Pair of $100,000 Laurel Juvenile Stakes Attract 56 Nominations
Pair of $100,000 Laurel Juvenile Stakes Attract 56 Nominations
James F. Lewis III, Smart Halo Top Saturday, Nov. 14 Program
Erawan, McCain Graduate with Maiden Special Weight Wins Sunday
Live Racing Returns Thursday with $10,851 Rainbow 6 Carryover
LAUREL, MD – Stakes winners Kenny Had a Notion, Pickin’ Time, Singlino, Miss Nondescript and Street Lute, and a total of 28 horses coming off victories are among 56 combined nominations to the $100,000 James F. Lewis and $100,000 Smart Halo set for Saturday, Nov. 14 at Laurel Park.
The ninth running of the Lewis for 2-year-olds and 24th renewal of the Smart Halo for 2-year-old fillies are each contested at six furlongs.
Louis Ulman and Neil Glasser’s Kenny Had a Notion has won stakes in back-to-back starts and became a stakes winner on two surfaces with his triumph in the six-furlong Maryland Million Nursery Oct. 24 at Laurel. Just 15 days earlier, the Great Notion gelding captured the Jamestown Stakes sprinting 5 ½ furlongs over Laurel’s world-class turf course for trainer Dale Capuano.
Roseland Farm Stable’s Pickin’ Time was a nose winner over fellow Lewis nominee Dalton in the six-furlong Smoke Glacken Stakes Sept. 27 at Monmouth Park, his most recent start. He has been worse than second once in four tries when he finished off the board in the Aug. 7 Saratoga Special (G2).
Maryland-bred Singlino, owned and trained by John Worsley, defeated Lewis nominees Maythehorsebwithu and Latin Spice in the 5 ½-furlong First State Dash Sept. 26 at Delaware Park. Most recently he was third to No Cents and Heir Port, both also nominated to the Lewis, in an open entry-level allowance going six furlongs Oct. 21 at Monmouth.
Also prominent among Lewis nominees is Lugamo Racing Stable’s Lugamo, a winner of two straight at Laurel by 10 ¼ lengths whose only career loss came in debut to undefeated Jaxon Traveler; fellow Laurel maiden winners Ain’t Da Beer Cold, Arrest Me Red, Depository, Town of Gold and Xtreme Mayhem; Pimlico Race Course maiden special weight winners Plamen and San Antone; and stakes-placed Basso and Newyearsblockparty.
Seventeen of 25 fillies nominated to the Smart Halo are exiting wins led by Barak Farm’s undefeated Maryland homebred Miss Nondescript, who rallied to beat Street Lute by a neck with fellow nominee Trip to Freedom third in the six-furlong Maryland Million Lassie Oct. 24. It was the first loss for Lucky 7 Stables’ Street Lute, winner of the 5 ½-furlong Small Wonder Stakes Sept. 26 at Delaware.
Trainer Kelly Breen, who has won two of the last three editions of the Smart Halo with Take Charge Paula in 2017 and Cofactor last year, nominated Screen Door Stables’ Sky Proposal, a neck optional claiming allowance winner going six furlongs Sept. 25 at Pimlico.
Respect the Valleys’ Out of Sorts, a $1,000 yearling purchase last fall, was nominated out of her 10 ¾-length maiden special weight romp Nov. 1 at Laurel for trainer Brittany Russell, who also nominated Cash is King and LC Racing’s Juror Number Four, a last out fourth to Street Lute in the Small Wonder.
Laurel maiden winners Be Sneaky, Buckey’s Charm, Infinite Reward, Kewpie Doll, Supreme Blessing, Swirling Dancer and Targe; Pimlico maiden special weight winner Whiskey and Rye; Small Wonder runner-up Plane Drunk and Moochie, scratched from the Maryland Million Nursery, are also nominated.
Erawan, McCain Graduate with Maiden Special Weight Wins Sunday
Corrales Racing’s Erawan, sent off at 23-1 in his career debut, took over the lead at the top of the stretch and outran Algonquin to the wire to spring the upset in Laurel Park’s third race Sunday, a one-mile maiden special weight for 2-year-olds.
Ridden by Tais Lyapustina for trainer Jose Corrales, Erawan ($48.80) completed the distance in 1:37.44 over a fast main track to win by 1 ¼ lengths. Godolphin homebred first-time starter Algonquin was a clear second, with Flight Map third. Street Ruckus, the 8-5 favorite, got off slowly and was a non-threatening fifth.
Erawan, a bay Rock Hampton colt, raced in fourth between Unidentified Man on the rail and Crack the Safe to his outside as Flight Map went the first quarter-mile in 23.51 seconds. Erawan emerged as the runner-up after a half in 47.27, took aim at the leader and assumed the top spot once straightened for home, going six furlongs in 1:12.02. Algonquin ranged up on the outside to contend but could not make up ground.
Sunday’s program opened with a maiden special weight for 3-year-olds and up, won by Mary Jo Kuehn’s McCain ($10) in 1:22.35 for seven furlongs. Making his sixth start and first for trainer Hamilton Smith, the sophomore To Honor and Serve colt won by five lengths under Alex Cintron.
Notes: Five-pound apprentice Alexander Crispin registered back-to-back wins Sunday aboard Dashing Lou ($23.20) in Race 6 and Trunk of Money ($11.60) in Race 7. Crispin ranked second in wins (58) and fourth in purses ($1.3 million) at the Delaware Park meet that ended Oct. 17 … Jockey Yomar Ortiz took Sunday off with body soreness after being unseated when his mount, Kamehameha, stumbled during the gallop-out following Saturday’s eighth race. He is expected to be back when live racing returns Thursday, Nov. 12 … No one had all six winners in Sunday’s 20-cent Rainbow 6, growing the jackpot carryover to $10,851.18 for Thursday. Tickets with five of six winners Sunday each returned $485.10. There will also be a carryover in the $1 Super Hi-5 of $2,981.56.
