Laurel Stakes Winner Rose Brier Pointed to Clark; First Juvenile Race of Season Kicks off Saturday Program
Laurel Stakes Winner Rose Brier Pointed to Clark; First Juvenile Race of Season Kicks off Saturday Program
First Juvenile Race of Season Kicks off Saturday Program
Pick 5 Carryover Friday $8,609.92
Decanter Wine & Racing Festival at Laurel Saturday
LAUREL, MD - Unable to bring Sawyer to Maryland for Saturday’s $75,000 Dahlia Stakes, Florida-based trainer Jane Cibelli shipped Rose Brier to Laurel Park this week with an eye on the $75,000 Henry S. Clark Stakes April 23.
A 7-year-old Mizzen Mast gelding with 11 lifetime wins, Panic Stable’s Rose Brier is two-for-two lifetime at Laurel, winning the $60,000 Bert Allen Stakes for Virginia-breds in 2014 and 2015. He has run in a trio of Grade 3 stakes over a 30-race career, finishing fourth each time.
“I brought Rose Brier in and he’ll be going in the Henry Clark. I was supposed to have four up there but it didn’t work out. Rose Brier is there, a bit premature but he’s there,” Cibelli said.
The trainer has Cavity, a 4-year-old Candy Ride gelding, entered in Friday’s seventh race, a $40,000 maiden special weight going 1 1/16 miles on the grass.
One of Cibelli’s Laurel-bound horses was going to be Goodwood Racing IV’s Sawyer, a 5-year-old West Virginia-bred mare that won her seasonal debut by a neck Jan. 30 at Gulfstream Park going one mile on the grass, the same distance as the Dahlia.
“She had been doing well and when I went to check on her Sunday and she was lame. She got cast or something, I’m not sure. I didn’t put her on the van. I had every intention of running her,” Cibelli said.
“I’m really not sure what’s wrong with her,” she added. “She was dead lame, non weight bearing. A couple days later she was a bit better but we can’t figure out quite exactly what’s wrong with her. I think she probably kicked the wall or something, I don’t know. We were set on going in that race.”
First Juvenile Race of Season Kicks off Saturday Program
A field of eight is entered for Maryland’s first 2-year-old race of the season, a 4 ½-furlong sprint on the main track that opens Saturday’s 10-race program at Laurel Park.
First race post time is 1:10 p.m.
Among the group are fillies Choice Prospect and Maryland-bred Next Street, both owned by Ken Taylor and trained by John Salzman and coupled in the wagering; fellow state-bred colts Full Quest and Audacious Say Eye, each trained by Phil Schoenthal; and Street Magician filly She Spoke French, also bred in Maryland.
All eight horses are making their career debut Saturday. Another daughter of Street Magician out of the Partner’s Hero dam My Rib, Next Street enters her unveiling off a pair of bullet three-furlong workouts at Laurel Park, going 36.60 seconds from the gate April 2 and 35.60 April 9. Trevor McCarthy, who leads Laurel’s winter meet with 50 wins and nearly $1.5 in purse earnings, has the mount.
Audacious Say Eye, Dangerous Dan and Pachi Cruise each share topweight of 120 pounds.
There will be a Pick 5 carryover Friday of $8,609.92.
Decanter Wine & Racing Festival at Laurel Saturday
Laurel Park will host the sixth annual Decanter Wine & Racing Festival, presented by the Maryland Wineries Association, from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday.
The event will feature local food and craft vendors, live music, a best-dressed competition and over 100 different wines poured from 23 wineries, along with live betting on Laurel’s 10-race program as well as simulcast wagering.
General admission tickets are $30 or $35 on the day of the event, while a Decanter Pass is available for $50 or $55 on the day of the event. A designated driver/youth admission is available for $20.
For more information, go to www.decanterwinefestival.com.
