It’s the Journey Keeps Rolling Along in $75,000 Challedon
It’s the Journey Keeps Rolling Along in $75,000 Challedon
Turnaround No Problem for Line of Best Fit in $75,000 Shine Again
LAUREL, MD – His strong second-half form earned It’s the Journey another shot at stakes competition, and R. Larry Johnson’s Maryland homebred didn’t disappoint in earning a fourth consecutive victory and first in stakes company in Saturday’s $75,000 Challedon at Laurel Park.
The $75,000 Challedon for 3-year-olds and up and the $75,000 Shine Again for fillies and mares 3 and older, both at seven furlongs for non-winners of a sweepstakes, highlighted a 12-race program on the opening weekend of Laurel’s 60-day fall meet that kicked off Friday and continues with an 11-race card Sunday that begins at 1:10 p.m.
It’s the Journey ($5.40), second choice at 8-5 in a field of six older sprinters, completed the distance in 1:22.86 over a fast main track. Rockinn On Bye was second, the 17th runner-up finish from 48 career starts, four lengths ahead of Red Dragon Tattoo.
Even-money favorite Afleet Willy tired to be fourth after setting the early pace, followed under the wire by Final Prospect and Anytime Anyplace. Furyofthenorsemen was scratched.
The Challedon was the third win of the day for trainer Mike Trombetta, who also finished first with Speedy Slew ($19.40) in the sixth race and Johnson-bred and owned On the Wings Of ($6.40) in the eighth, a FEGENTRI World Cup of Nations amateur event.
“He’s really come on good this summer and going into the fall. What a pleasant surprise,” Trombetta said. “He’s doing it all on his own now. He’s running out of easy options, so we’ll see where he takes us.”
Afleet Willy, breaking to the immediate inside of It’s the Journey, bobbled slightly at the start but quickly found himself on the lead, pushed through an opening quarter-mile of 22.83 seconds by Red Dragon Tattoo along the rail and Anytime Anyplace in between.
“Willy didn’t break too well and when I saw him kind of stumble at the beginning I took advantage of that,” Cintron said. “I just sat off and let my horse do his own race and as soon as he got to the three-eighths pole, he went by Willy so easy I knew nobody was going to get me.”
It’s the Journey, kept in the clear four wide by Cintron, ranged up to challenge Afleet Willy up front rounding the far turn after a half in 45.86 seconds. They assumed the lead without resistance straightening for home and opened up down the stretch under a hand ride.
It’s the Journey, third in the 2015 Maryland Juvenile Futurity in his last stakes attempt, now owns six wins, four seconds and two thirds from 15 career starts with $216,393 in purse earnings.
“Mike’s done a great job with him. He was good as a 2-year-old and we thought he was a [distance] horse and we were really wrong about that,” Johnson said. “He did this kind of easily today, and he beat a nice horse.”
Turnaround No Problem for Line of Best Fit in $75,000 Shine Again
Sheffield Stable’s Grade 1-placed Line of Best Fit, beaten a nose in her previous start just five days earlier, came back to split horses at the eighth pole and catch pacesetting Summer House to win the $75,000 Shine Again.
Ridden by J.D. Acosta for trainer Kieron Magee, Line of Best Fit ($9.40) ran seven furlongs in 1:23.90 for her third win in the last five starts and 16th overall for the 7-year-old mare.
“She’s all racehorse. She can overcome a lot,” Magee said. “Five days didn’t matter to her. We’re going to give her a little break now, maybe a month.”
Line of Best Fit, third to recently retired champion Songbird in the Delaware Oaks (G1) July 15, settled in mid-pack as Summer House set fractions of 22.79 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 46.51 for the half. Momameamaria stalked early before dropping back with Elusive Joni picking up the challenge.
Acosta found himself behind horses while Summer House was still in front as the field turned for home. Line of Best Fit was able to slip through an opening between 35-1 long shot Lake Ponchatrain and 3-2 favorite Summer Reading approaching the eighth pole and powered to the wire to win by a half-length.
Summer House held second, a half-length ahead of Lake Ponchatrain. Bombshell, Summer Reading, Super Sharp, Elusive Joni and Momameamaria completed the order of finish. Lucky in Malibu, Boheme de Lavi, In the Navy Now, Stormy Sky and True Romance were scratched.
“Kieron told me just to be patient and move when you think it’s the right moment. I wanted to be patient but these are tough horses right here so I didn’t want to give her too much to do in the end,” Acosta said. “When we turned for home I was in such a tight spot there with a lot of traffic, and the only thing I thought was to just get through there and make it to the wire.”
