El Areeb Breezes Thursday at Laurel for G2 Wood Memorial
El Areeb Breezes Thursday at Laurel for G2 Wood Memorial
April 8 Stakes at Aqueduct Expected Next Start for Multiple G3 Winner
Ben’s Cat Continues Preparations for 11-Year-Old Debut
Late Pick 5, Rainbow 6 Carryovers for Return of Live Racing Friday
Watch and Wager on Dubai World Cup Card Saturday at Laurel
LAUREL, MD – With an eye on returning to New York for the Wood Memorial (G2) April 8, M M G Stables’ multiple Grade 3 winner El Areeb breezed Thursday morning at his Laurel Park base for trainer Cal Lynch.
Regular rider Trevor McCarthy, fresh off a nine-win weekend at Laurel to pad his lead atop the current winter-spring meet standings, was up for the work in company with 4-year-old stablemates Winter and Vorticity.
El Areeb was credited with a half-mile time of 49.40 seconds, seventh-fastest of 14 horses at the distance in the second work since having his four-race win streak when third as the favorite in the Gotham (G3) March 4 at Aqueduct. Winter and Vorticity were each timed in 50.00.
“He worked a mile and an eighth and finished up really, really well. We were very pleased. Everything’s good,” Lynch said. “I’ll talk to the owners after his work next week and we’ll make a plan, but it looks like the Wood’s on schedule unless something changes.”
El Areeb is scheduled to work again March 29 and April 4 leading up to the Wood, weather permitting. Thursday’s move was his second straight in company, having gone four furlongs in 51.40 seconds with Winter March 17.
“I put him in behind horses today. He was like two or three lengths behind those two horses and then finished up a little stronger than they did,” Lynch said. “I just wanted to make sure Trevor felt the horse relaxing for him. It’s going to be him on him in the afternoon so I just wanted to give him the feel of a race scenario and have him on there to know how he felt. He was very good today. I was very pleased.”
El Areeb, winner of the Jerome (G3) and Withers (G3) at Aqueduct to kick off his 3-year-old campaign, set a demanding pace of 23.58 seconds, 47.70 and 1:13.59 before tiring to third, beaten 11 lengths by J Boys Echo.
Winner of the James F. Lewis III Stakes to cap his juvenile season, El Areeb remains among the leading contenders on the Triple Crown trail. He ranks ninth with 30 qualifying points for the May 6 Kentucky Derby (G1).
“I’m pleased with him. We were pleased with how he came out of the race, it was just one of those things with the pace scenario unfortunately,” Lynch said. “He’s always been a nice horse and he’s continued to be. We’re just optimistic he shows up with a little different pace scenario next time and we’re hopefully looking at a different result.”
Also on Laurel’s work tab Thursday morning was 26-time stakes-winning multi-millionaire gelding Ben’s Cat, going a half-mile in 48.80 seconds gearing up for his 11-year-old debut. The time ranked fifth of 14 horses at the distance.
Bred, owned and trained by Hall of Fame horseman King Leatherbury, Ben’s Cat has had three works this month at Laurel since returning from his annual winter vacation. He breezed three furlongs in 37.40 seconds March 11 and went four furlongs in 52.60 March 18.
Late Pick 5, Rainbow 6 Carryovers for Return of Live Racing Friday
There will be carryovers in the 50-cent Late Pick 5 and 20-cent Rainbow 6 wagers when live racing returns with a nine-race program Friday that begins at 1:10 p.m.
The Late Pick 5, with an industry-low 12 percent takeout, offers a carryover of $7,281.00 after not being hit Sunday. Friday’s sequence covers Races 5-9 and includes both one-mile $42,000 feature events, an optional claiming allowance for 4-year-olds and up in Race 7 and an entry-level allowance for females 4 and up in Race 8.
A carryover jackpot of $3,945.54 is available in the Rainbow 6, which begins in Race 4.
The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
Watch and Wager on Dubai World Cup Card Saturday at Laurel
Fans are invited to watch and wager on the Dubai World Cup program from Meydan Racecourse Saturday prior to Laurel’s live-race card.
Doors will open 75 minutes early at 10:15 a.m. Wagering will be available on Races 6-9 from Meydan: the $2 million Golden Shaheen (G1), $6 million Dubai Turf (G1), $6 million Sheema Classic (G1) and $10 million World Cup (G1), the latter with an approximate 12:45 p.m. EST post time.
Post time for Laurel’s live card is 1:10 p.m.
