Unseated in Thursday Spill, Ranked Among Summer Meet Leaders
Toledo Sweeps Maiden Special Weight Events Friday for 1,000th Win

LAUREL, MD – Jockey Feargal Lynch, among the leading riders at Laurel Park’s ongoing summer meet, sat out Friday’s program with body soreness after being unseated from his mount during Thursday’s third race.

The 42-year-old Lynch was replaced on three mounts and scratched out of four others when Friday’s races were taken off Laurel’s world-class turf course following heavy overnight storms.

Agent Chris Pipito said X-rays taken Thursday evening showed nothing broken after Lynch was thrown to the ground when Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Paul Braverman’s Epitomize fell leaving the backstretch in the 1 1/8-mile allowance for 3-year-olds and up. Lynch took off his remaining mounts including Robber Bob, who would go on to win the sixth under Julian Pimentel.

“He’s fine. He went to first aid at the track after the race and got checked out,” Pipito said. “He just felt a little bit sore so he went to get some X-rays done, just to be cautious and to know what was going on, and everything came back negative. The only reason he’s off today is because he’s sore.”

Pipito was unsure if Lynch would be able to ride Saturday’s card, where he is named in five of nine races including multiple stakes winner Cordmaker in the eighth and Outofthepark, a winner of two straight, in the third. Both horses are trained by Rodney Jenkins. Following Saturday’s card, live racing resumes at Laurel Thursday, July 30.

“He’s got a couple good ones tomorrow, but we’re hopeful to be back shortly,” Pipito said. “He’s day-to-day.”

Lynch and Epitomize were ranging up on the outside of Johan Rosado and Hayne’s Fever rounding the far turn when Epitomize clipped heels and fell, according to the official Equibase result chart. An uninjured Epitomize was walked off the track while Hayne’s Fever wound up running last of five.

“It looked like he clipped heels right as he was making his move outside that other horse,” Pipito said. “Anytime they go down, it’s scary. It’s good that he’s just sore and bruised up a little bit. But, he’s good to go and we should be back soon.”

A two-time meet-leading rider at Pimlico Race Course, Lynch ranked sixth at Laurel’s summer stand in wins (12) and purse earnings ($392,398). He owns 525 career North American victories and nearly $19 million in purses earned, according to Equibase statistics.

Lynch is the younger brother of Laurel-based trainer Cal Lynch. The former champion apprentice in England rode Caribou Club to a record-setting victory in the Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3) last fall, setting the Dahlia turf course mark of 1:33.35 for one mile. Lynch was also the regular rider of Irish War Cry during his undefeated 2-year-old season that included a win in the Marylander, now Heft, Stakes.

Notes: Jockey Xavier Perez doubled Friday aboard Walk Away Joe ($6.80) in Race 2 and Start With Yes ($4.80) in Race 7 … 16-year-old apprentice Charlie Marquez also won twice, with Mucho Macho Eddie ($6.60) in Race 1 and Earned It ($5.60) in Race 8 …

Five Hellions Farm’s Dontletsweetfoolya, a sophomore daughter of Stay Thirsty making her second start this year and fourth overall, led from gate to wire in a 9 ½-length romp in Race 4, the first of two maiden special weight events for fillies and mares 3 and up. The winning time was 1:10.27 for six furlongs over a sloppy main track …Pedro Nazario’s 3-year-old filly M .J.’s Lady ($12) slipped through an opening on the inside and held off Ski Bunny in the Race 9 finale to give jockey Jevian Toledo his 1,000th career victory and a sweep of the maiden special weight races …

Isabelle Haskell de Tomaso’s Giggling ($13.40), racing for the first time in 10 months, was a front-running winner of Friday’s feature, a second-level optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up. The 3-year-old Creative Cause filly ran 5 ½ furlongs over a muddy main track in 1:04.42 to win by 4 ½ lengths … Saturday’s live nine-race card begins at 12:40 p.m.