Eastern Bay, Pirate Rick, Factor It In Among Stakes Workers
$1,130 Super Hi-5 Carryover for Sunday’s Nine-Race Program

LAUREL, MD – Multiple graded-stakes placed Eastern Bay and stablemate Pirate Rick, and back-to-back stakes winner Factor It In, all being pointed to the $250,000 General George (G3) Feb. 18, breezed Saturday at Laurel Park for their upcoming stakes engagement.

Built Wright Stables’ Eastern Bay, unraced since being beaten a nose in the Oct. 29 Bold Ruler (G3) at Aqueduct, worked three furlongs in 35.20 seconds, the fastest of 10 horses at the distance. The 9-year-old gelding owns 18 career wins, 14 at Laurel, including the 2020 Polynesian.

“He worked three-eighths this morning pretty impressively,” owner-trainer Norman ‘Lynn’ Cash said. “My assistant was very pleased with how nice he worked.”

The seven-furlong General George for 4-year-olds and up co-headlines a Winter Carnival program featuring six stakes worth $900,000 in purses, including the $250,000 Barbara Fritchie (G3) for older filly and mare sprinters.

Eastern Bay has run second in three prior graded attempts – the 2020 Frank J. De Francis Memorial (G3) at Laurel and the Vosburgh (G2) and Bold Ruler three weeks apart at Aqueduct to close his 2022 campaign. Saturday was his fifth timed work since early December, all at Laurel.

“He’s been there the whole time. He likes it there,” said Cash, who lives in Kentucky but maintains a string of more than two dozen horses at Laurel. “He’s ready to go.”

Pirate Rick, 6, worked a half-mile in a sharp 47.40 seconds Saturday, the fastest of 52 horses. He had a four-race win streak snapped when fourth in the seven-furlong Toboggan (G3) Jan. 28 at Aqueduct, his stakes debut.

“He worked a solid half this morning,” Cash said. “I don’t know who else [will be] in there but he’s probably going to be the speed of the race. They may not catch him.”

Cash had another stakes contender out Saturday in Gormley’s Gabriela, who went three furlongs in 36 seconds, second only to her stablemate. Claimed for $62,500 out of her last race, a Jan. 28 win at Laurel, she is being pointed to the $100,000 Wide Country for 3-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs.

“She had a monster three-eighths work today,” Cash said. “We’ll probably also enter in the allowance race [for] the next day and make our choice, but my assistant called me [after the work] and said, ‘Boss, I’m telling you she’s going to win the stake.”

Michael Scheffres’ Factor It In went four furlongs in 48.40 seconds, ranking eighth. The 7-year-old gelding, third by a half-length in the Bold Ruler and a neck in the Fall Highweight (G3), exits Laurel stakes wins in the six-furlong Dave’s Friend Dec. 30 and 6 ½-furlong Fire Plug Jan. 21 for trainer Carlos Mancilla.

Coffeewithchris and Feeling Woozy, each nominated to the $100,000 Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds, were also among Saturday’s workers, both timed in 48.40 seconds for a half-mile. Coffeewithchris won the Dec. 26 Heft and second in the Jan. 21 Spectacular Bid while Feeling comes out of an optional claiming allowance win Jan. 29 at the Miracle Wood’s one-mile distance.

Another Miracle Wood nominee, Lucky 7 Stables’ B West, fired a bullet five-furlong work of 1:00 Saturday, fastest of 22 horses, for trainer Jerry Robb. Third in the Spectacular Bid, B West was among 369 nominees to the Triple Crown by the early Jan. 28 deadline. Three times stakes placed, including a third in the Heft, Miracle Wood-bound Ricco breezed a half in 48 seconds.

Fritchie candidate Fille d’Esprit, a six-time stakes winner trained and co-owned by Robb, worked five furlongs in 1:00.40, third-fastest of 22 horses.

Notes: Jockey Kevin Gomez doubled Saturday aboard Lucky Lorraine ($19.60) in Race 6 and Tappin Josie ($7.20) in Race 8 … Trainer Jamie Ness bookended the card with wins from Time to Cruise ($9.80) in Race 1 and Patty Cakes ($4.40) in Race 9 … C J I Phoenix Group and No Guts No Glory Farm’s Al Loves Josie ($5.60), exiting back-to-back stakes efforts, rolled to a popular front-running triumph in Saturday’s featured Race 7, a second-level optional claiming allowance for 4-year-olds and up. The 4-year-old gelding was third in the Star de Naskra and City of Laurel last year … Saturday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 was solved by one lucky bettor for a jackpot payout of $10,070.16. The winning combination was 7-3-8-7-3-3 … There will be a carryover of $1,130.94 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for Sunday’s nine-race card which begins at 12:25 p.m.