El Areeb Goes the Distance in $100,000 James F. Lewis III
El Areeb Goes the Distance in $100,000 James F. Lewis III
Tequilita’s Win a Family Affair in $100,000 Smart Halo
LAUREL, MD – Testing stakes waters for the first time, M M G Stables’ El Areeb broke running and never looked back, powering to a front-running 5 ¼-length victory in the $100,000 James F. Lewis III presented by Ourisman of Bowie Saturday at Laurel Park.
The fifth running of the James Lewis for 2-year-olds and 20th renewal of the $100,000 Smart Halo presented by B&B Commercial Interiors for 2-year-old fillies, both at six furlongs, were among seven stakes worth $825,000 on an 11-race Fall Festival of Racing program highlighted by the $250,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) presented by Maker’s Mark.
El Areeb ($6.40), whose name is taken from the Arabic word for “skillful,” cruised through an opening quarter-mile in 22.43 seconds and a half in 45.48 while chased by 60-1 long shot The Great Ronaldo. Regular rider Trevor McCarthy urged the Exchange Rate colt after rounding the far turn and they opened up down the stretch, hitting the wire in 1:09.96.
Cal Lynch-trained stablemate Two Charley’s closed late for second, 3 ½ lengths ahead of High Roller, the Dale Capuano trainee bet down to 9-5 favoritism off his impressive maiden victory Sept. 11 under McCarthy. Rockshaw finished fourth.
“I had to pick, and I chose this one,” McCarthy said. “I knew this horse would run well today and he didn’t let me down. The race went perfectly for us, and when he changed leads he just took off. I took a glance at the big screen and saw that we had a pretty good lead on them in the stretch, which made me feel good. I am looking forward to his next race.”
El Areeb was purchased for $340,000 as a 2-year-old in training in March and debuted running fourth in a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight June 11 at Parx. He was second by four lengths over a sloppy, sealed track at Laurel Sept. 30 at Laurel going 5 ½ furlongs before stretching out to three-quarters to graduate by 8 ¾ lengths Oct. 15.
“The performance didn’t really surprise me that much. We expected the horse to do this first time out,” Lynch said. “He had a couple little issues that slowed him down but the horse is very talented. Physically he’s getting bigger and stronger and he may want to go farther. We’re very excited.”
Tequilita’s Win a Family Affair in Smart Halo
Kept in the clear on the outside down the backstretch, Dorothy Matz’s homebred Tequilita took command at the head of the lane and held off late runs from Star Super and Candycoated Dame to earn her first stakes triumph in the $100,000 Smart Halo.
Michael Matz trains Tequilita for his wife, and also trained the 2-year-old filly’s Grade1-winning sire Union Rags and Grade 2-winning mare Sangrita. The even-money favorite in a field of eight, Tequilita ($4) ran six furlongs in 1:12.03.
“My wife has had a little bit of a downtime with her horses and this is a great comeback for her, so she’s very happy,” Matz said. “This is a very nice filly, and we felt very confident coming into the race today. She ran exactly as we thought she would.”
Jockey Alex Cintron, back in action after missing last weekend with a fractured toe, let Tequilita get into a rhythm three wide after breaking from Post 9 as Toby Girl and Riley’s Choice alternated through a quarter-mile in 22.77 seconds and a half in 46.67.
Cintron set Tequilita down for the stretch drive after straightening for home, and she had plenty left as Star Super edged Candycoated Dame by a neck for second. Squan’s Kingdom came on late for fourth.
“She spun her wheels a little bit in the first few jumps,” Cintron said. “It was actually the best thing that could happen as that was our plan all along, to let them go early. She likes to run at horses. She is definitely more relaxed when she does not go to the lead early. Today she used her one big run.”
The Smart Halo was the fifth career start for Tequilita, who broke her maiden by 1 ½ lengths last time Oct. 22 at Keeneland after running second in back-to-back races including Sept. 17 behind subsequent Grade 1 winner Dancing Rags.
