Among Four Stakes Worth $475,000 Topped by BWI Turf Cup (G3)
Jockey Karamanos Doubles Friday as Pimlico Opens Fall Meet

LAUREL, MD – Cash is King and LC Racing’s consistent Peyton Elizabeth, placed in 13 of 17 career starts, will make the jump up into stakes company for the first time in Saturday’s $75,000 Shine Again at historic Pimlico Race Course.

The Shine Again for fillies and mares 3 and older that have not won an open sweepstakes and $100,000 Lite the Fuse for 3-year-olds and up, both sprinting six furlongs, are among four stakes worth $475,000 in purses on a 10-race program headlined by the $200,000 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3).

Also scheduled for the turf is the $100,000 Alma North for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/8 miles. First race post time is 12:40 p.m.

In addition to her stakes debut, 4-year-old Peyton Elizabeth will be racing for the first time since being claimed for $35,000 by Cash is King’s Chuck Zacney after finishing third as the favorite in a seven-furlong sprint March 29 at Parx.

Zacney was part of the original ownership group that campaigned Peyton Elizabeth, a $155,000 yearling in 2019, for her first 10 races before being taken for a $25,000 tag last September, subsequently winning four of seven starts for trainer and co-owner Jamie Ness. Overall she owns six wins, five seconds and two thirds with $186,290 in purse earnings.

“Chuck had lost her to claim a little while back and she appeared to have some good form so he decided to reach in and take her,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “The day he took her it looked like she just needed a little reboot so he gave her a little time off and then sent her our way. She’s done really well since. She’s worked forwardly. She’s an old, classy-type filly.

“We were going to try to run her in a two-other-than, but those races sometimes are hard to get to go,” she added. “The goal with this filly anyway is for her to step up in a sense, so this is where we ended up.”

Russell maintains summer strings at Laurel Park and Pimlico in Maryland as well as Delaware Park, where Peyton Elizabeth has been working steadily since late July. She is a stablemate of Hybrid Eclipse, winner of the July 2 Caesar’s Wish at Laurel who defeated Peyton Elizabeth in a June 2021 optional claiming allowance at Parx when she was trained by Robert E. ‘Butch’ Reid Jr.

“She’s worked well. She’s never put in a bad work in the morning. She does her job every day. She’s one of those real honest types, a big pretty filly,” Russell said. “You might think maybe she needs one more [work] in the morning but the way she has worked in the morning, she’s also showing signs of being ready to go.”

Peyton Elizabeth drew the rail in a field of 10 under Russell’s husband, champion jockey Sheldon Russell, at co-topweight of 122 pounds.

Also coming off a layoff in the Shine Again is Eric Rizer’s Virginia homebred Sparkle Sprinkle, unraced since finishing sixth behind multiple stakes winner Luna Belle in the Jan. 29 Xtra Heat at Laurel. The Holy Boss filly, trained by John ‘Jerry’ Robb, won each of her first two starts and was third by a length in the Maryland Million Lassie last fall.

Baxter Racing Stable’s Swayin to and Fro had a five-race win streak snapped when fifth last out to Sparkle Sprinkle’s stablemate, Fille d’Esprit, in the seven-furlong Seeking the Pearl Aug. 14 at Colonial Downs. The streak began with an 8 ¼-length maiden claiming triumph last May at Pimlico, out of which she was claimed for $16,000 by trainer Mario Serey Jr. for Baxter.

Steve and Debbie Jackson’s homebred Deco Strong exits a half-length victory in the restricted Penn Ladies Dash sprinting six furlongs Aug. 19 at her home track of Penn National. It was her second win in three starts following a 6 ½-furlong optional claiming triumph in April at Charles Town.

Louis Ulman and Stephen Parker’s Whiteknuckleflyer returns to the dirt after finishing fourth by less than a length in the July 30 Jameela sprinting five furlongs on the Laurel turf. The 3-year-old Maryland-bred filly, second in the 2021 Small Wonder at Delaware, has won each of her last two tries on the main track in off-the-turf allowances this summer at Laurel.

Chris Nolan’s Alberta Sun is an Arizona-bred daughter of Ministers Wild Cat that has been claimed six times since last October, twice by trainer Mike Maker. The 4-year-old filly, now trained by Eclipse Award winner Dale Romans, owns eight career wins and was second in the 2021 Manitoba Oaks at Assiniboia Downs as well as her most recent start, a 5 ½-furlong optional claimer Aug. 3 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Canoodle, exiting an off-the-turf allowance win Aug. 12 at Laurel; Mattitude, fifth by 1 ¼ lengths in the Jameela; Oxana, third in the July 2 Regret at Monmouth and Aug. 22 Dr. Teresa Garofalo Memorial at Parx; and No More Mask are also entered.

Notes: Jockey Horacio Karamanos rode back-to-back winners Friday on Pimlico’s fall meet opening day program, Heads Or Tails ($4.20) in Race 2 and Lifelovenlaughter ($11.20) in Race 3 … The Elkstone Group’s Lifelovenlaughter, a Maryland homebred daughter of Lemon Drop Kid, came from off the pace and held off Sun Bee through the stretch for a one-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies, her second career start. The wining time was 1:44.73 over a turf course rated good.