Record-Setting English Minister Pointing Toward Aug. 17 Find Stakes
Live Racing Returns Thursday with $20,746 Rainbow 6 Carryover
Beat the Heat Handicapping Tournament Entering Third Week

LAUREL, MD – D J Stable and Cash is King’s 2-year-old Super John, from the same connections that campaigned 2018 juvenile filly champion Jaywalk, is set to make his second career start and first on the grass when live racing returns to Laurel Park Thursday, Aug. 8.

By 2010 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Super Saver out of the Awesome Again mare Atlantic Park, Super John – not named for his Derby-winning trainer John Servis – drew outside Post 7 in the $40,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds going one mile over the Kelso turf course layout.

“He’s dying to go farther,” Servis said. “He’s not bred for the grass. I don’t know if he’ll grass, but unfortunately at this time of the year if you want to stretch out you have to go grass with the 2-year-olds. In a perfect world it rains and comes off the grass, but we’ll see. The distance certainly helps him, I just don’t know if the grass will help him or not.”

Purchased for $180,000 at Ocala’s March 2-year-olds in training sale, Super John debuted July 15 going 4 ½ furlongs over his home course at Parx, where he showed some late energy to close on the outside for fourth in a field of 10. He will run with Lasix for the first time and have Parx’s top money-winning jockey Frankie Pennington aboard.

“He ran good. He’s certainly not a 4 ½-furlong horse. With all the 2-year-olds we have, you’ve got to split them up and run them somewhere. That was his spot to get started,” Servis said. “At this stage of the game, we’ve got a lot of 2-year-olds, he’s sitting on go ready to run, and I know he wants to go farther. Hopefully he likes the grass. He got a decent post. We’re anxious to see him run.”

Super John is the 8-5 program favorite. Also in the field, carded second on an eight-race program that begins at 1:10 p.m., is 9-5 second choice Percentage, trained by New York-based Christophe Clement. The son of The Factor stretches out from finishing off the board in a six-furlong maiden special weight on the Belmont Park turf July 6.

Servis said Cash is King’s Mischevious Alex, a debut winner at Parx that was beaten a neck when second following an eventful trip in a July 27 optional claiming allowance at Laurel, was doing well out of the race with no definitive comeback spot in mind.

Mischevious Alex, an Into Mischief colt that fetched $140,000 as a 2-year-old in training in April, was made the 3-5 betting choice off an impressive debut victory June 25 and a pair of strong works at Monmouth Park. He broke running and quickly opened a two-length advantage a few strides out of the gate, but was suddenly checked along the rail by jockey Jorge Vargas Jr. and dropped back to fourth. Vargas was able to get Mischevious Alex back in stride and they came with a desperate late surge down the center of the stretch but fell short of Gifted Heart. The result stood after a general stewards’ inquiry.

“He came out of it great. You never think he would have gotten in that much trouble the way he broke,” Servis said. “I’m not sure where his next spot’s going to be. We’re going to take baby steps with him. He’s not real big, so I’m not in any hurry to throw him to the wolves or anything like that. He’s a nice colt. The Into Mischiefs, not too many of them aren’t.”

Servis said Jaywalk will be pointing to the Monmouth Oaks (G3) Aug. 17 following her victory in the Delaware Oaks (G3) July 6. It was the first win this year for the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and Frizette (G1) winner after losses in the Davona Dale (G2), Ashland (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1), the latter where she finished sixth but was disqualified to last for interference.

“Everybody was tickled to death. It was a big race out of her and it’s nice to see her getting back on track. We got her home and backed off of her some and gave her a little bit of time. I think it was a couple months since she had run going into the Delaware race. We went back to our training schedule from last year when we started doing a lot more faster gallops and a lot less works and she seemed to respond to it. I think she’s going to run back in the Monmouth Oaks.”

Record-Setting English Minister Pointing Toward Aug. 17 Find Stakes

Fitzhugh LLC’s 9-year-old Maryland homebred English Minister, who set a Laurel Park turf course record beating Grade 1 winner Force the Pass Aug. 4 for his third straight win, may get the chance to extend his streak against stakes company.

Trainer Mike Trombetta said he is considering the $75,000 Find Stakes for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on Laurel’s world-class turf course Saturday, Aug. 17 for English Minister. The Find is one of four stakes worth $300,000 in purses for Maryland-bred/sired horses on the Maryland Pride Day program.

“If he trains well enough, and if he comes out of [the last race] in good enough order, it would be the Find,” Trombetta said. “We’re going to take a look at it and see if he’s up to it.”

