Plot the Dots Captures Thursday Feature, G2 Winner Shotski Third

LAUREL, MD – Tommy Town Thoroughbreds’ Grade 3 winner Victim of Love, unraced since overcoming a bout of colic late last summer, is set to launch her comeback in Friday’s featured ninth race at Laurel Park.

Based at Penn National with trainer Todd Beattie, Victim of Love is the 7-5 program favorite in the third-level optional claimer for fillies and mares 4 and up sprinting six furlongs that drew a field of six including eight-time winner Madam Meena and Coconut Cake, third in the Jan. 16 Geisha at Laurel.

Victim of Love, a 5-year-old daughter of sprint champion Speightstown, was nominated to the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3), in which she finished second to Majestic Reason in 2020. This year’s Fritchie was postponed from Feb. 13 to 20 due to inclement weather and won by 41-1 long shot Hibiscus Punch.

“I wanted to see what kind of competition lined up, which I assumed would be really competitive. I also was looking for a comeback spot that would be suited for her,” Beattie said. “It’s hard to find those kinds of races.

“For instance, this one is a three-other-than but she gets eligible because she hasn’t won since the 27th of June. Those spots are hard to find,” he added. “We’re real happy to get the opportunity to come back in there and get started and we’re hoping for a good outcome. She likes it there. She’s run well over that surface.”

Victim of Love was third in the Safely Kept and won the What a Summer in the fall and winter of 2019-20 at Laurel heading into the Fritchie, after which she ran fifth in the Nellie Morse. With live racing on pause around the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, Victim of Love didn’t run again until posting a 27-1 upset of the 6 ½-furlong Vagrancy (G3) last June at Belmont Park.

Next time out, Victim of Love ran third by 2 ½ lengths in the Aug. 8 Ballerina (G1) at Saratoga, and was being pointed to the Honorable Miss (G2) on the meet’s closing weekend when she was rushed to the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital located less than a mile from the track.

“After the Ballerina, we shipped back up to Saratoga and I was going to run her in the Grade 2 up there, and she colicked. I took her right over to Rood and Riddle and they did some surgery on her,” Beattie said. “Thank God it was five minutes away, and they did a fantastic job.

“Things are going good. The only reason we’re not back sooner is we’ve had a pretty obscure winter, so I didn’t to do anything careless as far as running over rough tracks and such,” he added. “Therefore, it’s taken us longer to get her back, but she’s doing good. I expect her to make a Victim of Love attempt.”

Victim of Love will carry 121 pounds including jockey Alex Cintron from Post 3 in her first race in 203 days. She has tuned up with seven workouts since mid-December including three consecutive five-furlong bullets, the most recent in 1:02 Feb. 15.

“The whole time I’ve had her, she hasn’t been one of those horses that when you work her, she just wants to go as hard as she can. She’s manageable with her works,” Beattie said. “Although they’ve been the fastest works, it is at Penn National and there wasn’t an extreme amount of works. She’s not a horse that stands out as far as really showing a lot speed in the morning.

“Anytime I’ve questioned that, I’ve put her with a bit of company and then she’s a completely different horse,” he added. “When she’s out there by herself, she does the job but she’s not an exuberant work horse. That being said, knowing her, she’s really doing well. I’m very happy with her. She looks really good.”

Notes: The Elkstone Group’s Plot the Dots ($6) was unhurried early before powering to the lead in mid-stretch and holding on to win Thursday’s featured eighth race over late-running McElmore Avenue, who had won four straight.  Grade 2 winner Shotski alternated for the lead with 22-1 long shot Closer Look for six furlongs and settled for third … Jockey Alcibiades Cortez posted back-to-back wins with Scoreswhenhewants ($6.60) in Race 2 and Crying for More ($26.40) in Race 3 … There will be carryovers of $1,275.34 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 5-10) and $1,315.73 in the $1 Super Hi-5 (Race 2) for Friday’s 10-race card that begins at 12:25 p.m. Tickets with five of six winners in Thursday’s Rainbow 6 were each worth $956.48.