Mylute Chases Elusive Stakes Victory in $75,000 Challedon; Lovable Lady Takes Win Streak into $75,000 Politely; Rainbow 6 Carryover Stands at $8,832 for Friday Program
Mylute Chases Elusive Stakes Victory in $75,000 Challedon; Lovable Lady Takes Win Streak into $75,000 Politely; Rainbow 6 Carryover Stands at $8,832 for Friday Program
Laurel Park News & Notes
Lovable Lady Takes Win Streak into $75,000 Politely
Jockey McCarthy Enjoying Strong Start to Fall Meet
Rainbow 6 Carryover Stands at $8,832 for Friday Program
LAUREL, MD – His 30-race career has taken him through two-thirds of the Triple Crown with multiple graded-stakes placings and nearly $1 million in purse earnings, but there is one thing missing from Mylute’s resume – a stakes victory.
Even Ralph Nicks, the 6-year-old’s fourth trainer, was surprised when the son of champion sprinter Midnight Lute arrived in his barn.
“I couldn’t believe it when I got him and that, wow, this horse hasn’t [won a stake], but he’s run good,” Nicks said. “He’s run against some good company his whole life and he tries every time. He’s getting a little longer in the tooth and hopefully he can catch up.”
Mylute will have another chance at his elusive first stakes victory in Saturday’s $75,000 Challedon at Laurel Park. He will break from Post 7 of 10 in the seven-furlong sprint for non-winners of a sweepstakes 3 and older that includes graded stakes-placed All Star Red, Rockinn On Bye and Warrioroftheroses.
“He’s doing well. Hopefully he can get a win. It’s amazing he’s won that much money and done what he’s done and never won a stake,” Nicks said. “It would be nice to make him a stakes winner. Hopefully he can be a stallion somewhere.”
GoldMark Farm campaigned Mylute as a 2-year-old before selling a share to Whisper Hill Farm prior to his sophomore season, where he ran fifth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and third in the Preakness (G1) for trainer Tom Amoss. He has placed in 10 career stakes, five of them graded, most recently finishing third in the one-mile Westchester (G3) May 7 at Belmont Park in his first start for Nicks.
The Challedon will be just his third lifetime try at seven furlongs. Last Halloween he rallied late to be second in the Bold Ruler (G3) at Belmont.
“He kind of comes closing. Would I prefer a mile? Yes. I do think he’s a little more effective going one turn than two,” Nicks said. “Hopefully it’s the right competition to overcome a little of that and hopefully he hasn’t lost a little turn of foot.”
Overall, Mylute has finished in the top three in 16 of 30 starts with five wins and $933,772 in purse earnings. He owns a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance win June 17 at Belmont and two thirds from four starts under Nicks.
“He’s a neat horse. He’s like having a big kid around, a big toy. You can put a 2-year-old kid in the stall with him and have an 85-year-old person lead him around,” he said. “He’s such a cool individual. Those kind, it’s hard not to love.”
Lovable Lady Takes Win Streak into $75,000 Politely
Six weeks after earning her first stakes victory in her second try on turf, 5-year-old homebred mare Lovable Lady returns to the dirt looking to extend her win streak to three races in Saturday’s $75,000 Politely for Maryland-bred/sired females 3 and up.
The dark bay or brown daughter of Not For Love won a third-level optional claiming allowance on dirt June 18 at historic Pimlico Race Course, where trainer Mary Eppler is based, and came back to upset the Jameela Stakes at 10-1 as part of Laurel’s Maryland Pride Day program Aug. 20.
Both races came at the Politely’s six furlongs, a distance where Lovable Lady is 2-1-3 from six career tries. At Laurel, she owns three wins, two seconds and two thirds from seven starts.
“She does like Laurel. I don’t know why. I think that she likes Pimilco, too. She’s had races at Pimlico where she’s had to chase the pace laying second and the race just didn’t set up for her,” Eppler said. “I think any surface – mud, dirt, turf – she’ll be fine on all of them.”
