LAUREL, MD. 12-26-14—Copper Penny Stables’ Spotted Heart was relentless in pursuit, swinging wide, overcoming traffic and charging home to victory in the $125,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, the feature offering on this sunny afternoon at Laurel Park.

 

Sheldon Russell was at the controls as the Mark Shuman trainee was winning her first stakes. The daughter of Lion Hearted broke alertly, raced near the pacesetters down the backstretch, moved extremely wide into the stretch and overcame some mild bumping before straightening away for the run to the wire. She crossed the finish line in 1:25.63 for the seven furlong distance and won by 1-1/4 lengths over program favorite Miss Bullistic. Everything Lovely finished third.

 

Spotted Heart came into the Filly Championship off her maiden victory, her only win in five starts, and she was passed over by the betting public, who allowed her to go off at odds of 23-1. She paid $49.40.

 

“We were in great position, then we went from great position to a little tight,” said Russell.  “Mark told me to try to get her in the clear at the top of the stretch. For a while it didn’t look as if I would be able to as several of the horses were getting tired and drifting out. There were horses that were faster than her, so we really needed good position to win it.”

 

“I thought we were in the perfect position and it went from good to horrible,” said Shuman. “At that point, with all the traffic, I was just hoping we could get up for third. Once Sheldon got her clear, she really kicked in and he got her there. We had been concerned because she has been growing so fast. We’ll just see how she comes out of this race, freshen her, or maybe not.”

 

 

About Laurel Park

Laurel Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and is one of North America's top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world's largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a major producer of televised horse racing programming through its HRTV cable and satellite network and is North America's premier supplier of virtual online horse racing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.