After a few anxious moments, Interstatedaydream wins Twixt at odds-on
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LAUREL, Md.—Considering the extremely short run into the first turn at Laurel Park, it’s very difficult to win from the far outside post at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt.
Mix in a track that favored the inside paths earlier in the day, and one could have forgiven Interstatedaydream if the odds-on favorite didn’t succeed in Saturday’s $100,000 Twixt Stakes for fillies and mares.
Instead, after a few anxious moments, Interstatedaydream displayed her class to overcome the wide draw and the racetrack to defeat 23-1 longshot Miss New York by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:44.02 seconds over the fast track.
Malibu Beauty finished third, 1 3/4 lengths behind the runner-up. Then came Hybrid Eclipse, Six the Hard Way, Batucada, Freccia d’Argento, and Battle Bling. Champagne Toast scratched.
Interstatedaydream returned $2.60 to win.
The Twixt was one of four stakes on the program with three turf events, the $150,000 Selima for juvenile fillies at 1 1/16 miles, the $150,000 Laurel Futurity for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, and the $100,000 Japan Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles.
Trained by Brad Cox for Flurry Racing Stables, Interstatedaydream made it 3 for 3 in Maryland. Previously, she won last year’s Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan and the 2023 Allaire duPont Distaff, both at Pimlico.
Malibu Beauty was sent to the lead and the advantageous rail by jockey Jaime Rodriguez, and shook clear through fractions of 23.80 and 47.79. Rodriguez stepped on the gas and tried to win the Twixt after six furlongs in 1:12.19, and they held a clear lead in upper stretch.
In the meantime, Interstatedaydream was floated five wide into the first turn, and was hung outside and mid-pack for most of the race. She seemingly was going nowhere at the three-eighths, but asserted her class under Sheldon Russell, began her charge with three-sixteenths remaining, and gobbled up the ground late.
“As many years as I’ve been riding here, even if your horse is super fast, it’s almost impossible [to get position from the outside post],” Russell said. “I warmed her up with the pony and tried to get her to break sharp, but these are fast fillies, and they have such an advantage when they break from the inside.”
Russell was worried after the opening three furlongs. “I couldn’t get her over in time. Battle Bling kind of parked me. I had no choice but to snug her back and follow the right horse. I knew if I followed Batucada, she’d take me a long way. As soon as I gave her the clear, she jumped on the bridle and spurted home. She saved me from what could have been a nightmare trip.”
Bred in Ontario by William D. Graham, Interstatedaydream sold for $105,000 as a short yearling and for $130,000 as a yearling before being purchased by Staton Flurry for $175,000 as an April juvenile.
She will likely be headed to another auction ring in November, but Flurry said that if Interstatedaydream doesn’t meet her reserve, she’ll race once more at Oaklawn before being entered in Keeneland’s January sale.
A 4-year-old daughter of Classic Empire out of a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Uncaptured, Interstatedaydream has won 6 of 13 starts for lifetime earnings of $723,869.
Laurel Futurity
Air Recruit might have punched his ticket to the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 3 after a dominant 5 1/2-length victory over Massif in the Laurel Futurity.
Trained by Arnaud Delacour, Air Recruit broke sharp under jockey Charlie Marquez, then settled into the pocket as favored Tropandhagen blitzed to an uncontested lead through fractions of 24.04 and 49.16.
Wine Collector attacked Tropandhagen from the outside after six furlongs in 1:14.43, but Air Recruit was simply cruising in behind them. Marquez tipped Air Recruit into the three path for clear sailing, and the race was soon over. Air Recruit finished up in 1:46.95 seconds over the good turf course and paid $7.20 as the second choice.
Massif nosed out Blue Creek for second. