G3 Winner Just Howard Earns Hard-Fought Victory in Laurel Return
G3 Winner Just Howard Earns Hard-Fought Victory in Laurel Return
Maryland’s 2017 Horse of the Year Captures Thursday Allowance Feature
LAUREL, MD – Skeedattle Associates’ Grade 3 winner Just Howard made a triumphant return to Laurel Park’s world-class turf course Thursday, working hard over the soft going to forge a 1 ¼-length triumph in the featured ninth race.
Regular rider Feargal Lynch was able to settle Just Howard ($2.80), Maryland’s Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old and turf horse of 2017, along the rail in third behind 25-1 long shot pacesetter Atlantic Sun and stalker Surprise Twist racing two wide.
Following a quarter-mile in 23.59 seconds and a half in 47.51 over an All Along turf course labeled yielding, Lynch tipped Just Howard out two wide rounding the far turn. The 2-5 favorite in a field of seven for the $45,000 second-level optional claiming allowance split Atlantic Sun to the inside and Surprise Twist on his right to set down for the drive to the wire.
Lynch kept Just Howard to task as the 4-year-old English Channel colt powered down the stretch to edge past Atlantic Sun near the eighth pole and hold off a belated run from Dream Doctor on the far outside to win in 1:42.91.
“I thought he ran really well. The grass was a little tricky and we had to change things up a little bit but I thought Feargal gave him a really good ride and he was very game to dig in and hang on,” trainer Graham Motion said by phone. “I thought he settled nicely enough. It’s great to get him back in the winner’s circle. He’s a very cool horse and hopefully we can go back to a stakes race now off this and kind of get back on his campaign. The horse is very tough, very honest.”
The win was the fourth from five tries over the Laurel turf for Just Howard, who last saw the course Sept. 30, 2017 when he won his third straight stakes and only graded score in the Commonwealth Derby (G3), which followed victories in the Caveat and Find Stakes.
This year, Just Howard opened his season running third, beaten 1 ¼ lengths, in an off-the-turf edition of the Dixie Stakes (G3) May 19 at legendary Pimlico Race Course. Back on the turf, he was rank in the early going and tired to be fifth in the Arlington Handicap (G3) July 7.
“He ran very well at Pimlico in the slop and then we went to Arlington and it just wasn’t like him. He was just very fresh and free and he wouldn’t settle, and he was still only beaten two lengths,” Lynch said. “Coming into this race today, the main thing was to get him to relax and finish off the race like he did in the [Commonwealth] Derby, and he did it perfect.”
Dream Doctor was second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Surprise Twist, who caught Atlantic Sun to be third by a nose. Dothat Dance, Conquest See Ya and Berliner completed the order of finish.
“We’re just happy to have him back in Maryland. He loves this track. Hopefully there’s more winners to come from him,” Lynch said. “He’s really grown up and matured and he did really well over the winter. You can see in his size and scope he’s really filled out. He’s just getting stronger now. Hopefully we’ll have a great back-end campaign with him.”
Notes: Jockey Forest Boyce scored back-to-back turf wins Thursday aboard Tap the Moment ($66.60) in the fifth race and Beltway Bob ($28) in the sixth. Jockey Rosario Montanez won the third on County Club ($9) and the seventh on Candy Wompus ($6.20). Jockey Daniel Centeno bookended the card with Monthly ($15) in the first and Nightmare ($10) in the 10th… There will be a carryover of $6,519.93 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 5-10) and $607.04 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for the opener on Friday’s 10-race program that begins at 1:10 p.m. Multiple tickets with all six winners in Thursday’s Rainbow 6 returned $991.84.