Lovable Lady drew Post 3 in the eight-horse Politely field under jockey Horacio Karamanos, who has been aboard for 11 consecutive starts dating back to last March. They share highweight of 120 pounds with Candida H. and Outwithbigdaddy.
“She’s a very difficult horse to train and a couple of the times when she finished third, she was just too close to the pace,” Eppler said. “She had to chase the pace and then tired. She likes to be covered up and come from off of it.”
Bred by Mr. & Mrs. Samuel H. Rogers and owned by the family trust, Lovable Lady has finished worse than third just once in 13 career starts including five wins and five thirds and has banked $229,145. The Jameela victory came in her stakes debut.
“It was real nice because, unfortunately, the breeders died,” Eppler said, “but, their daughter wants to keep her for a broodmare so getting that black type really helps.”
Eppler said she expects Adam Staple and Julin Stable’s multiple stakes winner Page McKenney back at Pimlico the week of Oct. 10. The 6-year-old millionaire has been continuing his recovery from a minor tendon injury at Nor Mar Farm in Freeland, Md. since mid-August.
Page McKenney has not run since finishing second in the Charles Town Classic (G2) April 23. He was scratched the morning of the May 20 Pimlico Special (G3) when swelling was found in a tendon.
“He’s coming in two weeks,” Eppler said. “It’ll be good to have him back.”
Jockey McCarthy Enjoying Strong Start to Fall Meet
Already a two-time meet winner in Maryland this year, jockey Trevor McCarthy is off to a flying start at Laurel’s fall stand in his bid for a third title.
McCarthy rode nine winners over the weekend from 25 mounts to give him 16 victories through the meet’s first nine days, seven more than runner-up and summer meet champion Jevian Toledo.
Among McCarthy’s four Saturday wins were the Commonwealth Turf Cup (G2) with Blacktype for trainer Christophe Clement, the Oakley Stakes on Rapid Rhythm for trainer Michael Stidham, and the Bert Allen Stakes aboard Jane Cibelli-trained Rose Brier.
On Sunday, he also won for Cibelli on 3-year-old maiden Tracy Island and Pin Oak Stud’s Full of Zip, a 2-year-old first-time starter trained by Graham Motion.
“It was an awesome weekend. I feel really good. I just want to thank everybody,” McCarthy said. “I rode a lot of really nice horses this weekend. They were all expected to win and they did, so it’s nice to have trainers have the confidence in me to ride their good horses and put me aboard. Trainers put me on horses that are much the best and make me look good, so I owe it all to them.”
Maryland’s leading rider this year with 129 wins, McCarthy was praised by Clement for his ride aboard Blacktype, who set the All Along Turf Course record in 1:33.43 for one mile; and Cibelli after Rose Brier won his fifth career stake in Maryland in five tries, and third straight in the Bert Allen.
“It’s a good feeling because when you’re riding for trainers and they put you up in these big races it means a lot to me,” McCarthy said. “A horse like Rose Brier, I just try to get out of his way and let him do his thing and let him do the running and make no excuses for him. That’s what I did with him the other day and he ran an extraordinary race.”
Rainbow 6 Carryover Stands at $8,832 for Friday Program
There will be a 20-cent Rainbow 6 Carryover of $8,832.41 greeting bettors when live racing resumes with Friday’s 10-race program beginning with a 1:10 p.m. first post.
Through the first nine days of the fall meet, a single bettor has yet to solve the Rainbow 6, which requires players to select the winners of the day’s final six races.
The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
Friday’s Rainbow 6 spans Races 4-9 and includes a pair of co-featured $40,000 maiden special weights for 2-year-olds. The fifth race, at 5 ½ furlongs over the Kelso Turf Course, drew a field of 16 including five also-eligibles, while Race 6 attracted a field of 10 going six furlongs on the main track topped by Chenal, a $310,000 yearling making his career debut for trainer Tony Dutrow.
