Laurel Park Summer Meet Resumes with Live Nine-Race Card Friday
Nominations Close Saturday for $75,000 Timonium Distaff Aug. 26

LAUREL, MD – When it comes to Sunday’s $100,000 Searching for 3-year-old fillies at Laurel Park, trainer Lindsay Schultz is taking no chances as she seeks the first open stakes victory of her young career.

The 34-year-old Connecticut native, with a summer string at Monmouth Park, entered both Cecile and Yesternight in the 1 1/16-mile event scheduled for the Dahlia turf course, the latter one of two in a field of 11 for main track only.

A graduate of Godolphin’s Flying Start program who worked for trainers Tom Proctor and Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey before going out on her own in November 2021, Schultz saddled Alex Joon to victory in the July 15 Edward P. Evans for Virginia-bred/sired horses at Colonial Downs. She has placed in four other stakes, including a second in the July 22 Monmouth Cup (G2) with Whelen Springs.

Choctaw Racing Stable’s Cecile is from the first crop of Grade 1 winner Mendelssohn and is named for the wife of 19th century German composer Felix Mendelssohn. She began her career last fall and raced twice on dirt before being moved to the grass in the spring, graduating in a one-mile maiden special weight May 13 at Churchill Downs in her turf debut.

She has raced twice since, both at one mile, running fourth by three lengths in the June 24 Wild Applause at Belmont Park and beaten 2 ¾ lengths as the favorite facing her elders in a July 22 allowance at Monmouth. The Searching will be Cecile’s first try around two turns.

“We had to run her against older last time but she ran well. She’s learning how to run,” Schultz said. “We’ve always thought she had talent. She’s always worked really good in the mornings. She’s had some little setbacks here and there but nothing major.

“We got to run her at Oaklawn and got her back up to Kentucky and got her tuned up and ready, and then we got her on the grass,” she added. “We always had that in our head, but she works really good on the dirt so we weren’t opposed to running her on it. We were really happy when she ran so well at Churchill. We’ve always liked her, so we’re trying to get her some black type.”

Cecile drew Post 3 and will be ridden by Forest Boyce, who is also named on her stablemate. Among the competition are Irish Group 3 winner Speirling Beag, one of three from trainer Graham Motion; Mike Trombetta-trained stablemates Livelovenlaughter and Naval Empire; and Irish-bred Bolivie, making her third North American start for trainer Brendan Walsh.

“I feel like our filly’s doing really well,” Schultz said. “Obviously, Mike Trombetta has a couple of nice horses. I think Brendan Walsh’s horse looks like it’s pretty good. There’s quite a few nice fillies in there, but I think [Cecile] definitely fits and I think that we have a good chance.”

Ten Strike Racing’s Yesternight has made three starts, all sprinting six furlongs on the dirt. She broke her maiden in debut April 23 at Oaklawn Park and exits an 8 ½-length open allowance romp July 14 at Monmouth.

“We really like her,” Schultz said. “We bought her as a yearling. She was the first horse in my stable when I decided to go out on my own. She’s a very forward filly and she’s run really well for us so far. It’s kind of time to try stakes company. She looks like she’ll run two turns, so we’re just trying to look for the right spot.”

The 13th running of the Searching is Race 6 on a nine-race program that includes the $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby for 3-year-olds scheduled for 1 3/16 miles on the All Along turf course in Race 8. First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Laurel Park Summer Meet Resumes with Live Nine-Race Card Friday

The penultimate weekend of Laurel Park’s summer meet kicks off Friday featuring two maiden special weight events for 2-year-old fillies and a pair of open allowances, one each sprinting on the turf and dirt, to highlight a nine-race program.

First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Friday’s opener will have six juvenile fillies going seven furlongs led by 6-5 program favorite Emm Ess Eh, bred and owned by The Elkstone Group and trained by Brittany Russell. The chestnut daughter of Grade 1 winner Mendelssohn adds blinkers after running second in a five-furlong maiden claimer June 14 at Laurel. Trainer John Robb counters with the pair of Viennese Waltz, third in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight July 22 in her only prior start, and Buckin’ Lucky, third in each of her three races.

The other maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies comes in Race 6, scheduled for 5 ½ furlongs on the All Along turf course. Narrowly favored at 2-1 on the morning line is Wertheimer and Frere’s homebred Talonnade, a first-time starter by Tapit trained by Graham Motion. Also set to debut is Testament, a Constitution filly bred and owned by Twin Creeks Farm. A third homebred, Respect the Valleys’ Tina Tina Tina, will attempt to break through after respectively running third and second in maiden special weights at historic Pimlico Race Course and Delaware Park.

Race 7 is an open entry-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up scheduled for 5 ½ furlongs on the Dahlia turf course that attracted a field of 10 including Spitball, entered for main track only. Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1)-winning trainer John Servis, two shy of 2,000 career victories, will send out Destin’s Mission. The 3-year-old Destin gelding has faced elders in each of his last four starts, beating them in a 5 ½-furlong dash June 18 at Monmouth Park in his grass debut.

Seven 3-year-olds and up were entered in Race 8, an open entry-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs. Among the group are Sea Trident, an eight-time career winner trained by Claudio Gonzalez; Cajun Dream, a two-time winner at Pimlico this spring; Frightland, third or better in nine of 13 starts including five seconds; 5-year-old Dixie’s Two Stents, who faced Grade 1 company in back-to-back starts at 2; and My Last Mission, a winner of two straight racing first off the claim for trainer Damon Dilodovico.

There will be a carryover of $752.10 in the $1 Jackpot Super High Five (Race 6).

Nominations Close Saturday for $75,000 Timonium Distaff Aug. 26

Nominations close Saturday, Aug. 12 for the $75,000 Timonium Distaff to be contested Saturday, Aug. 26 during the Maryland State Fairgrounds meet.

The Timonium Distaff for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting about 6 ½ furlongs includes an additional $25,000 for Maryland-bred/sired horses.

Also on the stakes schedule is the $100,000 Timonium Juvenile for 2-year-olds going about 6 ½ furlongs Saturday, Sept. 2. Timonium Juvenile nominations close Saturday, Aug. 19.

The Maryland State Fair meet at Timonium is scheduled to run seven days between Aug. 25 and Labor Day, Sept. 4.

Nominations can be made through stakes coordinator Eleanor Albert at Eleanor.Albert@marylandracing.com or by calling Laurel Park’s racing office at 800-638-1859.