Sharing Looks to Maintain Family Tradition in $200,000 Selima
Among Eight Stakes Worth $1.3 Million in Purses Saturday, Sept. 21

LAUREL, MD – Rick Kanter’s Doc Boy, already a stakes winner at the distance and unbeaten in two tries on the surface, takes aim at his third consecutive victory in the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Laurel Futurity Saturday at Laurel Park.

The 93rd running of the Futurity for 2-year-olds, and the 90th renewal of the Selima for 2-year-old fillies, both at 1 1/16 miles over Laurel’s world-class turf course, are among eight stakes worth $1.3 million in Round 1 of the September to Remember Stakes Festival.

Serving to co-headline Saturday’s 12-race program are the $250,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) and $200,000 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3). Laurel will open its doors at 11 a.m., with a special 12:25 p.m. first post.

Doc Boy, by Into Mischief out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Peggy May, has carried expectations with him after being sold for $325,000 as a yearling last fall. His unveiling came in June in a five-furlong sprint at Belmont Park that was rained onto a sloppy main track, where he finished fourth.

Trainer Mike Stidham put him back on the grass for a one-mile maiden special weight July 19 at Laurel Park, where he found himself up close to a slow pace before taking over the lead and drawing away to a five-length victory under jockey Feargal Lynch.

“When he broke his maiden there was just no pace at all and Feargal decided to go ahead and take the lead early because he didn’t want to get boxed in or in a spot where he couldn’t win,” Stidham said. “I think the horse is pretty adaptable.”

Doc Boy stepped up and stretched out for the 1 1/16-mile Kitten’s Joy Stakes Aug. 31 at Colonial Downs, also with Lynch aboard, forging a short advantage at the top of the stretch and emerging with a three-quarter-length triumph over Cadet Connolly, who came back to break his maiden Sept. 8 and run second in the Summer (G1) Sept. 15 at Woodbine.

“We’ve liked him quite a bit,” Stidham said. “I thought he was a little bit green at Colonial under the lights. He made the lead and he kind of looked like he was waiting a little bit, so I think there’s more there to him. He’s a big, strong colt that I don’t think we’ve seen the best of yet. He’s got some upside to him.”

Stidham also entered James Covello’s Jack the Ripper, a French-bred colt that will wear blinkers and race with Lasix for the first time in his North American debut. Jack the Ripper raced twice overseas, breaking his maiden going 6 ¾ furlongs July 14 at Senonnes.

“I don’t know a whole lot about the horse. He was purchased over there and sent to me,” Stidham said. “We’ve worked him a couple of times and he worked well. He ran at a little-known track over in France when he broke his maiden, so we’re all going to learn a little bit more about him in this race. He’s a good-looking, two-turn-looking type of horse.”

Lynch has the return call on Doc Boy from Post 7 in a field of nine, while Sheldon Russell rides Jack the Ripper from Post 5.

Trainer Graham Motion also entered two in the Futurity, Isabelle Haskell de Tomaso’s homebred Irish Mias and Flaxman Holdings Ltd.’s Torres Del Paine. As the only maiden in the field, Irish Mias will carry 120 pounds, four fewer than each of his rivals.

Irish Mias has run second in his only two starts, both sprinting on the dirt. He was beaten 1 ¼ lengths going five furlongs in an off-the-turf maiden special weight July 24, a race where he was forced to steady at the start. He was bumped at the break Aug. 17, as well, then came with a wide run but wound up 2 ½ lengths behind the winner. Both races came at Saratoga with Rajiv Maragh riding.

“I think I would have probably run him two turns last time on the grass, but Rajiv talked me out of it because he handled the dirt so well when the race came off the time before,” Motion said. “To me this is probably more what he wants to do. He’s from the Irish War Cry family. I know he’s a maiden, but he’s run respectably. It’s a little bit hard to judge off those sprint races, but he’ll be pretty forward being a bit sharp, especially going two turns now.”

Torres Del Paine broke his maiden at first asking going 5 ½ furlongs on the grass June 28 at Laurel, then was sent to face fellow New York-breds in the Rick Violette Stakes July 17 at Saratoga, where he was a distant fifth over a sloppy main track. Back on turf for the Rosie’s Stakes Aug. 31 at Colonial, he rebounded to be third with a rail trip.

