$100,000 Shine Again Could be Ideal Spot for Our Super Freak
Among Six Stakes Worth $600,000 Saturday, Sept. 28

LAUREL, MD – Each in search of their first stakes victory, stablemates Tiz He the One, undefeated in three career tries over the local surface, and American Power, a winner of his last three starts, are among a field of 10 entered for Saturday’s $75,000 Challedon at Laurel Park.

Restricted to non-winners of a sweepstakes, the Challedon for 3-year-olds and up and the $75,000 Shine Again for fillies and mares 3 and older, both sprinting seven furlongs on the dirt, are among six stakes worth $600,000 in purses on Round 2 of Laurel’s September to Remember Stakes Festival.

Highlighting the 12-race program are the $150,000 Fasig-Tipton All Along for fillies and mares 3 and up at 1 1/16 miles on the grass and the $100,000 Japan Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up going 1 ½ miles. They are joined by a pair of 5 ½-furlong turf sprints for juveniles, the $100,000 Anne Arundel County for fillies and $100,000 Howard County.

Laurel will open its doors at 11 a.m. with a special first-race post time of 12:25 p.m.

Lady Sheila Stable and Iris Smith Stable’s Tiz He the One captured three consecutive one-mile allowance races during Laurel’s fall meet to cap his 2018 season. The Tiz Wonderful gelding made his 5-year-old debut Feb. 18 in the 1 1/16-mile Razorback Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park, finishing last after stalking the pace.

Tiz He the One was moved to trainer Linda Rice following that effort and returned to the races Aug. 30, running fourth in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance Aug. 30 at Saratoga. Trevor McCarthy is named to ride from the far outside post.

“I’m not certain why, but he seems to have run his best races there so that’s why I put him in there. I thought it might be a good race for him,” Rice said. “I think he needed the race at Saratoga, and I also think it was too short for him … so we’re hoping for an improved performance.”

Co-owned by Rice and Stephen Cooper, American Power is cross-entered in the six-horse Vosburgh (G1) Saturday at Belmont Park. A 4-year-old Power Broker colt, he won a pair of sprints at the Challedon distance a month apart this summer at Parx, and most recently was a neck winner of a starter-optional claimer Aug. 29 at Saratoga going six furlongs.

“He has gotten more confidence as he has put these races together,” Rice said. “He showed ability as far back as when we claimed him, which was a year ago at Saratoga, but he’s had a few hills and valleys in the last year or so. Right now, he’s really coming into good form. He really digs in and tries hard every time.”

Julian Pimentel is named to ride American Power from Post 4.

Big Bertha Stable’s Taco Supream has been first or second in all five starts this year with three wins, and has earned all six of his career victories at Laurel, where he has finished in the top three 13 of 16 times. In his only try at seven furlongs, he was second by a length to multiple stakes winner Whirlin Curlin June 9, and enters the race off a confident 1 ¼-length triumph Aug. 9 under Sheldon Russell, who rides back from Post 7.

“Sheldon didn’t overdo it with him last race. He just kind of hand-rode him around there, so I really feel like he saved a little bit,” trainer Damon Dilodovico said. “He’s training well. We got a solid breeze in to him last week. He probably went a little faster than I was expecting him to go, so I did not breeze him [last] weekend. We’ll just go into the race off the breeze before. I just kind of felt like he was getting a little bit too sharp.

“That’s another reason why I didn’t want to work him and use that up in the morning. I kind of feel like we’ve got him full strength coming into this week,” he added. “He’s a cool horse. He’s always been right there. Whether or not he’ll be good enough I don’t know, but I’m confident that he’ll give them his best effort.”

Rounding out the field are Arch Cat, Ballivor, Confessor, Knights Key, Robin Hood, Tappin Cat, Twin Valor and Wonderful Light, the latter cross-entered in Saturday’s Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth Park.

The Challedon honors the Maryland-bred son of Challenger II that won 20 of 44 starts and $334,660 in purses from 1938 to 1942, was recognized as Horse of the Year in 1939 and 1940, and inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1977. Winner of the 1939 Preakness and 1939-40 Pimlico Special, Challedon also sired 13 stakes winners before his death in 1958.

$100,000 Shine Again Could be Ideal Spot for Our Super Freak

After spending the winter and spring chasing stakes winners Please Flatter Me, Las Setas and Grade 3-placed Congrats Gal, Jagger Inc.’s Our Super Freak returns to stakes competition in the $100,000 Shine Again.

Owned and trained by Jamie Ness, 3-year-old Our Super Freak drew Post 9 of 10 with regular rider Trevor McCarthy aboard as the daughter of 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft faces older horses for the sixth straight race.

The Shine Again will be the 11th start this year for Our Super Freak, a consistent filly that has hit the board in 13 of 16 career races. She has one win, three seconds and three thirds in seven tries at Laurel.

“She’s had a lot of tough beats, but she dances every dance,” Ness said. “She’s still just a 3-year-old running against older horses but she’s been hanging in there. We’ll see what happens.”

Our Super Freak last faced stakes company in the one-mile, 70-yard Light Hearted June 5 at Delaware Park, where she was a distant runner-up behind Fashion Faux Pas, second in the Delaware Oaks (G3) in her subsequent start.

At 2, she finished second to Congrats Gal in the Smart Halo and third to Please Flatter Me in the Gin Talking, then was either second or third behind Las Setas in the Wide Country, Beyond the Wire and Weber City Miss this year – all five races at Laurel.

Eighth in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) in her lone graded-stakes attempt, Our Super Freak rebounded in the Light Hearted. Disqualified to fourth from finishing first Aug. 12, she returned 14 days later to snap a 10-race losing streak in a similar spot, and was second by a half-length in a one-mile optional claiming allowance Sept. 9, all at Delaware.

“She just loves to run. It doesn’t matter where I put her. The Black-Eyed Susan was just too tough for her,” Ness said. “She’s nice filly. She’ very versatile, very honest. She’s been an iron horse. She fires every time and hopefully Saturday is her day. A stakes win has eluded her so far, but we’re hoping that changes.”

Bush Racing Stable’s I’ll Take the Cake and Tanterra Stable’s Last Love have each won two of their last three starts. I’ll Take the Cake’s victories have come at a mile and one mile and 70 yards at Penn National, while Last Love captured a pair of six-furlong sprints at Laurel, the most recent coming Sept. 7.

Flying Pheasant Farm’s stakes-placed Munificent is the lone holdover from last year’s Shine Again, where she ran seventh. Trained by Mary Eppler, the 5-year-old Munnings mare has made her only three starts this year sprinting on the turf, but she was second in the 6 ½-furlong Timonium Distaff last summer.

Conjecture, Inspeightof, Saguaro Row, Scatrattleandroll, Steamy Hot, Stormologist and Untaken are also entered.

The Shine Again is named for Allaire duPont’s fourth generation Maryland homebred mare that retired in 2003 after winning 14 of 34 starts, seven stakes and nearly $1.3 million in purses. Trained by late Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens, she won back-to-back editions of the Ballerina (G1) in 2001 and 2002 and was second in 2003.