Veteran entrant hoping to flash classic form

Country Life Farm’s 5-year-old Flash McCaul will look to recapture his solid early form as he takes aim at the $150,000 Maryland Million Classic for a third consecutive year Saturday at Laurel Park. Run at 11⁄ miles over the main track, the Classic for 3-year-olds and up serves as the highlight of the 33rd annual Jim McKay Maryland Million Day program, one of seven stakes and four starter stakes that help comprise “Maryland’s Day at the Races,” named for the late Hall of Fame broadcaster who helped launch the groundbreaking concept in 1986. Post time for the first of 12 races is noon. Among the Maryland Million festivities this year is the inaugural Clubhouse Festival headlined by Grammy nominated musical artist Steve Aoki. A total of 151 horses were entered on the program, an average of 12.6 per race. Five races are scheduled for Laurel’s world-class turf course, attracting 62 entries, an average of 12.4 per race. Carded as Race11, the Classic attracted a competitive field of 10 Maryland Million-certified horses and three Maryland-bred also-eligibles led by defending champion and 7-5 program favorite Bonus Points. The AE horses can only draw into the race if the main body falls below six Maryland Million-certified horses. Flash McCaul drew Post 4 and was assigned morning-line odds of 6-1 during Wednesday’s live post-position draw for the Classic at TIPS Restaurant in Laurel’s secondfloor clubhouse. The post time favorite is likely to be Saratoga Bob, fifth most recently in the 1-mile off-the-turf Find Sept. 29 at Laurel, his stakes debut and the first time he had been worse than third in eight career starts. He is fourth choice overall at 3-1. Trained by seven-time Maryland Million winner Mike Trombetta, Flash McCaul – like Saratoga Bob – is by multiple graded-stakes winner Friesan Fire. His grandsire is Cryptoclearance, the Belmont Stakes (G1) runner-up and Preakness (G1) third-place finisher in 1987 and a four-time Grade1winner and earner of more than $3.3 million. Flash McCaul has won at least once in each of his first three racing seasons and has bankrolled $212,121 in career purses, but is 0-for-2 in 2018 and still seeking his first career stakes victory. He raced twice in 23 days last month after going more than eight months between starts, returning to be fifth in a one-mile optional claiming allowance Sept. 6 at Delaware Park.