“I feel bad for him. I took him up to New York and put him on the dirt and it was just a deluge that day. It rained like crazy. I can’t hold that race against him,” Motion said. “We gelded him after that start, because he can be a little tough in the morning, and he came back and I thought he ran very respectably last time. I was tempted to stretch him out last time but I was just worried that he’d be too fresh. I thought he ran well to be third, and he’s done well since then.”

Manny Franco has the call on Irish Mias from Post 6, while Torres Del Paine drew the rail with Weston Hamilton.

Third in the Kitten’s Joy, beaten 2 ¼ lengths, was The Elkstone Group’s The Quantico Kid, trained by Mike Trombetta. Fifth in his debut sprinting on the dirt July 11 at Laurel, he broke his maiden by a head going a mile Aug. 9 at Colonial, a race where Cadet Connolly ran third.

“He’s got two long races under his belt now and he’s got some seasoning, so we’re going to take a shot,” Trombetta said. “He put in a good effort last time. We were pleased with the way he ran.”

The Quantico Kid adds blinkers and keeps jockey Daniel Centeno, breaking from Post 3.

Completing the field are Field Pass, second by a length in the Aug. 28 With Anticipation (G3) at Saratoga; Benny Havens, Fair Haired Boy and Mischevious Alex.

The Futurity has a rich history dating back to 1921 inaugural winner Morvich, who would go on to win the 1922 Kentucky Derby. The Futurity has also been won by Triple Crown champions Affirmed, Citation and Secretariat along with Barbaro, Spectacular Bid, Tapit, In Reality, Honest Pleasure and Quadrangle.

Sharing Looks to Maintain Family Tradition in $200,000 Selima

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway Stable’s Sharing, a runaway winner of her last start, stretches out and switches back to the turf for Saturday’s $200,000 Selima.

Based with Graham Motion at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., Sharing drew outside Post 7 in the Selima and will be ridden by Manny Franco. All horses will carry 122 pounds.

A $350,000 yearling, Sharing is a chestnut daughter of sprint champion Speighstown out of the Pleasantly Perfect mare Shared Account, a multiple graded-stakes winning millionaire owned by Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Md. and also trained by Motion.

Shared Account’s biggest victory came in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1), to go along with wins in the 2010 All Along (G3) and 2009 Lake Placid (G2). Her first two career wins both came at Laurel.

“I don’t think the distance will be a problem,” Motion said of Shared, yet to race beyond seven furlongs in her only two races. “Her mom won the Breeders’ Cup for me, so I think she’ll handle the stretchout, no problem. She reminds me a lot of her mother. She’s got the same temperament – very kind, easy-going, nice type of filly. Very classy.”

Bred in Maryland by Sagamore, Sharing fetched $350,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s Saratoga yearling sale last August. She made her career bow July 21, rallying to be third by a neck at odds of 10-1 in a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint at Saratoga.

In her most recent start, Sharing rolled by 6 ¼ lengths in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Saratoga that was rained off the grass to the main track. Franco was aboard for both starts.

“Her race came off the grass last time at Saratoga and she ran quite well,” Motion said. “We feel like she handles both surfaces, but she’s probably more on the grassy side and we kind of chose this as the spot to go for. I’m lucky to have her.”

Mt Brilliant Farm’s Love Beach is a bay daughter of Bernardini whose grandsire, Danehill Dancer, also sired Mastercraftsman, a four-time Group 1 winner in Europe. Love Beach has raced once, a half-length maiden special weight triumph Aug. 29 at Colonial Downs going one mile.

“In the race she kind of got shuffled back a little bit early, so she got a good schooling and she made kind of a late surge to get herself the win. I thought the race did her a lot of good from a schooling standpoint. Training since the race, she seems like she’s moving forward so we’re looking for a big effort,” trainer Mike Stidham said. “Mastercraftsman ran two miles. It’s a family full of turf and distance, so the added sixteenth is only going to help her.”

Trevor McCarthy rides Love Beach from Post 4.

Also entered are Rising Bella, Sky Kitten and Rodney Marsh, second, third and fifth, respectively, in the Sept. 1 Sorority Stakes at Monmouth Park; Midship Lady, a neck winner of a 5 ½-furlong maiden turf sprint Sept. 6 at Laurel; and Sunset Promise.

First run in 1926, the Selima is named for the great English race mare who was imported to the U.S. in the 1750s by Benjamin Tasker Jr., manager of the famed Belair Farm in Prince George’s County. The daughter of the Godolphin Arabian, considered ‘Queen of the Turf,’ also gained fame as a broodmare.