Sylvia E. Heft’s Eighttofasttocatch won just as 4-5 favorite should,
The Maryland Million is the most important racing day at Laurel Park with 11
Introduced in 1986, the Maryland Million has been duplicated by 22 other
Jockey Sheldon Russell was at the controls as a Not For Love offspring
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“The key is to get him to relax,” Russell said. “Mud doesn’t bother him
because he’s run well on it before. I was a little concerned because the speed
horse didn’t break, but it worked out. I got him to switch off and then he came
back running. I was lucky that way. Since they’ve taken the blinkers off of him
he’s been very hard to beat.”
Not For Love led all stallions on the day afternoon with four winners from 22
starters. The son of Mr. Prospector is Maryland’s highest ranking stallion for the ninth consecutive year. Progeny
of Not For Love have captured 25 Maryland Million races in the last nine years
from 169 starters, which also included four victories in 2009. Allen’s Prospect
had topped both categories: 22 wins and 156 starters before Saturday’s card.
Tim Keefe trains Eighttofasttocatch, who has now won seven times at Laurel
including the Japan Racing Association Stakes in his previous start. The
five-year-old gelding, who was bred by Dark Hollow Farm & Herringswell Stable, paid
$3.60.
“This was our ‘A’ race,” Keefe said. “He’s been training like a good horse.
We’ve worked hard on getting him to track the speed and today that turned out
perfect. The five post didn’t hurt us either. He really finished down the lane.
This horse loves Laurel Park. The older gets the better he’s become.”
Jorge Chavez sent Regal Warrior out to an uncontested lead in the 1 1/8-mile test, leading by as much as six lengths before Eighttofasttocatch began to
close in on his target. Regal Warrior surrendered the lead, Eighttofasttocatch
moved to the fore and drifted out before being straightened away to win by 1 3/4
lengths. Cactus Charlie finished second and Not Abroad was third.
“When I asked him at the half-mile pole he came again and just down the lane
was just wandering,” Russell added. “He had every right to get tired. As soon as
he felt those horses coming on the outside he gave me another gear. He likes to
run like three lengths off the pace. If I can get him five off the pace, that’s
even better.”
Eighttofasttocatch stopped the clock in 1:50 3/5 over the good dirt to add a
third stakes win to his resume. Also showing a victory in the Harrison E.
Johnson Memorial and a third in last year’s Maryland Million Turf, the chestnut
bumped his career record to 28-8-4-4 and has accumulated $338,690 in lifetime
earnings.
The stakes action got started when Nona Lisa Stables LLC’s Brushed By Love proved to be relentless in the one
Under jockey Julian Pimentel for trainer Mike Trombetta, the three-year-old
Brushed By Love, who was bred in Maryland by Bowman Higgins Stable, Thomas
“We were up a little closer today than last time,” Pimentel said. “She was
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“She’s been training really well at Fair Hill,” assistant trainer Tana
Aubrey-Verge added. “I had her here at Laurel last year and she had an injury so we
sent her home and she came back great. She’s been training really super lately
and after her last one turn mile we pointed her for this race. She didn’t let us
down.”
Vicki Schowe’s homebred Sloane Ranger pressed the pace before spurting away to win the $100,000
Every time jockey Horacio Karamanos asked Sloane Ranger for another turn of
“My horse had good position all the way,” Karamanos said. “He ran exactly the
Sloane Ranger was timed in 1:10 for the six furlongs, contested as light
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“Things worked out pretty much as I was hoping,” Ciresa said.
Regal Solo was attempting to become just the fifth three-time winner of a
Maryland Million race. He won the Nursery as a two-year-old in 2007 and the
Classic a year ago, but the Damon Dilodovico trainee had not competed since that
victory because of minor foot issues.
“That guy (Dilodovico) does a really great job with horses off a layoff,”
Ciresa said. “At the top of the lane I saw him taking aim, but I was really
encouraged when my horse opened up a couple.”
Hall of Famer Safely Kept (Distaff-1989-90-91), Countus In
(Ladies-1989-90-91), Mz. Zill Bear (Ladies-1993-94-95) and Docent
(Sweepstakes-2001 & Classic-2002-03) are the only runners to win three times on
Maryland Million day.
Ciresa indicated Sloane Ranger could run next in the $150,000 Frank J. De
Francis Memorial Dash on October 22. The dark bay gelding moved his career
record to 22-5-5-5, $273,112, with this first stakes win.
