Prado guides Saratoga Bob to Classic
Crabcakes fries competition in Distaff; Lewisfield coasts to victory in Sprint
Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado guided Saratoga Bob to victory in Saturday’s $150,000 Maryland Million Classic at Laurel Park, setting a record for most wins by a jockey in the annual event featuring Maryland-sired and Maryland-bred horses.
Prado notched his 18th Maryland Million win, going one-up on retired fellow Hall of Famer Ramon Dominguez.
The Classic, a 11⁄8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up, headlined the edition of Jim McKay Maryland Million Day.
The total amount bet on Maryland Million Day was $5.704 million, an increase of 30.3 percent over last year and the largest handle on Maryland Million Day since 2007.
It was also the first time since 2007 that total handle was over $5 million. Distaff: Crabcakes validated her 2-5 favored status in the $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff at Laurel Park, successfully defending her title with a half-length triumph over My Magician.
The Bernie Houghton-trained Crabcakes, who carried highweight of 123 pounds, also won the 2017 running of the Distaff by a half-length over My Magician.
Ridden by Forest Boyce, the 4-year-old daughter of Great Notion stalked the pace along the backstretch before taking over from a tiring early pacesetter Up Hill Battle entering the turn leaving the backstretch. Crabcakes showed the way under a patient ride on the turn, where she was challenged to the outside by My Magician. The challenger tried valiantly to overtake the favorite through the stretch run, but Crabcakes maintained a half-length margin to the wire. Sprint: Linda Zang’s Lewisfield overwhelmed six rivals in the $100,000 Maryland Million Sprint, prevailing over runner-up Greatbullsoffire by 8¼ lengths in the 6furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up. Ridden for the first time by Jevian Toledo, the 1-5 favorite broke alertly from the starting gate to closely track pacesetter Onemoregreattime along the backstretch and around the far turn before easily taking the lead on the homestretch turn. Nursery: Waldorf Racing Stables’ Follow the Dog rated in the clear on the outside of longshot leader Lippi Lorenzo before taking over once straightened for home and pulling clear through the stretch for a 3 ¼-length victory in the $100,000 Maryland Million Nursery. The Nursery for 2-year-olds and $100,000 Lassie for 2-year-old fillies, both at 6 furlongs, were among seven stakes and four starter stakes that helped comprise the 33rd Jim McKay Maryland Million Day program, the groundbreaking concept named for the late Hall of Fame broadcaster that debuted in 1986. Lassie: Euro Stable’s My Star Potential, making her stakes debut in her third career start, lived up to her name with a frontrunning 1½-length victory the $100,000 Maryland Million Lassie. Outsprinted from the gate by 50-1 long shot Barbsgray Lion, My Star Potential ($6.60) quickly gained ground along the rail to gain a short lead after going the first quarter-mile in 22.28 seconds. Jockey Jomar Torres let the Tritap filly roll through a half in 46.10, turned for home in command after 5 furlongs in 58.53 and was never threatened to hit the wire in 1:11.73. Turf: Blocked by a wall of horses for nearly 6 furlongs, Dr. Michael Harrison’s Talk Show Man found room on the far outside turning for home and used the length of the stretch to run down favored Phlash Phelps for a half-length victory in the $125,000 Maryland Million Turf at Laurel Park. Talk Show Man’s victory kept 3-5 favorite Phlash Phelps from becoming the first horse to win the Turf three times and just the seventh to win for a third time in Maryland Million history. It was the second Turf win for Talk Show Man, who also finished first in 2014. Ladies: John and Cheryl Banner’s homebred My Sistersledge swept to the lead at the top of the stretch and fended off a challenge from 60-1 long shot My Vixen in the final 16th to earn her second straight victory in the $125,000 Maryland Million Ladies. Favored at 3-5 in the field of nine, My Sistersledge ($3.20) ran 11⁄8 miles in 1:55.74 over a yielding Dahlia turf course to win by a neck. Stablemate Magician’s Vanity was third, 1¼ lengths behind My Vixen, who was making her stakes debut in her 22nd start.
NOTES: The winning horse in Race 7, Barin, is out of Marathon Farms, which is Peter Angelos' stable. Ridden by Jevian Toledo . ... T-Sizzle, an 11-1 longshot ridden by Trevor McCarthy, won the eighth race, followed by three longshots. The 10-cent superfecta paid $17,423. There was an objection by an opposing jockey that got bumped down the stretch, but the officials picked up the flag . ... Talk Show Man, the 8-year-old named after the late WBAL radio host Ron Smith, outran a bunch of younger horses to win the John Deere Maryland Million Turf.