Maryland Horsemen Bring Stakes Hardware Back from New York
Maryland Horsemen Bring Stakes Hardware Back from New York
Locals Enjoy Successful Trip to Belmont Park’s Racing Festival
LAUREL, MD – While the eyes of the racing world were focused on Justify’s successful quest to become the 13th Triple Crown champion, Maryland’s horsemen received some well-deserved attention of their own during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Belmont Park.
For the second straight year, trainer Graham Motion upset the $1 million Manhattan (G1) on the Belmont Stakes (G1) undercard with a horse he brought from his base at Fair Hill in Elkton, Md. Following Ascend’s 27-1 upset in 2017, Spring Quality defied both Post 13 and his 18-1 odds to emerge a neck in front of a crowded finish line where none of the top nine finishers were separated by more than a neck.
Augustin Stable homebred Spring Quality was racing for just the second time since his victory in the Red Smith Handicap (G3) last November at Aqueduct. He was second in the Fort Marcy (G3) May 5 at Belmont in his season debut.
Spring Quality was ridden by Hall of Famer Edgar Prado, who rose to prominence in Maryland in the 1990s and last month became just the eighth jockey to win at least 7,000 career races.
“I didn’t feel like I was taking a shot. I kind of planned on this race since he won at Aqueduct last fall,” Motion said. “I felt really good about the race until he drew the 13 hole, and then my heart sunk a little bit. But Edgar worked out a great trip and everything just worked out really well. Having Edgar on board definitely made it extra special, no doubt about it.
“I think it was a great weekend. What an amazing weekend for racing, really,” he added. “Maryland horses are very strong, I’ve always said that. I think we always compete in these big races all over the country and I don’t think it’s surprising, really.”
Motion said the Bowling Green (G2) July 28 at Saratoga Race Course is a possible next spot for Spring Quality.
A couple of hours before Spring Quality’s win, Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Terp Racing’s multiple stakes winner Still Having Fun sprang a 13-1 upset of the seven-furlong Woody Stephens (G2) for Laurel Park-based trainer Tim Keefe.
Still Having Fun won the Frank Whiteley Jr. and Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds over the winter at Laurel, and after trying longer distances was returned to sprinting for the six-furlong Chick Lang May 18 at legendary Pimlico Race Course. A runner-up finish behind impressive winner Mitole punched his ticket to New York, where Still Having Fun came from next-to-last to post a 1 ¼-length triumph in his graded-stakes debut.
“It’s pretty cool,” Keefe said. “A lot of times what happens at home is you get … a lot of these guys from New York coming down and picking off us local guys with their stakes horses and allowance horse and nice maiden horses and that sort of thing, and it’s hard sometimes when the New York guys ship in to our place. So, it’s kind of nice to be able to return the favor once in a while.”
On June 8, Laurel-based trainer Cal Lynch sent a Maryland-bred son of New York stallion Freud that he co-owns with Stanton Smith Jr. to Belmont for his second career start and first in a stakes in the $150,000 Tremont.
An impressive debut winner in a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight May 3 at Laurel, Our Braintrust rated in mid-pack and barged through an opening along the rail down the stretch to pull clear to a three-quarter length victory in 1:04.41 for 5 ½ furlongs at odds of 10-1. Unable to attend the race in person, Lynch sent his son and assistant, Charlie, in his place.
“He’s been great. He went with El Areeb all last year and a couple times he went up there a day or two before and trains them himself. Every horse went and trained the day of and schooled in the paddock and everything,” Lynch said. “I had the two in at Penn National the night before and the babies in here so I wanted to stay here and make sure everything went right.
“[He was] very professional,” he added. “He did everything right. He was very brave and went through the hole on the rail whenever it opened up and we’re pleased. Very pleased. That’s how I lost my voice, screaming at the TV.”
Lynch is unsure what’s next for Our Braintrust, purchased for just $25,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic sale last October – the same auction where Still Having Fun fetched only $12,000.
“We just wanted to get him back and let him train for a few days and see where we go with him. There’s all kinds of options. He’s a Maryland-bred, New York stallion that kind of stuff, so plenty of options. Right now we’re just enjoying it,” Lynch said.
“We represented ourselves well up there. I don’t think we disgraced ourselves,” he added. “We showed that racing down here is tough and if you can compete here you can go anywhere in the country. I’ve said that for a few years. There’s some good horsemen here and good horses and really, really good racing all year.”
Another Mid-Atlantic-based horse, Raymond Mamone’s Imperial Hint, also tasted success June 8 at Belmont with a hard-fought neck victory over Whitmore in the True North (G2). It was the seventh career stakes win and third in graded company for the 5-year-old, who won the 2017 Fire Plug and General George (G3) at Laurel and closed last year finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1).
