel June 17 and didn’t return to action until her score in the Miss Disco.
“We regrouped and gave her some time and freshened her up. She was in great shape, but she ran in a couple of tough races and wasn’t running as well as I thought she should run. I did a little freshening up, and she’s come back great off of that.”
Forest Boyce, who has been aboard multiple-stakes winner for her last three starts, has the return mount in the Distaff, in which Crabcakes will carry 119 pounds, conceding between two and 10 pounds to her rivals.
Thomas Coulter’s Item, who captured the $100,000 Maryland Million Lassie last year, is scheduled to return to Laurel Park for the Distaff. The Penn National-based 3-year-old filly, who fought back to win by a head after setting the pace in the Lassie, has won a pair of optional claiming allowances at Parx and Penn National in five starts this year. Trainer Rodrigo Madrigal Jr. named Dana Whitney to ride the daughter of Orientate.
Faze the Nation, who finished a distant third behind Crabcakes in the Miss Disco; My Magician, a winner of two of three starts since behind claimed for $25,000 by trainer Claudio Gonzalez; and Up Hill Battle, a third-place finisher in the Oakley Stakes on turf after winning two of her three previous starts on dirt; are among the more accomplished Distaff entrants.
Rocky Policy, who is cross-entered in the $100,000 Maryland Million Ladies Turf, Hell of Afire, Scip’s a Sonata and She Rolls round out the main body of the field.
Daylight Ahead, If I Was A Boy and Moon Virginia are on the also-eligible list.
Lewisfield Ready for Test in $100,000 Maryland Million Sprint
Lewisfield was entered Wednesday to make his stakes debut in Saturday’s $100,000 Maryland Million Sprint, in which Linda Zang’s homebred 3-year-old gelding will clash with several more seasoned rivals in a 13-horse field.
The son of Great Notion has blossomed after finishing a troubled third in his debut at Charles Town June 30, scoring a pair of dominating triumphs that earned him a trip from West Virginia to Laurel Park for the six-furlong Sprint.
“There are going to be more seasoned horses in this race, but he should run well,” trainer Jeff Runco said. “I think he’ll have a good chance in there.”
After recovering from a troubled start to finish third in his debut, Lewisfield was equipped with blinkers for his second start at Charles Town Aug. 11, breaking his maiden by 20 lengths in a seven-furlong race under a motionless Arnaldo Bocachica.
“We liked him all along. He had quite a bit of trouble in his first race. We put the blinkers on him to give him a little more focus and he took off and ran like the horse I thought he was,” Runco said. “It definitely helped him. He was all over the track his first race. The blinkers definitely helped and got him more focused.”
Lewisfield followed up his eye-catching maiden score with a thoroughly professional 3 ¼-length victory in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance at Laurel Park Sept. 16.
“It showed that he will be able to handle the shipping and the track. He ran great,” Runco said. “It will be a little tougher this week, but we expect him to run well.”
While stepping up against more seasoned performers, Lewisfield will be in receipt of 10 pounds from Robert Cole Jr.’s Blu Moon Ace, the 122-pound highweight who finished second last time out in the $250,000 De Francis Memorial Dash (G3).
The Kevin Patterson-trained 4-year-old gelding, who was claimed for $30,000 at Delaware Park July 20, led by as many as four lengths while setting the pace in the six-furlong De Francis before falling by a neck to Chublicious, who ran six furlongs in 1:08.75.
In his first start for his new connections, Blu Moon Ace registered a front-running 3 ½-length victory in the Coalition Stakes at Timonium Aug. 26.
Mark Sitlinger’s Struth, who finished second behind Blu Moon Ace in the Coalition, is entered for a rematch in Saturday’s Sprint. Struth, who carried six pounds more than Blu Moon Ace at Timonium, will be in receipt of two pounds in the Sprint.
Struth, who captured the Hockessin Stakes at Delaware two months after being claimed for $20,000 at Pimlico in May, chased Blu Moon Ace while racing three wide around the sharp turns of Timonium but never threatened the front-running winner.
“I took the worst of it. He had the inside trip at Timonium and I was wide. Timonium cost me. I wouldn’t mind having the chance to turn the tables on him,” trainer Kieron Magee said.
Magee, who named Horacio Karamanos to ride Struth, will also saddle Nicaradalic Rocks, who will seek his first win of the year off a five-month freshening.
Stephen Ferguson’s Rockinn On Bye, who finished third in the Coalition, is among the most serious contenders in Saturday’s Sprint. The Stephen Casey-trained 6-year-old gelding is a multiple graded-stakes performer who finished second in the 2016 De Francis Memorial Dash (G3).
Winplaceorshowono, a 3-year-old colt who captured the $100,000 New Castle Stakes at Delaware Park last time out; Final Prospect, a multiple stakes-placed gelding who finished third in the New Castle; and Pete’s a Play Call, who was claimed by trainer Gary Gullo for $50,000 out of a winning effort at Saratoga last time out; are also entered in the Sprint.
Easy River, No More Talk, Smile for Eternity, Victory Chimes, and Vim round out the field.
