Tide of the Sea Classy Winner of $100,000 Japan Turf Cup
Xy Speed Rewards Connections with Win in $100,000 Laurel Dash

LAUREL, MD – Al Shaqab Racing’s Tuned, a 5-year-old daughter of Toronado, has in trainer Graham Motion’s words “turned it around,” running away from stablemate Oyster Box down the stretch to win Saturday’s $100,000 All Along by 3 ¼ lengths for her third consecutive victory. It was another two lengths behind Oyster Box to Sweet Sami D in third.

The 50th running of the 1 1/8-mile All Along for fillies and mares 3 and older was the second of five stakes worth $600,000 in purses over Laurel’s world-class turf course on the Fall Fesitval of Racing program.

Tuned ($3.80), who broke her maiden in her debut in France in 2018, went seven races and 21 months before starting this three-race win streak July 20 in an allowance event at Colonial. The mare came back five weeks later to win the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Old Nelson Stakes. Her victory Saturday was done with relative ease, stalking a :24.62, :49.39 and 1:13.76 pace set by Scatrattleandroll before being guided by jockey Feargal Lynch three-wide entering stretch before pulling away to win in 1:49.43 over the Dahlia turf course.

“We’ve had her for quite a while and I’m so glad to see her turn it around and win some stakes because we always thought she was that caliber,” Motion said. “I think Colonial was a big difference maker. When Feargal rode her down there in the allowance race it kind of helped turn her around. She came back and won again, and Feargal gave her a great ride again today.”

Lynch, who rode Tuned to her fifth victory 14 starts, said, “We broke and settled to the outside where she was comfortable. We started to pick it up around the far turn and she took off to the wire.”

Motion was also pleased with the performance of Oyster Box, a 3-year-old filly facing older horses for the first time after finishing second Aug. 14 in the Pucker Up (G3) at Arlington Park.

“I thought that was pretty courageous, 3-year-olds against older horses,” Motion said. “We don’t do it too much until this time of year but she ran a good race, too.”

The All Along is named for the French-bred filly that won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Rothmans International, Turf Classic and Laurel’s Washington D.C. International in the span of 41 days in 1983 en route to becoming the first foreign-based horse to be voted U.S. Horse of the Year. A winner of nine races and more than $3 million in purses from 21 starts, she was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1990.

Tide of the Sea Classy Winner of $100,000 Japan Turf Cup

Three Diamonds Farm’s 5-year-old gelding Tide of the Sea, winless since taking the W. L. McKnight (G3) Jan. 23, ended his drought by turning back Hierarchy to capture Saturday’s $100,000 Japan Turf Cup by 1 ¾ lengths.

The 58th running of the 1 ½-mile Japan Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up was the last of five stakes worth $600,000 in purses over Laurel’s world-class turf course on the Fall Festival of Racing program.

Favored at 6-5 over six rivals, Tide of the Sea ($4.60) hit the wire in 2:28.19 over a firm All Along turf course to give jockey Horacio Karamanos his second win of the afternoon and first in the Japan Turf Cup for he and trainer Mike Maker.

“My trainer told me try to go on the lead. Send him out of the gate and try to take the lead. I tried to go in front but I couldn’t. [A Thread of Blue] went next to me and [Real Factor], so I didn’t want to rush the whole time,” Karamanos said. “I let my horse go wherever he was comfortable.”

A Thread of Blue, winner of the Palm Beach (G3) and Saratoga Derby Invitational in 2019, was eager for the lead and held it through a quarter-mile in 23.81 seconds tracked by 45-1 long shot Real Factor, who took over the top spot after a half in 48.18. Tide of the Sea was unhurried in third but began to inch up to the leaders and ran a mile in 1:37.58 to assume command. Hierarchy got up to be second by 1 ¼ lengths with Gunnison third.

“In the turn after the first wire, my horse started to pick it up. I let him go himself in the backstretch and at the five-eighths pole he passed to the lead,” Karamanos said. “I knew he was going to love going on the lead. I felt like I got a lot of horse so I let him pick it up at the three-eighths pole and he gave me a kick. I feel like my horse can win at the top of the stretch and he got it done.”

Xy Speed Rewards Connections with Win in $100,000 Laurel Dash

Xy Speed, claimed for $32,000 out of his last start by trainer Gerald Bennett for Winning Stables, Inc., drove between horses entering the stretch to win the $100,000 Laurel Dash by a neck over a late-closing Battle Station. It was another neck to Cannon’s Roar in third.

A 5-year-old gelded son of First Samurai, Xy Speed covered a firm 5 ½ furlong turf course in 1:02.45. The gelding has now won seven of nine starts over the distance on turf.

Ridden by Jorge Ruiz, Xy Speed raced just off the pace of Francatelli, who went the opening quarter in :21.95 and was pressed through a :44.75 half by Valued Notion. Racing between horses around the turn and entering the stretch, Xy Speed drove to the front an eighth of a mile from the finish and had enough left to hold off Battle Station.

“I had good position and in the last quarter he went,” Ruiz said. “This horse is nice.”

“When he made the lead, I knew he was a fighter just off of his form,” Bennett said. “He came out of the race good when we claimed him, so we took our best shot. You can’t win them if you’re not in them. You can’t be afraid to run them.”

Xy Speed returned $18.80. The 23rd running of the Laurel Dash for 3-year-olds and up was one of five stakes worth $600,000 in purses on the Fall Festival of Racing program.