Tony Eclipse "Bids" For Second Consecutive Stakes Victory

Tony Eclipse "Bids" For Second Consecutive Stakes Victory

My Charm heads Xtra Heat for 3-year-old fillies
Full fields for Saturday's 10-race program
Low 12% Takeout on "Value Pick 5" wagers

LAUREL, MD – Maryland-bred Tony Eclipse seeks his second straight stakes score at Laurel Park in Saturday's $100,000 Spectacular Bid for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs.

Owned by The Elkstone Group and trained by Brittany Russell, Tony Eclipse made his first four starts in one-mile events before being turned back to seven-eighths for last month's restricted Maryland Juvenile Stakes, a race he won by 3 ¾ lengths as the betting favorite.

"Early on, when we had him, I thought he was going to be like a gallop-y, two-turn horse," Russell said. "He has this newfound speed. I think he's training better and maybe improving. At this stage, I'm not sure how far he wants to go, but he sure seems effective where we are with him."

John Hazard's Sacred Thunder is also a stakes-winner, having grabbed the open James F. Lewis III traveling six furlongs at Laurel on Nov. 9. Subsequently fourth in the restricted Maryland Juvenile and second in the open Heft, the Maryland-bred is conditioned by Gary Capuano, who wasn't overly enthused about his colt's inside post position.

"It's not the place I wanted, that's for sure," Capuano said about the rail draw. "I've been trying to stretch this horse out, but there's no race for him. I can't wait to get him to go two turns again. I was half-debating on whether or not to even run in this race. Ideally, it would have been nice to get that outside draw. He's ready to go. He shows up every time. He's pretty honest."

Capuano was pleased with Sacred Thunder's performance in the Heft when he finished 4 ¼ lengths behind the promising One Man Team.

"He didn't get the perfect trip, but he dug in and ran a good race," Capuano said. "A better horse beat him, I think."

Crab Daddy, second at 45-1 odds in his debut here on Nov. 9, graduated 18 days later in the restricted Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes at Parx.

"I thought he was pretty nice," said trainer Linda Albert. "I wasn't really thinking stakes, but when he ran so well in the first race, the owner pointed out the Pennsylvania-bred races, and I thought that was a really good opportunity for him."

Crab Daddy concluded his juvenile campaign with a runner-up effort in the open Future Stars Stakes over sloppy Parx going on Dec. 30.

"He finishes strong every time," Albert remarked. "The track was terrible that day. I don't know if he was floundering about a little bit early, but once he turned for home, he made a big run at it. The winner saved all the ground, so I thought we ran really well."

Owned by Brian Schartz, Crab Daddy will wear blinkers for the first time on Saturday.

"It's mostly trying to get him to focus," Albert explained. "[Jockey Ismerio Villalobos] thought that was one of the problems last time out. He could have probably been paying more attention early."

Trainer Rick Dutrow won last year's Spectacular Bid with New York raider Guanare, and he'll attempt a repeat with Belmont-based Scheduling Dude.

Owned by Michael Dubb and Michael Caruso, Scheduling Dude wired the field by 4 ¼ lengths in his most recent start, a first-level allowance for New York-breds at six furlongs.

"We were very impressed with his last race," Dutrow said. "We tried to put him in an open [first-level] allowance in New York. It didn't go. Luckily, this race went. I like it for him because I don't really see a whole lot of speed plus we have the outside post which is going to help him out so much. I'm very happy with this horse and this spot going in."

Barbadian Runner enters the Spectacular Bid following a pair of stakes placings. Owned by AJ Will Win Stables and trained by Henry Walters, Barbadian Runner finished four lengths behind Tony Eclipse when third in the Maryland Juvenile, then was only a neck behind Sacred Thunder when third in the Heft.

Brereton's Baytown returned from a summer layoff to win a maiden special weight at Charles Town on Dec. 11. The Upstart gelding was cross-entered there on Wednesday, but freezing temperatures forced that card's cancellation.

"I did the stake as a backup," admitted trainer Paul McEntee. "He had some issues last year. We gelded him and gave him some time off. I took him up to Charles Town to give him a confidence boost. He's every bit of 17 hands, so it took about half the race for him to work out what was going on. By the time he worked it out, he had won it quite easily. To be honest, he'll be better once he stretches out further."

