Keep Your Distance Goes the Distance in Saturday Feature
Keep Your Distance Goes the Distance in Saturday Feature
4-Year-Old Filly Earns 10th Career Victory, Sixth with Jockey Vargas
John Jones, Bonus Points, Twocubanbrothersu Tangle in Sunday’s Main Event
LAUREL, MD – Off the board following a rough trip in her third career stakes try last time out, Super C Racing Inc.’s Keep Your Distance rebounded with a professional gate-to-wire victory in Saturday’s featured eighth race at Laurel Park.
It was the 10th career win from 27 starts and third in her last four tries for Keep Your Distance ($3.60), ridden to victory for trainer Kieron Magee by jockey Jorge Vargas Jr. Favored at 4-5 in the second-level $45,000 optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up originally carded for the Fort Marcy turf course, she ran 5 ½ furlongs in 1:03.53 over a fast main track.
Keep Your Distance, a 4-year-old daughter of Concord Point, was one of three horses in the race running for a $35,000 tag. Magee claimed her back for $25,000 in July three starts after she was claimed away for the same price.
“She got the win. She’s a cool mare,” Magee said. “When she was up for a tag I called [previous owner Jim Wolf] and he was unsure, so I was going to take her for myself. Then Super C called and asked me what I thought and I said, ‘Absolutely.’
“This kind of price with these horses, she’s got them over a barrel. She wants to win,” he added. “With Jorge on her, he has the confidence in her and when she gets the lead she’s tough to beat.”
Vargas hustled Keep Your Distance from their outside post and outran Fashion Break for the lead, setting fractions of 22.59 and 45.66 seconds. Vargas took a peek behind him midway on the far turn and they straightened for home in front, powering down the center of the track to edge clear for the win under wraps over late-running Lady by Choice, entered for main track only.
Laurel’s winter-spring meet riding champion, Vargas has been aboard for eight of 12 starts this year for Keep Your Distance with six wins and one second. In her previous race, the Timonium Distaff Aug. 25, jockey Edwin Gonzalez was forced to check twice in a seventh-place finish.
“She’s like my girlfriend. We’ve won six times now and she just runs for me,” Vargas said. “She’s got a big heart.”
Notes: Jockey J.D. Acosta won back-to-back races Saturday with Justa Scoch ($58.40) in the ninth and Love N Kimestry ($6) in the 10th. Trainer Claudio Gonzalez sent out three winners, taking the fourth with Bungalow ($3.60) and sweeping the late double with Army Grey ($7.80) in the 11th and Valadier ($2.60) in the 12th. Owner Super C Racing won with Valadier and Keep Your Distance ($3.60) in the eighth.
Post time returns to 1:10 p.m. for Sunday’s 11-race program highlighted by Race 9, a third-level $47,000 optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up at one mile on the main track that drew a field of seven including 2017 Maryland Million Classic winner Bonus Points, multiple stakes-winning Maryland-bred John Jones and Twocubanbrothersu, a 23-time career winner that, along with John Jones, is entered for a $50,000 tag.
