James F. Lewis, Smart Halo for Juveniles Also on Nov. 12 Card
3YO Colt Mauritius Makes Successful Return to Racing Sunday

LAUREL, MD – A quartet of multiple stakes winners and three graded-stakes placed horses led by recent Twixt winner Battle Bling are among 20 fillies and mares nominated to the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go Saturday Nov. 12 at Laurel Park.

The Thirty Eight Go Go for females 3 and older at about 1 1/16 miles is one of three stakes on the program along with the $100,000 James F. Lewis III for 2-year-olds and $100,000 Smart Halo for 2-year-old fillies, both sprinting six furlongs.

Battle Bling has won back-to-back starts for New York-based trainer Rob Atras, including a 1 ¼-length triumph over Coach in the Oct. 1 Twixt, her Laurel Park debut. Winner of the Jan. 16 Ladies at Aqueduct, she ran second in the Delaware Handicap (G2) July 9 behind Miss Leslie, whose multiple stakes wins include the 2021 Thirty Eight Go Go.

Other multiple stakes winners nominated are Malibu Beauty, second in the Oct. 22 Maryland Million Distaff; Sweet Willemina, 26-for-36 in the money lifetime including 13 wins; and The Sky Is Falling, whose four stakes victories have come at Charles Town.

Also prominent among nominees are Hybrid Eclipse, winner of the July 2 Caesar’s Wish at Laurel most recently third behind Nest in the Oct. 9 Beldame (G2) at Aqueduct; Aug. 27 Timonium Distaff winner Breviary; fellow stakes winners The Grass Is Blue and Trolley Ride; Beguine, beaten a neck when second in the April 2 Fantasy (G2) at Oaklawn Park; and Acadian Girl, a winner of four straight and six of nine races this year yet to make her stakes debut.

The Lewis proved most popular among horsemen wit 28 nominees including five from Laurel’s fall meet leading trainer Brittany Russell – Heldish, second in three straight races, two in stakes, including the Maryland Million Nursery last out; Post Time, undefeated in two starts; recent graduates Order Ofthe Kettle and Prince of Jericho, whose maiden wins came by 20 combined lengths; and Roan Burgundy.

Other Lewis nominees include Maryland Million Nursery winner Johnyz From Albany and stakes-placed stablemate Lost Weekend; Howgreatisnate, undefeated winner of the First State Dash Sept. 29; Freedom Road, third in the Oct. 1 Laurel Futurity to Congruent, pre-entered in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 4 at Keeneland; and stakes-placed Honeyquist and Riccio.

Bound by Destiny, undefeated in four starts including back-to-back stakes at her home base of Delaware Park, tops 22 nominations to the Smart Halo. Trained by Anthony Pecoraro, Bound by Destiny’s victories, including the Aug. 31 Blue Hen and Sept. 28 Small Wonder, have come by more than 21 combined lengths.

Chickieness ran second to Bound by Destiny in both Delaware stakes before breaking through with a 1 ½-length triumph in the Maryland Million Lassie Oct. 22. Runner-up Skylar’s Sister and third-place finisher Bosserati are also nominated. Other nominees include Determined Jester, winner of the Sept. 6 Rosies at Colonial Downs; Midnight Parade, winner of the 6 ½-furlong Imply Sept. 24 at Parx to improve to 2-0; and stakes-placed Bee Mountain, most recently fourth in the Oct. 1 Selima at Laurel.

3YO Colt Mauritius Makes Successful Return to Racing Sunday

Sophomore colt Mauritius ($3), second to subsequent two-time Grade 1 winner Taiba on debut in March, made a successful return to racing after seven months away with a front-running 2 ¼-length maiden special weight victory Sunday at Laurel Park.

It was the first start since March 27 at Santa Anita for Mauritius, owned in a partnership headed by SF Racing, who ran in the silks of Starlight Racing. The son of Twirling Candy ran twice for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert before joining fall meet-leading trainer Brittany Russell this summer at Laurel, where he had five timed works since Sept. 3 for his return.

Russell’s husband, jockey Sheldon Russell, was content to led Flavian outrun him for the early lead from their inside post before moving up alongside and cruising past after running a quarter-mile in 23.35 seconds. Crack the Code moved into a challenging position on the far turn and ranged up after the half went in 47.80, but Mauritius found another gear and pulled away in the stretch to win in 1:12.88 for six furlongs over a fast main track.

Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the coast of southeast Africa. The colt sold for $130,000 as a yearling at Keeneland’s September 2020 sale and went unraced as a 2-year-old before making his debut at Santa Anita. He finished fourth in one-mile maiden special weight against older horses and subsequently trained at Keeneland before going to the sidelines.

Notes: Jockey Sheldon Russell doubled Sunday aboard Mauritius ($3) in Race 3 and multiple stakes winner Dontletsweetfoolya ($10.80) in featured Race 8, an open allowance for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting six furlongs … Country Life Farm’s Combat Queen ($5.20) rolled to a popular open allowance victory in Race 4 Sunday, the second straight win for the 5-year-old mare. The winning time was 1:04.92 over a fast main track … Hillwood Stable’s 3-year-old homebred filly Misty’s Lass ($18.20) sprinted 5 ½ furlongs on a firm Fort Marcy turf course layout in 1:04.13 to win her fourth career start and first in maiden special weight company for trainer Rodney Jenkins …There will be a carryover of $16,775.39 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 when Laurel next hosts a live nine-race card Friday, Nov. 4 starting at 12:15 p.m., the first of three consecutive Friday through Monday race weeks.