Iowa Derby Winner Top Line Growth Makes Triumphant Return
Iowa Derby Winner Top Line Growth Makes Triumphant Return
G3-Placed Gelding Flirts with Own Track Record in Friday Triumph
Cruz, Gonzalez Combination Stays Hot with Two More Winners Friday
LAUREL, MD – Showing no signs of rust making his first start in nearly a year, The Elkstone Group’s Grade 3-placed Top Line Growth flirted with his own track record as he overcame the layoff and solid group of rivals to capture Friday’s stakes-quality feature at Laurel Park.
Promoted winner of last summer’s Iowa Derby, Top Line Growth ($6.40) put away pacesetting John Jones after a half-mile and kept fellow stakes winner Taco Supream and multiple stakes-placed Tybalt at bay through the stretch in the open third-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up.
In remaining perfect in four career starts at Laurel Park for trainer Kelly Rubley, Top Line Growth ran one mile in 1:34.74 over a fast main track, .67 off the track record he set June 8, 2019, one start before the Iowa Derby.
“I’ve been very confident coming into the race,” Rubley said. “He seems to have been breezing regularly at a very nice clip and certainly it’s a relief to see him come back to that form. It was very nice to experience this today.”
Top Line Growth, out of the Whywhywhy mare Orinoquia, showed 10 works over the all-weather and dirt surfaces at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. since May 30, the day live racing resumed in Maryland from a 2 ½-month pause amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Breaking sharply from Post 2, jockey Julien Pimentel was content to settle in the clear in second as John Jones, a 12-time winner including stakes on turf and dirt, set the pace from his rail draw through fractions of 24.14 and 47.10 seconds as Compound It forged a short lead in the second flight over Taco Supream and Awesome D J farthest out.
Pimentel ranged up on John Jones around the turn and met little resistance to take over the top spot after six furlongs in 1:10.98, straightening for home in command and steadily edging away from his rivals to hit the wire 5 ½ lengths in front. Taco Supream, upset winner of the 2019 Maryland Million Sprint, edged five-time stakes placed Tybalt by a neck for second. Compound It, John Jones and Awesome D J completed the order of finish.
“I wanted to come back in a conditioned race because why not, and this certainly turned out to be a salty conditioned race,” Rubley said. “We were thrilled with how he performed today.”
Friday’s race was the first for Top Line Growth since his 3 ¾-length triumph in a second-level optional claiming allowance going one mile at Laurel last Sept. 27. Following the Iowa Derby, he ran fourth in the West Virginia Derby (G3) and third in the Smarty Jones (G3).
“You always second-guess yourself coming into a race off a layoff like that. I was confident he was fit and I was certainly glad to see him perform like that,” Rubley said. “We really need to sit down and think about it. We have to make sure he comes back OK and go from there.”
Cruz, Gonzalez Combination Stays Hot with Two More Winners Friday
For the second straight time this weekend, summer meet-leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez teamed up with jockey Angel Cruz for a pair of wins Friday at Laurel Park.
Cruz rode Hostile Witness ($7.20) in Race 5 and Galerio ($7.20) in Race 8 to victory for Gonzalez after kicking off his three-win day with Dixie Drawl ($10.20) in Race 3 for trainer Dale Capuano.
It was a reverse of Thursday, when the two combined to win twice and Gonzalez added a third, giving the tandem five wins over the past two days.
“When we had all the problems and we were not racing, I stuck with Claudio working every day, not missing a day. A lot of people are helping me now and Claudio’s barn is a big help because he gives you a lot of winners. People see that you’re winning and they put you on horses,” Cruz said. “Hard work always pays off.”
For the meet, Cruz and Gonzalez have clicked at 34.6 percent (9-for-26), with a top three success rate of 53.8 (14-for-26). They have won with four of their last six and six of their last 12 starters together.
He’s a really good jockey,” Gonzalez said. “He works really hard in the morning, too. Everything is going our way.”
Gonzalez tops the standings with 19 wins through 29 days at the summer meet, which has been extended to run through Sept. 19. Cruz moved into the top five among jockeys with 17 wins, tied with Julian Pimentel.
Notes: Summer meet-leading jockey Horacio Karamanos registered a hat trick Friday aboard Josef is Real ($3.20) in Race 3, Nick Papagiorgio ($4.40) in Race 7 and Nautical Nature ($7.40) in Race 9. Trainer Jamie Ness sent out back-to-back winners with Fast Master ($3.20) in Race 6 and Nick Papagiorgio … There will be a jackpot carryover of $966.39 in Saturday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 4-9). Multiple tickets with all six winners Friday were each worth $123.26.
