Gallanor Wins Maryland’s First Juvenile Race Sunday at Laurel
Gallanor Wins Maryland’s First Juvenile Race Sunday at Laurel
Live Racing Returns Thursday, May 3 to Open Meet-Ending Weekend
Carryovers in Rainbow 6, Late Pick 5, Super Hi-5 Wagers
LAUREL, MD – Jellicoe Creek homebred Gallanor overcame a slow start to finish fast on the outside and get her head down on the wire to spring a 15-1 upset in Maryland’s first juvenile race of the season Sunday at Laurel Park.
Ridden by Carlos Quinones for trainer Phil Schoenthal, Gallanor ($32) ran 4 ½ furlongs in 54.08 seconds over a fast main track, emerging on top of a three-way photo finish with No Refunds, the narrow 5-2 favorite who finished second, a head in front of pacesetter Margie Is Livid.
All seven horses in the $40,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies were making their professional debuts, though Gallanor had some experience from her victory in one of six Aiken Trials March 17. In its 76th year, the Trials are an annual spring showcase for amateur horses in South Carolina.
“She was pretty professional today. She had a race under her belt when she won the Aiken Trials so we felt like coming in with the edge of experience that she was really going to run well,” winning trainer Phil Schoenthal said. “We thought she’d break a lot sharper and be in front. She kind of got away bad and was laying back there in fifth, but class shows and she made a run down the stretch and ran a big race.”
A Maryland-bred daughter of Redeemed out of the Chapel Royal mare Noorissun, Gallanor was settled in mid-pack as Margie Is Livid, sent from the gate by jockey Jorge Vargas Jr., went the first quarter in 23.41 seconds stalked by No Refunds and Angelina’s Eclipse. The two leaders straightened for home together and dueled for the lead as Quinones swung Gallanor three wide for one final surge in the final sixteenth of a mile.
“It’s nice to breed one as well as own one,” owner-breeder Ron Madden said. “I’ve had a few racehorses over the years, but it’s nice to also breed them.”
Schoenthal said the connections will give Gallanor time before seeking out a return spot but, long-term, hopes to point her to the 33rd Jim McKay Maryland Million Day Oct. 20 at Laurel.
“Finding a race will be the hardest thing. We’ll just get her back to the barn and see how she comes out of it and make a plan from there,” he said. “Certainly the Maryland Million has got to be the year-end goal, for sure. That’s a long way away. I know there’s a race in New York in July but for now we’ll just see how she comes out of the race and where she fits and go from there.”
In Sunday’s co-features, Miner’s Quest ($18.40) held off Square Shooter to win Race 7, a $45,000 optional claiming allowance for 3-yearpolds and up on turf that drew a field of 11 including stakes winners Two Notch Road and Corvus; She’s Quiet ($6.60) posted a front-running 3 ¼-length triumph in Race 7, a $42,000 optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up in Race 8; and Charity Stripe ($17.80) rallied down the center of the track to take Race 10, a $42,000 allowance for fillies and mares 3 and older.
Live Racing Returns Thursday, May 3 to Open Meet-Ending Weekend
Laurel will kick off the final weekend of its 2018 winter-spring meet with a 10-race program Thursday, May 3. First race post time is 1:10 p.m.
Thursday’s card drew a total of 112 entries, an average of 11.2 starters per race. Six races are scheduled to be run over Laurel’s world-class turf course, attracting a total of 77 entries or 12.8 per race.
Highlights of the card include a $40,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds going 4 ½ furlongs in Race 4, a $42,000 second-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on the Fort Marcy Turf Course in Race 7, and a $45,000 second-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up going seven furlongs in Race 8.
Friday’s 10-race card includes five grass races that drew a total of 56 entries, an average of 11.2 starters per race.
At 37 wins Claudio Gonzalez has run away with the trainer’s title, 17 more than runner-up Kieron Magee. Apprentice Wes Hamilton leads journeyman Jorge Vargas Jr., 45-44, in the rider standings.
The winter-spring meet concludes Sunday, May 6.
Carryovers in Rainbow 6, Late Pick 5, Super Hi-5 Wagers
There will be carryovers in the 20-cent Rainbow 6, 50-cent Late Pick 5 and $1 Super Hi-5 wagers on Thursday.
The Late Pick, offering an industry-low 12 percent takeout, begins in Race 6 with a carryover of $8,865.70. Tickets with four of five winners Sunday returned $492.50.
The Rainbow 6 covers Races 5-10 and features a jackpot carryover of $1,186.96. Tickets with four of six winners Sunday were worth $445.10.
A carryover of $3,508.25 will be available for Thursday’s opener, a 5 ½-furlong claiming sprint over the Kelso Turf Course for fillies and mares 3 and up.
Notes: Jockeys Carlos Quinones, Jomar Torres and Antonio Lopez each rode two winners Sunday. Quinones was first with Gallanor ($32) in the second race and Earned It ($9.20) in the fourth; Torres scored on Dionysus ($4.60) in the third and Data Damsel ($22.60) in the sixth; and Lopez took in the fifth on Bay Bridge ($34.20) and eighth on She’s Quiet ($6.60). Both Dionysus and Charity Stripe ($17.80) in the 10th are trained by Claudio Gonzalez.
