Elusive Mischief wins $75,000 Punch Line
Lothenbach Stables’ Elusive Mischief paid immediate dividends for his new connections with a 5 ¼-length victory in the $75,000 Punch Line Stakes on Sunday at Laurel Park. The 5 ½-furlong Punch Line for 3-year-olds and up was among four stakes for Virginia-bred/sired horses worth $300,000 in purses on a 12-race Commonwealth Day program. All four races were rained off Laurel’s turf course and onto a sloppy and sealed main track. Purchased for $92,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s July Selected Horses of Racing Age sale, Elusive Mischief ($5) dueled with Meadow Stable Stakes winner Homespun Hero for a quarter-mile, took over the lead on the turn and sprinted clear down the lane to win in 1 minute, 3.37 seconds for 5 ½ furlongs for trainer Ian Wilkes and jockey Sheldon Russell. Divine Interventio put in a late run to be second, 3 ½ lengths in front of Homespun Hero. MORE STAKES RACES: The $75,000 Bert Allen Stakes for 3-year-olds and up gave Russell his second stakes win of the day, as River Deep secured an 8 ½-length victory as the 3-5 favorite. The winning time for 1 1/8 miles was 1:51.34. ... Kept in the clear two wide, Hat Creek Racing’s Paulita ($4.20) reeled in pacesetting stablemate Well Blessed at the sixteenth pole and edged clear by 1 ¼ lengths to win the $75,000 Brookmeade Stakes for fillies and mares 3 and up. The final time was 1:52.83. ... Susan Moulton’s Altamura overcame a slight stumble out of the gate for her fourth straight victory in the $75,000 Oakley Stakes. Altamura ($3.40) completed the distance in 1:04.89 under Midwest-based jockey Channing Hill to earn her third consecutive stakes win. ... Jockey Rosario Montanez had two wins Sunday, with Cerulean Springs ($8.60) in the second race and Stomp Dance ($23.80) in the eighth. ... The 20th running of the $75,000 Jamestown for Virginia-bred/sired 2-year-olds TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS MLB