G2 Winner Shotski Makes Return to Laurel Park in Sunday Feature
Six Stakes, Beat the Expert on Saturday’s Winter Sprintfest Program

LAUREL, MD – Encouraged by her most recent effort, trainer Jerry O’Dwyer is giving Howling Pigeon Farms, Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Madaket Stables’ multiple stakes winner Needs Supervision another shot at graded success in Saturday’s $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3) at Laurel Park.

The 69th running of the Fritchie for fillies and mares 4 and older and the 45th edition of the $250,000 General George (G3) for 4-year-olds and up co-headline a Winter Sprintfest program of six stakes worth $900,000 in purses. First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

In addition to Needs Supervision, a 12-1 long shot on the morning line, Madaket’s Sol Kumin also has an ownership stake in the Fritchie’s 8-5 program favorite, five-time stakes winner Hello Beautiful. The two horses will break side-by-side respectively from Posts 7 and 8.

Needs Supervision, 5, ran fourth behind Majestic Reason in last year’s Fritchie then was third in the Nellie Morse, held in mid-March prior to live racing being paused 2 ½ months in Maryland amid the coronavirus pandemic. Minor issues kept her from racing again for eight months.

“She’s never had any major issues, just little niggly things,” O’Dwyer said. “She had a back issue that was bugging her and it was kind of causing her to break slow and she wasn’t as comfortable as she could be. We seem to have a handle on that now.

“I think she’s moving super now,” he added. “It’s hard to find when there’s something wrong with her because she’s such a tough filly. She never shows any signs of distress or pain, but it’s when she underperforms you know there’s more there. That’s when you really start going over her with a fine tooth comb to try and find something.”

Needs Supervision ran third to Fritchie contender Dontletsweetfooya, a winner of her last five races including two stakes, in the Nov. 28 Primonetta, then stretched out to 1 1/8 miles for the Allaire du Pont (G3) Dec. 26, where she tired to be fifth after setting the pace. Most recently, she closed to be second by a length behind Bella Aurora in the seven-furlong Interborough Jan. 18 at Aqueduct.

“She came out of her last race great. She ran a super race up there. I liked the way she finished up and came through horses. The winner got the clear path on the inside and she couldn’t get out until the top of the lane,” O’Dwyer said. “We would have liked to get out a little bit sooner, but I was just glad to see her come back and run a race like that and finish up good.”

Needs Supervision won the seven-furlong Safely Kept in November 2019 at Laurel over next-out winners Hey Mamaluke and Victim of Love, the latter going on to win the Vagrancy (G3) and run second in the Fritchie and third in the Ballerina (G1) before going to the sidelines.

“She’s won at seven furlongs, she likes the surface, and she seems to be training good and doing really well,” O’Dwyer said. “It’s going to be a tough race, with lots of good fillies and mares in there. I think there’s going to be lots of speed in there which should help us. We’re not the quickest into stride, but I’d like to see her five or six lengths off them. That’d be nice. You’re going to have Hello Beautiful and Dontletsweetfoolya, both of those are very fast fillies and I’m sure no rider will want to take their horse out of their comfort zone. So, I’m hoping it’ll set up a little bit for us with something to run at.

“It’s going to be a very nice race, very competitive. You just want to see the best horse win and everybody get a fair shake of the dice,” he added. “We still have a lot of faith in our filly, how she is right now. The owners have been great people to me. I’d just like to get her back in a bit of form and to get a graded-stakes win would be huge for her as a broodmare.”

G2 Winner Shotski Makes Return to Laurel Park in Sunday Feature

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, Pantofel Stable and Mike Karty’s Grade 2 winner Shotski, unraced at Laurel Park since his maiden triumph in October 2019, returns for just his second start in nearly a year in Sunday’s seventh race feature.

Shotski, a 4-year-old son of Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Blame, drew Post 3 of eight in the second-level optional claiming allowance for 4-year-olds and up going about 1 1/16 miles, and will be ridden by Feargal Lynch.

Based at Laurel, Shotski won two of four starts at 2, breaking his maiden second time out sprinting six furlongs in the only previous try over his home track. He went on to run fourth in the one-mile Street Sense at Churchill Downs and capture Aqueduct’s 1 1/8-mile Remsen (G2), trainer Jerry O’Dwyer’s first career graded triumph.

While on the Triple Crown trail Shotski ran second in the Withers (G3) at Aqueduct and fourth in the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park last winter, and was shipped to Dubai for the UAE Derby before the race was canceled five days out amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Bone bruising forced Shotski to the sidelines for the rest of his sophomore season. Racing for the first time in 322 days, he wound up eighth in a one-mile optional claiming allowance Jan. 15 at Aqueduct.

“He came out the race in New York, which we were disappointed in, but he came back and he was no worse for wear,” O’Dwyer said. “Maybe that deep track up at Aqueduct took its toll on him. I don’t really know. I don’t have a legitimate excuse, so I’m going to put a line through it.

“He’s had two works at Laurel – just a 50 and change half mile his first work back and then a nice half in 48 and change and a good gallop out. He came out of it bouncing,” he added. “We’ve talked with the owners and we just want to get him back in the winner’s circle if we can and then step up from there.”

Among Shotski’s opponents are stablemate V.I.P. Ticket, winner of the 2020 A Huevo Stakes at Charles Town; last-out winners Dudley Square and Youngest of Five; and McElmore Avenue, riding a four-race win streak.

“He’s a big horse. I thought his fitness was fairly good, but he’s one of those horses that every time you work him or breeze him you say, ‘He needs another one. He needs another one,’” O’Dwyer said. “He’s just built that way. He’s not a very tall horse, but he’s like a tank. He’s very robust in that sense. Hopefully it turns out that he just needed that race and he can do himself a bit of justice in this one.”

Six Stakes, Beat the Expert on Saturday’s Winter Sprintfest Program

Led by the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3) and $250,000 General George (G3) for older sprinters, Laurel will present a nine-race Winter Sprintfest program Saturday boasting six stakes worth $900,000 in purses.

Multiple stakes winners Hello Beautiful and Dontletsweetfoolya figure to be engaged early in the Fritchie, carded as Race 7, while graded winners Laki, Majestic Dunhill and Share the Ride are among the top challengers in the General George, which follows as Race 8.

The stakes action kicks off in Race 3 with the $100,000 Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds going one mile led by multiple stakes winner Kenny Had a Notion. Sophomore fillies take the spotlight in Race 6, the $100,000 Wide Country sprinting seven furlongs, where Street Lute goes for her sixth career stakes win.

Older horses get their due in the $100,000 John B. Campbell (Race 4) and $100,000 Nellie Morse (Race 5) for females, both at about 1 1/16 miles.

First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Saturday will also feature the weekly installment of Beat the Expert, where fans that select more winners than Laurel’s on-air handicapper will be entered to win an exclusive Maryland 2021 racing calendar, BTE baseball cap and Maryland Jockey Club Yeti tumbler.