John Petrini’s Love That Dance took over the lead just a few strides
Pablo Fragoso, who has ridden Love That Dance exclusively since June,
“Did not appear to be much speed in there,” Fragoso said, “so we
Bred by her owner in New Jersey, Love That Dance paid $5.40. The Ben
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“She hasn’t been quite as sharp as she was last year but we were thinking
that she had been training well and that she hasn’t run a big race in a while,
so we were feeling like she was overdue and feeling like she showed us today,”
said Chris Gardiner, Perkins’ assistant-trainer. “She’s got a lot of class and
she’s a versatile, nice mare.
“This race went pretty much the way we thought it would. From the one hole,
we wanted to get the lead and we were pretty sure she could. Pablo did a good
job in opening up two or three lengths and he rode a nice race for us today.”
Charles McGill’s homebred Pocket Patch was the easiest kind of winner while
Last year Jonathan Joyce was aboard the Partner’s Hero gelding for trainer
Pocket Patch met with no resistance as he dragged Boyce to the lead down the
Pocket Patch paid $15 for this third stakes score, which improved his
“We broke OK, not as well as some of the others,” Boyce said. “He was
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Pocket Patch began the 2011 campaign with a victory in the Henry Clark Stakes
at Pimlico but has not won since.
“We followed the same thing we did last year,” Stites explained. “The key is to
get him to relax and settle and he did that well. I told Forest ‘don’t drop his
head’ and she followed that well. It set up perfect for him because he likes
soft turf. He ran two good races the first of the year, then I took him to
Colonial and it was 110 degrees that day. That set him back but he came back
today.”
Richard L. Golden’s Love’s Blush improved one position from her runner-up
Jeremy Rose held the reins as the five-year-old daughter of Not For Love
“This is the first time Jeremy has ever ridden her,” Jenkins said. “He
Love’s Blush, who was bred by Sycamore Hall Farm LLC, completed the distance
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“My horse broke great,” Rose said. “We had the outside post and Mr. Jenkins
told me to stay outside the whole way. She really got over the wet turf nicely,
no stumbles or missteps. Turning for home, I gave her a little tug and she
responded well. I let her drift out in the stretch but it was no big deal.”
Love’s Blush has been ultra-consistent during her career with nine in the
money finishes in 12 stakes starts. In her last start, the bay mare finished
fourth in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap behind Blind Luck, Havre de Grace and
Life at Ten. Her career mark now stands at 21-5-4-3, $284,247.
No Guts No Glory Stable’s Glib rocketed to the top of his class with an easy
A 7 1/4-length winner in his debut at Charles Town in late August, the son of
John Robb trains Glib, who was bred by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes and paid
“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” said owner Gina
“The owner had the pressure on from the day we got him in the sale, we had to
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The win was the fifth Maryland Million score for Robb, who conditioned the
great Little Bold John.
“The plan was to try to get him to rate but he broke out of the gate sharp,”
Camacho said. ” He was just all about it, so I just kept him happy, got him
around the turn and I had a ton of horse under me, I just let him get out to the
front and knew when I called on him he was going to be there for me.”
The Maryland Million Nursery win boosted Glib’s earnings to $72,600.
The Salzman family is known for having two-year-olds ready to run,
Owned by All the Above Racing, Bluegrass Atatude, a Two Punch filly
“All year long we’ve been training for this spot,” said Salzman, who
Bluegrass Atatude paid $11.40 while improving her resume to 3-2-0-1,
“My filly took a little funny step first jump,” Chavez said. “I took a hold
The victory moved Two Punch into sole possession of third place on the
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Also on the Maryland Million program, C & B Stable’s Call of a Lion rallied
through traffic to just nose out On Board Charade in the $50,000
Maryland Million Distaff Starter Handicap, while Horace Parker’s Shordawatyadrink added another win to his modest string of
victories when he closed strongly to win the $50,000
Maryland Million Starter Handicap, the finale on the
11-race card on
Maryland’s Day at the Races.
Call of a Lion ran a mile on the fast main track in 1:40 to move her career line
to 31-12-6-2, $226,385. Shordawatyadrink completed the same distance in 1:38 3/5
after the surface had been sealed and downgraded to good. He now boasts a
27-6-1-4, $98,980, mark.