Laki Awarded Win over Favored Lewisfield in $100,000 Polynesian
Laki Awarded Win over Favored Lewisfield in $100,000 Polynesian
Fourth Leg in Dirt Sprint Division of Revived MATCH Series
LAUREL, MD – Hillside Equestrian Meadows’ Laki became a stakes winner for the second time in his career when he was elevated to victory following the disqualification of favored Lewisfield for interference in deep stretch of Sunday’s $100,000 Polynesian Stakes at Laurel Park.
The seven-furlong Polynesian was the fourth of five races in the 3-year-old and up dirt sprint division of the revived Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series that concludes with the $250,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) Sept. 15 at Laurel.
After Lewisfield ran the opening quarter-mile in 23.29 seconds pressed by Cool Arrow, Laki took up the chase and the two horses hooked up on the far turn through a half-mile in 46.55. The leaders straightened for home together and dueled the length of the stretch before Lewisfield got his nose down at the wire in 1:23.24 over a sealed main track labeled good.
Lewisfield, racing in the middle of the track, appeared to drift out under the left-handed whip of regular rider Arnaldo Bocachica and come in contact with Laki and jockey Horacio Karamanos to their outside approaching the finish. Following a steward’s inquiry and objection from Karamanos, Laki was promoted to the win.
Late-running Rockinn On Bye came on to be third 2 ¼ lengths behind, and it was another four lengths to fellow long shot Fellowship in fourth followed by It’s the Journey and Cool Arrow.
“My horse was fighting head-to-head from the top of the stretch and he was a head in front the last sixteenth of a mile and my horse started to hang a little bit but the other horse came over and bump me and my horse lost his action,” Karamanos said. “If he hadn’t touched my horse, I probably would have won. He’s a nice horse. He was fighting to the end.”
It is the sixth win from eight lifetime starts at Laurel for Laki ($16.60), a 5-year-old gelding trained by Damon Dilodovico whose previous stakes victory came as the favorite in the 2017 Not For Love against fellow Maryland-breds.
“Years ago we got taken down in in a very similar thing – not a huge collision but they come over and just kind of knock their rear end out a little bit and you kind of lose a little bit,” Dilodovico said. “At the time I think we might have been in front in the race, even though it’s very close to the wire. The finish was so close I think that was probably part of the factor.”
Laki had finished behind Lewisfield in their last two meetings, the Maryland Sprint (G3) May 19 at legendary Pimlico Race Course and the Mr. Prospector Stakes June 17 at Monmouth Park, both races contested at six furlongs. Lewisfield had won four of his previous five starts at Laurel, most recently in the March 17 Not For Love.
“I was very excited to stretch him out to seven furlongs,” Dilodovico said. “When you’re running against Lewisfield, I was looking for something that might be a little bit of an equalizer and that horse is so good going six that maybe we could have a slight advantage going seven. That horse is so tough and to run with him is incredible.”
With the MATCH Series in mind, Dilodovico said the De Francis would be the immediate goal.
“I don’t know if we’re going to run in it, but that’s going to be our target for now,” he said. “We’ve participated in all the MATCH races so far and this was our first win.”
The Polynesian is named for the 1945 Preakness (G1) winner that put together a record of 27-10-10 with purse earnings of $310,410 from 1944-47, 16 of his victories coming in stakes. Named the U.S. champion sprinter in 1947, he went on to a successful stud career most notably as the sire of Hall of Famer Native Dancer, the 1953 Preakness winner, and grandsire of 1966 Preakness winner Kauai King.
Notes: Late afternoon rain forced Sunday’s final two races off Laurel’s world-class turf course and necessitated a refund in the 20-cent Rainbow 6, which will have a carryover of $10,137.79 for the return of live racing Thursday, Aug. 16. Both the Late Pick 4 ($8.20) and Late Pick 5 ($34.60) wagers received alls in the last two legs … Jockey Kevin Gomez had two winners Sunday aboard Redeemed Gentleman ($9) in the first race and Clever Triad ($35.40) in the fourth, while apprentice Wes Hamilton was first with Mokheef ($6.20) in the sixth and Bye Bye Blues ($4.40) in the ninth.