Richard Malouf's Right Wing Runner won his first two starts at Parx before finishing seventh in the Future Stars for trainer Scott Lake. Hawkstone prevailed in two of his last three outings, including a first-level allowance at Penn National on Dec. 27 for Nick Sanna Stables and trainer Cal Lynch. Maiden winner Dats Mr. Tap completes the field.

*Xtra Heat Stakes

My Charm, never off the board from five starts, heads a competitive edition of the $100,000 Xtra Heat Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs.

Trained by Russell for Glassman Racing, the Bernardini filly finished second in the off-turf Selima Stakes on Sept. 28, captured a first-level allowance on Halloween, then rallied for second behind odds-on favorite Caprice in the Gin Talking Stakes at seven furlongs on Dec. 28.

"She's not a real big filly, and she tries," Russell said. "Her running style indicates that she wants to go a little farther, but she isn't real big so I don't know how far she actually will be able to go. This is a bit of a cutback off of what she's been doing, so I know she'll be outrun early. Maybe she makes a run at them, and I think she can get a piece of it."

Capuano entered both Onyx Ten and Atlantis Queen.

The former, owned by Frank Sample, raced eight times last year and placed in three stakes, including a third-place finish in the Maryland Juvenile Filly Stakes. Capuano stretched Onyx Ten out around two turns for her final start last year, and the Maryland-bred responded with a second-place finish in an open first-level allowance.

"I was really anxious to get her to go the two turns," Capuano admitted. "It looked like it was a good spot. She did get a little rank. It looked like she just hung there the last eighth of a mile because, turning for home, she looked like she was going to go right on and win the race. It was a good effort, but I thought it would be a little better. I entered her back in the allowance race. It didn't fill. This race, we had as a backup. She fits in there fine."

Pocket 3s Racing's Atlantis Queen finished fourth in the Gin Talking after contesting a fast pace.

"She broke well enough, and she hooked up in a pretty decent pace there," Capuano said. "She actually ran a pretty good race. I was pretty happy with it."

Atlantis Queen adds blinkers for the Xtra Heat.

"We're trying to get her to focus a bit more," Capuano said. "I think that will help her. She's moving forward and training well, too."

Shkhara Fire wheels back on eight days rest after rallying for second in a first-level allowance at 5 ½ furlongs. A homebred daughter of Friesan Fire owned by Barak Farm and Dino's Thoroughbreds, Shkhara Fire captured last year's Maryland Million Lassie over this course and distance for trainer Jose Corrales.

Not Too Late competes in her fourth straight stakes race. She finished third in Delaware's White Clay County at one mile on Oct. 9, placed fourth in Laurel's Smart Halo the following month, and was third in the Gin Talking after pushing that fast pace. Uriah St Lewis trains for his Trin-Brook Stables.

Another filly that would return on short rest is Wisconsin Gal, who finished fifth of seven last Saturday against males in Oaklawn's Renaissance Stakes.

Wisconsin Gal has run nine times for owner Trawitzki Thoroughbreds.

"She's tough," McEntee said. "She ran three times in 22 days [last year] and [hit the board in all]. She thrives [on racing]. She's not your normal filly. She ran in a stake at Turfway on Jan. 1. That was her first start on Tapeta, and she got bumped and squeezed a little bit. She can run on the surface but is definitely a better dirt filly. I took a chance [in the Renaissance]. It was a very tough race. She got squeezed a few times, but she ran solid. She got beat 2 ¾ lengths by a very good group of boys."

On Friday afternoon, McEntee will make a final decision regarding Wisconsin Gal's participation in the Xtra Heat.

"The race she had on Saturday, her legs were cold and tight [the next morning]," McEntee said. "She was bucking and kicking in the stall. I think she looks very tough in that spot."

Recent maiden winners Luminous Secret and Chickin Lickin also entered.

*Around the track

Saturday’s 10-race program attracted a robust 97 entries. The first post time is 12:25 p.m. ET, with a low 12% takeout rate on both “Value Pick 5” wagers.

The early “Value Pick 5” is available on the first five races with a mandatory payout, while the late “Value Pick 5” highlights the final five races. The late “Value Pick 5” has carryover potential. Both “Value Pick 5” bets offer a 50-cent minimum wager.