Maiden Winner Ilchester Cheetah Springs Upset in Thursday Opener
Rainbow 6 Carryover Reaches $36,262 for Saturday Program
Links: Stronach 5 All Star Ticket, Free PPs

LAUREL, MD – Hillwood Stable’s Shimmering Aspen will face five-time stakes winner Anna’s Bandit and 2018 Miss Disco winner Majestic Reason in a stakes-quality spot that serves as Friday’s feature event at Laurel Park.

A 5-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon trained by Laurel-based Rodney Jenkins, Shimmering Aspen drew the rail in a field of six with regular rider Victor Carrasco aboard at 122 pounds, three fewer than Majestic Reason and Trace of Grace, who has placed in six stakes since winning the 2016 Plum Pretty at Parx.

Jenkins is hoping to use Friday’s race – a $55,000 open allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up going seven furlongs – as a springboard to defend Shimmering Aspen’s title in the Tax Free Shopping Distaff Stakes, a six-furlong spring for females 3 and up Sept. 28 at Delaware Park.

Shimmering Aspen won the stakes at Delaware last year after a victory in the Timonium Distaff that followed a third in optional claimer last July at Laurel in her seasonal debut. She ended 2018 running fourth in the Willa On the Move and opened 2019 with a pair of dull stakes efforts, including the Barbara Fritchie (G3) prior to an optional claiming win May 8 at Delaware.

“I have the race at Delaware picked out for her. I’d like to give her a race to see if she’s back on her game, trying again,” Jenkins said. “The last race she really tried … but I just want to make sure. She went a couple races there where she wasn’t really trying, but she did the last time so I’m looking to run her [Friday] and see how she comes out of that and then try again at Delaware.”

In her most recent start, Shimmering Aspen finished second, beaten 1 ½ lengths in the July 14 Twixt Stakes at Laurel by Late Night Pow Wow, a multiple Grade 3 winner of 12 of 14 career starts and nearly $700,000 in purses.

Shimmering Aspen also owns stakes wins in the 2017 Twixt and Alma North, both at Laurel, where she has earned five of her eight career victories from 18 starts.

“She looked more like herself the last time. She just couldn’t outrun that filly. That filly is awesome that beat her, so I wasn’t upset,” Jenkins said. “I knew she had improved and she was back trying, so that’s why I ended up where I’m at.”

At the opposite end of the starting gate will be No Guts No Glory Farm’s Anna’s Bandit, a 5-year-old Great Notion mare whose most recent of 10 wins came in the Conniver Stakes at Laurel and Original Gold Stakes at Charles Town this spring. She ran fourth in her last two outings, the Skipat at Pimlico Race Course and Jameela on Laurel’s world-class turf course July 14.

Hillwood’s Ellen Charles will also be represented in the race by Majestic Reason, a 4-year-old filly she co-bred and co-owns with Richard Golden’s Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds. Trained by Graham Motion, Majestic Reason returned from a six-month gap between races to post back-to-back wins in her only starts this year, an entry-level allowance May 17 at Pimlico and an optional claimer July 26 at Laurel, both going six furlongs.

“I was really proud of her the other day. I thought it was a big effort,” Motion said. “This filly has not done much wrong. She’s a pretty nice filly and I think she’s capable of running in open company. That’s going to be where the decision is going to have to be made.”

Maiden Winner Ilchester Cheetah Springs Upset in Thursday Opener

Designated Hitter Racing’s Ilchester Cheetah hit one out of the park in her race debut, opening up a comfortable lead and holding off a late run from Bernadette the Jet to capture Thursday’s opener at Laurel Park.

Ridden by Feargal Lynch for trainer Jeremiah O’Dwyer, Ilchester Cheetah ($28.80) ran six furlongs over a fast main track in 1:12.02 to edge Bernadette the Jet, a daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah making her second start, by a neck in the $40,000 maiden special weight for juvenile fillies.

“I liked the filly a lot. I know her works are never stellar, but mine never are, really. The odd one might get the bullet, but very rarely,” O’Dwyer said. “She’ll improve from that a lot. As you can see, she was pretty tired there at the finish.”

Ilchester Cheetah was hustled to the lead from her far outside post by Lynch, opening up on the field by five lengths through fractions of 22.98, 46.74 and 58.97 seconds, before being set down for the drive home. Bernadette the Jet and jockey Wes Hamilton got shuffled back at the half-mile pole but came with a bid three wide that wound up just short. It was another 4 ½ lengths back to favorite Wonder City in third.

“She always showed a lot of early speed and a lot of natural talent,” O’Dwyer said. “Feargal did a great job with her, letting her get out and get into a nice stride and roll away of her own accord. She’s always been a very nice filly.”

Purchased for $20,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale in May at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Ilchester Cheetah is a chestnut daughter of millionaire Itsmyluckyday, winner of the 2014 Woodward (G1) and second in the 2013 Preakness Stakes (G1).

In Thursday’s other maiden special weight, a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for 2-year-olds, Joseph Besecker’s Golden Gary ($4), making his third start and first fitted with blinkers, took a four-length lead into the stretch and extended it to five at the wire, finishing in 1:02.37 over a firm All Along course layout for trainer Jamie Ness and jockey Trevor McCarthy.

Rainbow 6 Carryover Reaches $36,262 for Friday Program

No one solved the 20-cent Rainbow 6 Thursday at Laurel Park, resulting in a carryover jackpot of $36,262.70 for Friday’s 10-race card.

Two horses, long shots Native Flora (12-1) and Hyperlapse (22-1), were live to take down the jackpot heading into Thursday’s finale, won by Makes Mo Cents ($8.60). Multiple tickets with all six winners each returned $1,135.26.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out only 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 5-10. First race post time is 1:10 p.m.

There will also be a carryover of $2,959.07 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for Friday’s opener.

Links: Stronach 5 All Star Ticket, Free PPs

Friday’s Stronach 5 will offer a $100,000 pool guarantee and an industry-low 12 percent takeout and mandatory payout on races from Laurel Park, Golden Gate Fields and Gulfstream Park.

All five races in the sequence will be contested on the grass, starting with Races 8 and 9 over Laurel’s world-class turf course. The action moves to Gulfstream for Race 8, followed by Race 4 from Golden Gate, and closes with Race 10 from Gulfstream.

All Star Ticket: Click here to view

Free Past Performances: Click here to view

The minimum bet for the Stronach 5 is $1 through Laurel Park’s mutuel pool.

Following the Sunday, Aug. 18 program which marks the end of its summer meet, Laurel embarks on its annual two-week summer break. The Stronach 5 will return on Friday, Sept. 6, opening day of Laurel’s calendar year-ending fall meet.

Notes: Jockey Jevian Toledo rode back-to-back winners Thursday with Instinctive ($10) in Race 4 and Landing Zone ($3.40) in Race 5 and completed his hat trick aboard Makes Mo Cents ($8.60) in Race 9.