Fille d’Esprit Romps to Popular $75,000 Conniver Victory
$100,000 Harrison Johnson to Dontmesawithme

LAUREL, MD – Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber and BTR Racing Inc.’s Whereshetoldmetogo reeled in stubborn pacesetter and fellow multiple stakes winner Jaxon Traveler in mid-stretch and edged past nearing the wire to defend his title in Saturday’s $75,000 Not For Love at Laurel Park.

The six-furlong Not For Love for 4-year-olds and was the second of two stakes restricted to Maryland-bred/sired horses on the St. Patrick’s Day weekend program, preceded by the $75,000 Conniver for fillies and mares 4 and older sprinting seven furlongs.

Older horses were also featured in the $100,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial going one mile. Co-headlining five stakes worth $450,000 in purses were the $100,000 Private Terms for 3-year-olds and $100,000 Beyond the Wire for 3-year-old fillies.

Given a patient trip from winter meet-leading rider Jevian Toledo, Whereshetoldmetogo ($8.20) won by three-quarters of a length in 1:10.97 over a fast main track for his 14th lifetime, 11th in a stakes, seven of them coming over his home course of Laurel.

“He’s an older horse and he owes no one anything at this rate,” winning trainer Brittany Russell said. “He’s still showing up on the day so the fact that we can do it the way we are, it’s nice. It’s rewarding, and he deserves it.”

In his first race since finishing a troubled fifth, beaten two lengths, in the Dave’s Friend Dec. 26 at Laurel to snap a two-race win streak, Whereshetoldmetogo settled in third as Jaxon Traveler – the Maryland-bred 2-year-old champion of 2020 and 3-year-old champion of 2021 – was hustled to the front from his far outside post.

Jaxon Traveler raced through an opening quarter-mile in 22.53 seconds and a half in 45.62 with 2021 Maryland Million Sprint winner Air Token on his heels. Toledo tipped Whereshetoldmetogo into the clear leaving the backstretch and they moved up on the leaders rounding the turn.

“He broke OK. I saw the horses on the outside went for the lead and I just let them go and sat right behind them,” Toledo said. “I put my horse on the outside of horses in the clear and when I asked him to go home, he just did his job like he always does. He’s a nice horse.”

Once straightened for home, Whereshetoldmetogo came with a steady run down the center of the track to get on even terms with a determined Jaxon Traveler before nudging past. Jaxon Traveler was 1 ½ lengths ahead of Air Token, who edged Youngest of Five by a neck for third. The Wolfman, Big Engine and Karan’s Notion completed the order of finish.

The victory pushed Whereshetoldmetogo’s career bankroll to $792,791 from 33 starts and improved him to seven-for-10 at Laurel.

“It set up really well for him today. We love this horse,” Russell said. “The clients are great and let us be patient, and we can do the right thing by him. It shows on a day like today when he can get the job done.”

A son of Mr. Prospector, the late Not For Love was named Maryland’s champion stallion a record 13 times and was the first stallion in Maryland history to surpass $6 million in progeny earnings in a single year (2008). As a broodmare sire, he is represented by two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome. He died at age 26 in 2016.

Fille d’Esprit Romps to Popular $75,000 Conniver Victory

C J I Phoenix Group and No Guts No Glory Farm’s Fille d’Esprit, exiting a troubled third in the Barbara Fritchie (G3) last month, had smooth sailing in her return and rebounded with a popular eight-length triumph over defending champion Kiss the Girl in the $75,000 Conniver for older Maryland-bred/sired fillies and mares.

It was the eighth win from 14 career starts and first in a stakes for Fillie d’Esprit ($3.40), favored at 3-5 off her Fritchie performance. The 6-year-old mare, claimed for $10,000 in August 2020, gave trainer John ‘Jerry’ Robb his third Conniver win in the last four runnings, following another daughter of Great Notion, Anna’s Bandit, in 2018 and 2019.

“It’s always special, especially with this filly because I claimed her because she’s bred identical to Anna’s Bandit,” Robb said. “She seems to be improving with each race.”

Combat Queen was hustled to the lead from her rail post by jockey Jaime Rodriguez, leaving Fille d’Esprit to press a pace of 23.82 and 47.51 seconds into the far turn, with Kiss the Girl and Coconut Cake close behind. Fille d’Esprit ranged up to the leader approaching the stretch and quickly separated from her rivals once straightened for home to win in 1:24.54.

Kiss the Girl edged fellow multiple stakes winner Artful Splatter by a nose for second, followed by Coconut Cake and Combat Queen. Champagne Toast was scratched.

“Me and Jerry talked about it in the paddock. We were expecting [Combat Queen] to send hard because it was the entry with Kiss the Girl, and she likes to come from off the pace,” winning jockey Xavier Perez said. “Jerry told me just to break her sharp and if [Combat Queen] wanted the lead so bad to just sit off her and stalk, and it worked out that way.

“We she got to the three-eighths pole, I peeked back a little bit and I saw Kiss the Girl and [Coconut Cake] were pretty close,” he added. “I just showed her the stick a little bit and she took command. From the quarter pole down it was game over.”

Fillie d’Esprit was making her third straight stakes start after also encountering trouble at the start of the Jan. 29 What a Summer, where she finished seventh. She was beaten a length in the Feb. 19 Fritchie when she had to steady in traffic while making a run.

“The race before the Fritchie where she walked out of the gate and then got back in the race gave me confidence to run in the Fritchie,” Robb said. “This is a big step down from the Fritchie, so we had to be here.”

Named the top handicap mare of 1948 following a season that included wins in the Beldame, Comely, Vagrancy and Brooklyn handicaps, the latter over Hall of Famers Gallorette and Stymie, Conniver was bred in Maryland by Alfred G. Vanderbilt. She retired in 1949 after 15 wins from 56 starts.

Dontmesawithme Ships in to Win $100,000 Harrison Johnson

Steve and Debbie Jackson’s homebred Dontmesawithme, a 5-year-old gelded son of Fast Anna trained by Flint Stites, shipped in from Penn National and took the money in the $100,000 Harrison E. Johnson, upsetting a field of seven at odds of 18-1.

Ridden by Abner Adorno, Dontmesawithme won for the seventh time in 20 career starts. His last seven starts were at Parx Racing. When asked why he shipped the gelding to Laurel for the Johnson, Stites replied; “It was a one-turn mile. He ran really well seven-eighths at Parx and I just thought he would like the one-turn mile.”

Breaking away cleanly, Dontmesawithme was on the lead past a :23.90 quarter mile After relinquishing the lead to Whiskey and You around the turn, Adorno regained the lead an eighth of a mile from home and drove home in front of a game Workin On a Dream. Favored Galerio got up for the show.

“I didn’t expect he would be on the lead, but Abner was right there, spot-on,” Stites said.

“It’s a horse that is usually a closer but when he broke he was right on the lead and I was surprised where he was,” Adorno said. “I decided to wait as much as I could and when it was time to run he was ready for me. I’m just happy that the horse broke sharply today and it worked out good for him.”

Dontmesawithme returned $38.20.

The Harrison E. Johnson honors the Bowie-based trainer who died at age 45 in the crash of a plane he was piloting from Saratoga to Virginia. A native of Adelphi, Md., his best horse was 1973 Hopeful (G1) winner Gusty O’Shay, named that year’s Maryland-bred 2-year-old champion.