English Minister, a seven-time winner from 53 career starts, the last 39 of them with Trombetta, has never won a stakes. He was second in the 2016 Find and 2017 Mister Diz, third in the 2018 Ben’s Cat and fourth in the 2017 Find and 2013 James W. Murphy.

His current streak, which includes back-to-back wins over the synthetic surface at Presque Isle Downs, is the longest of his career for English Minister, a chestnut son of turf champion English Channel that has earned $505,942 in lifetime purses.

In his last start, English Minister rated behind graded-stakes winners Archaggelos and Force the Pass, began moving on the far turn, engaged Force the Pass in mid-stretch and pulled away for a 2 ¼-length triumph in 1:40.41 for 1 1/16 miles on the Bowl Game turf course. The previous mark of 1:40.47 was set by 7-year-old Heiko July 24, 2016.

“It’s nice for him to win at home, because there’s incentives for the breeder, so it’s nice to see him get a chance to win there,” Trombetta said. “He’s been a good keeper. He’s a nice horse.

“Right now, he’s pretty good,” he added. “He’s run some good races for us. Actually, the first year I got him we brought him up to Saratoga and he did well. He went a while without winning, but he seems to have gotten back on track now.”

Trombetta said that Live Oak Plantation’s homebred Win Win Win, a stakes winner on dirt and turf this year and veteran of the Triple Crown series, is getting some down time in Florida and the connections are looking ahead to his 4-year-old campaign.

Win Win Win made his first three career starts at Laurel, breaking his maiden and taking an optional claiming allowance before finishing second behind Alwaysmining in the 2018 Heft Stakes. He set Tampa Bay Downs seven-furlong course record winning the Pasco Stakes Jan. 19, was third in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and second in the Blue Grass (G2) before running ninth in the Kentucky Derby and seventh in the Preakness (G1).

Following a short break, Win Win Win rallied from last of eight for a half-length triumph in the one-mile Manila Stakes July 4 at Belmont Park, his turf debut.

“He’s taking a rest right now,” Trombetta said. “He’s back in Ocala and he’s getting some months off in the summer. He’s seen a lot, so it was time. I think getting ready for next year’s season is what’s going to happen.”

Live Racing Returns Thursday with $20,746 Rainbow 6 Carryover

There will be a carryover jackpot of $20,746.48 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 when live racing returns to Laurel Park with an eight-race program Thursday, Aug. 8.

First-race post time is 1:10 p.m.

The Rainbow 6 will cover Races 3-8 and includes four races scheduled for Laurel’s world-class turf course, which attracted a total of 44 entries, an average of 11 starters per race.

A carryover of $1,879.44 in the $1 Super Hi-5 will be available for Thursday’s opener, a six-furlong optional claimer for 3-year-olds and up carded for six furlongs on the Fort Marcy turf course.

With eight racing days remaining in the 43-day summer meet, Trevor McCarthy holds a four-win advantage over five-pound apprentice Julio Corrrea, 26-22, in the race for leading jockey. McCarthy has won four consecutive riding titles in Maryland – Laurel’s fall 2018, winter 2019 and spring 2019 stands and Pimlico’s 2019 Preakness Meet.

Claudio Gonzalez leads all trainers with 21 wins, 10 more than runners-up Kieron Magee and Cal Lynch. Maryland’s overall leading trainer in 2017 and 2018, Gonzalez had won six straight meet titles at Laurel before finishing second to Mike Trombetta at the 2019 spring stand.

Beat the Heat Handicapping Tournament Entering Third Week

The third installment of the Maryland Jockey Club’s weekly Beat the Heat handicapping tournament continues Saturday, Aug. 10 at Laurel Park.

Beat the Heat’s four-week format concludes on the final Saturday of Laurel’s 43-day summer meet, Aug. 17, Maryland Pride Day featuring four stakes for Maryland-bred/sired horses worth $300,000 in purses.

Cost per entry is $10 with a maximum of two entries per person each week, with 100 percent of the entry fee going to the prize pool. All participants must be members of the MJC Player Rewards Program.

In the tournament format, participants make $2 mythical win-place wagers on the final five live races at Laurel Park and two designated races from Saratoga. The MJC will seed $500 of prize money in the pool each week.

Weekly prize distribution will award 65 percent of the pool to the first-place finisher, with 25 percent going to second and 10 percent to third. Glenn Gulden ($46.60) led the way in Week 2, good for 63,700 points, followed by Anthony Campanella ($43.80, 24,500) and Danny Fendlay ($41.60, 9,800).

Entry forms are available at Guest Services at Laurel. Completed forms and payment must be submitted prior to post time of the first contest race. Entries must be paid with cash or player reward points.

For more information on Beat the Heat, click here: Click here for Beat the Heat information