Whirlin Curlin Springs Another Upset in $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity
Whirlin Curlin Springs Another Upset in $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity
Limited View Easy Winner of $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship
Favorite Makes Her ‘Point’ in $100,000 Willa On the Move Romp
Struth Pulls Clear in $75,000 Howard M. Bender Memorial
LAUREL, MD – Marathon Farms homebred Whirlin Curlin, fresh from a surprising maiden-breaking stakes win two weeks ago, pulled off another shocker by rallying through the stretch for a neck victory over Still Having Fun in the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity on a snowy Saturday at Laurel Park.
The 36th running of the Maryland Juvenile Futurity and the 31st renewal of the Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, both at seven furlongs for Maryland-bred/sired horses, were two of four stakes worth $375,000 on the nine-race program.
Joining them on the card were the $100,000 Willa On the Move, an open six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3 and older, and the $75,000 Howard M. Bender Memorial for Maryland-bred 3-year-olds and up, also at six furlongs.
Whirlin Curin ($45.80), sent off at 21-1 in the field of six, ran the distance in 1:23.96 over a fast main track. Still Having Fun was a clear second, 3 ½ lengths ahead of Maryland Million Nursery winner Clever Mind, the 1-5 favorite.
Jamaican Don, Cordmaker and Riteamontofmschief completed the order of finish.
A chestnut son of Hall of Famer Curlin, Whirlin Curlin finished sixth in each of his first two starts before trainer Gary Capuano cut him back to six furlongs for the Christopher Elser Memorial Nov. 25 at Laurel, where came from off the pace to win at nearly 24-1.
“It was a really tough race this time, very salty, very deep. He did beat restricted horses last time. The race didn’t seem on paper to be quite as tough but he paid a big price that time,” Capuano said. “He had to step up his game again today and he did. It was just a big race.”
Still Having Fun, an impressive maiden winner Nov. 17 at Laurel, was in command through a quarter-mile in 23.23 seconds and a half in 46.73, with Cordmaker and Maryland Million Nursery runner-up Jamaican Don alternating for second behind him.
Fall meet-leading rider Jevian Toledo moved up from mid-pack with a four-wide bid between rivals, dueling through the turn and setting his sights on Still Having Fun after straightening for home, coming with a steady drive to get up in time.
“He’s a pretty good horse,” Toledo said. “I had to put him early in the race and tried to keep him in the clear and when I asked him he did the same thing he did last time and gave me everything he had.”
Capuano is excited about the future for Whirlin Curlin, whose sire was a two-time Horse of the Year that won the 2007 Preakness Stakes (G1), though the trainer stopped short of calling him a Triple Crown prospect.
“You’re always hoping with the 2-year-olds. He broke his maiden in a stake and came back and won another stake. He’s got a long way to go to prove that but he’s got credentials for that so we’ll see,” he said. “I thought definitely he would improve off of his last race, which he’s done each time. Until you run against better horses it’s hard to say whether you’re going to step up enough to beat them, but he ran well.”
Limited View Easy Winner of $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship
Unlike any of her previous starts, particularly her last one, there were no anxious moments for Fred Wasserloos, George Greenwalt and trainer John Salzman Jr.’s Limited View as she romped to a front-running six-length triumph in the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship.
A narrow second choice at 2-1 among 10 2-year-old fillies, Limited View ($6.40) hit the wire in 1:23.94 under Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado, who has ridden the bay daughter of Freedom Child to each of her four victories.
It was the third straight win and second consecutive stakes for Limited View, who had to overcome a near-disastrous break and rally from as many as 13 lengths back to win the Maryland Million Lassie Oct. 21. She spent several mornings schooling at the starting gate in preparation for Saturday’s race.
“Every time you never know what’s going to happen. It’s not one thing. Sometimes it’s the paddock, sometimes it’s the post parade, getting her to the paddock. The last time it was the gate,” Salzman said. “My hat’s off to the gate crew, Edgar, everybody that helped me along with her. She’s a nice filly.”
Limited View broke sharply from Post 6 and cruised to the front, going in fractions in 23.19 and 47.11 seconds as Margie’s Money tracked along the inside. The runner-up began to drop back as Limited View asserted her lead and drew off effortlessly after turning for home.
“John did a wonderful job, he took his time and brought the filly to the gate and schooled her at the gate. A lot of hard work paid off today,” Prado said. “She broke real well and she was able to control the pace, and I had a lot of horse all the way around. She was just galloping along. It was a very nice win on a beautiful snowy day at Laurel.”
Favorite Makes Her ‘Point in $100,000 Willa On the Move Romp
Cash is King and Jim Reichenbery’s Ms Locust Point, making her second start off a nine-month layoff, earned her second career stakes victory with a gate-to-wire score in the $100,000 Willa On the Move.
In her second straight start and win against older horses, the 3-year-old daughter of Grade 1 winner Dialed In ran six furlongs in 1:09.84 to win by 2 ¾ lengths over late-running Ivy Bell. Grade 1-placed Line of Best Fit was third by a neck over Claudio Gonzalez-trained stablemate and fellow stakes winner My Magician.
“This is her fourth win and all of them are about the same. She just took off and was by herself,” Reichenbery said. “[Trainer] John Servis has done a great job with her. We had a little bit of a setback and she was off about nine months but she came right back and won an allowance at Parx and came here, and we really feel good about it.”
Ms Locust Point ($4.20 came from the far outside post in the field of seven and was never threatened setting fractions of 22.68, 46.23 and 57.85 until sprinting clear down the stretch for her second stakes win following the Gin Talking last Dec. 31 at Laurel.
“She’s amazing,” jockey Jose Vargas Jr. said after the second of his three wins on the afternoon. “We were on the outside and she was a little bit rank in the beginning but then she settled and when I aasked her she was all out.”
Struth Pulls Clear in $75,000 Howard M. Bender Memorial
Mark Sitlinger’s Struth earned his second stakes victory in eight starts since being claimed for $20,000 in mid-May, taking command on the turn and rolling to a 4 ¼-length triumph in the $75,000 Howard M. Bender Memorial.
It was the first stakes win for Sitlinger and second on the day for jockey Jose Vargas Jr., who also captured the Willa On the Move with Ms Locust Point. The winning time was 1:09.21.
“He’s been a great claim. We got him back in May and he’s won two stakes, so we couldn’t be happier,” Sitlinger said. “[Trainer] Kieron [Magee] and [his wife] Kelly do a great job and we’re really happy to have him.”
Struth, a gelded 5-year-old son of Curlin, had gone winless in his previous four starts since taking the Hockessin Stakes July 15 at Delaware Park. He sat just off a contested pace in the clear four wide, met no resistance in taking the lead on the far turn, and powered down the stretch.
Lewisfield, whose trainer, Jeff Runco, earned his 4,000th career victory earlier on the card, finished second, 4 ¼ lengths ahead of Winplaceorshowono. It’s the Journey, favored at 9-5, was fourth.
“He’s a nice horse,” Vargas said. “He broke super sharp and I didn’t want to take any momentum away from him. He just took me for a ride.”
