Multiple Stakes-Placed Unaquoi Relishes Favorite’s Role

LAUREL, MD – After spending the winter and spring going longer, Godolphin homebred Regal Image may have found his niche as a turf sprinter.

The gelded 4-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro, trained by Michael Stidham, was cut back to 5 ½ furlongs for his most recent race June 15 at Laurel Park coming off four consecutive grass routes of a mile or longer. He hadn’t sprinted since going six furlongs on the dirt in his Dec. 22 unveiling at Tampa Bay Downs.

Ridden by Sheldon Russell, Regal Image broke from the far outside and worked his way to forge a slim lead in mid-stretch, digging in tenaciously on the inside to emerge from a three-way photo finish a neck ahead of favored Tempt Me Twice.

The winning time over a firm All Along turf course layout was 1:01.23. It was the third win from six career starts for Regal Image, five of them coming this year, including a fifth-place finish in an optional claimer May 23 with Russell going 1 1/16 miles on the Pimlico Race Course turf, beaten three lengths after setting the pace.

“He ran awesome. I rode him last time at Pimlico going long, and after the race I got on the phone with Mike and he asked what I thought of the horse. I said to him straight away, he was very strong with me going two turns,” Russell said. “He asked about shortening him up and I said I thought it was a great idea. It’s nice when a plan works.”

Russell and Regal Image pressed leader Jarvis Steel through fractions of 22.01 and 44.05 seconds, with Tempt Me Twice settled in third on the inside. Russell set Regal Image down for a drive once straightened for home and they prevailed in a stretch long duel with Tempt Me Twice, finishing a head in front of late-running Uncle Youdge in third.

“I think with the cutback and his natural speed, I was able to get good position and he fought it all the way to the line,” Russell said. “The gallop out was the best part. I couldn’t pull him up after the race. Mike Stidham has always been great to me, and it’s always nice to win in the royal blue silks.”

One race later, Russell and jockeys Jevian Toledo and Jorge Vargas Jr. escaped injury from a three-horse spill that began when leader Hero’s Welcome fell inside the sixteenth pole and sent Toledo tumbling forward. Russell on Homefield and Vargas aboard Time Flies By were each trailing and unable to avoid falling.

Toledo and Vargas both returned to ride, though Toledo took off his final mount. Russell sat out his remaining mounts Saturday and also missed Sunday, including rides in three of the four $100,000 stakes on the Father’s Day program. Toledo ran second with multiple Grade 1 winner Divisidero in the Prince George’s County.

Russell said he had precautionary X-rays on his shoulder, which was only bruised. He is named in four of Friday’s 10 races at Laurel and had the call on Tiepolo in Wednesday’s fifth race at Delaware Park, which came off the turf and scratched down to three horses.

Multiple Stakes-Placed Unaquoi Relishes Favorite’s Role

Favoritism seems to agree with Ray Pennington III’s Unaquoi. Each of her last two victories came when the 5-year-old homebred mare was the top choice of bettors – though the races came 11 months apart.

The most recent came June 15 at Laurel, when Unaquoi sprinted to an early lead and had plenty left to keep 50-1 long shot Buff’s in Love at bay to earn her eighth career victory in a 5 ½-furlong sprint over the All Along turf course.
    
Unaquoi completed the distance in 1:01.62 over the firm going to win by two lengths under jockey Horacio Karamanos for trainer Ollie Figgins III. The $45,000 second-level optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up was her third start this year.

Runner-up in the Claiming Crown Distaff Dash last December at Gulfstream Park, Unaquoi stayed in South Florida for her seasonal debut Feb. 16, running sixth, before being beaten a nose in her return May 25 at Pimlico.

Favored at 8-5, Unaquoi was intent on the lead from the far outside post and led her eight rivals through fractions of 21.86, 43.95 and 55.50 seconds. Magician’squestion stalked the winner into the stretch before Unaquoi began to edge clear and Buff’s in Love, who had tracked the runner-up in third, got up for the place.

The effort snapped an eight-race losing streak for Unaquoi dating back to last July at Delaware Park, when she won as the 1-5 favorite. She raced in five stakes since, also finishing third in the Incredible Revenge Stakes in August at Monmouth Park.

“I’m very proud of her. She’s a very solid mare – turf, dirt, whatever. She’s done everything we’ve ever asked her to do,” Figgins said. “She really loves the grass and she loves it here, so we’ll see what happens next. We’ve got her nominated to a stake at Suffolk Downs at the end of the month. Of course there’s always a three-other-than here, so we’ll see how she comes out of the race and see where she takes us.”

Live Racing Returns Friday, June 21 with $13,440 Rainbow 6 Carryover

There will be a carryover jackpot of $13,440.04 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 when live racing returns to Laurel Park with a 10-race program Friday, June 21.

Post time is 1:10 p.m.

The Rainbow 6 spans Races 5-10 and is topped by a $40,000 maiden special weight for fillies and mares 3 and up going about 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Three horses – We Are Family, a $270,000 Into Mischief filly; Midnight Party, a homebred daughter of Hall of Famer Ghostzapper; and Stuart Janney III and Phipps Stable owned-and-bred Inspector Havers, a half-sister to multiple graded-stakes winner Inspector Lynley, both trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, top the field of eight.

Also included in the sequence are a quartet of $30,000 starter handicaps for horses that have started for a claiming price of $16,000 or less since June 1, 2018 – Races 5 and 9 going a mile over the Kelso turf course and Races 6 and 8 at five furlongs on the Fort Marcy turf layout – which drew a total of 39 entries including multiple stakes winner Whirlin Curlin; My Vixen, beaten a neck when second at 69-1 in the Maryland Million Ladies last fall; multiple stakes-placed American Sailor; and Pugilist, sixth in Sunday’s $100,000 Big Dreyfus Stakes.

In all, six races are scheduled for Laurel’s world-class turf course, attracting 65 entries, an average of 10.83 horses per race.

Laurel will move to a Thursday through Sunday schedule for the remainder of the 43-day summer meet starting with its Independence Day program Thursday, July 4.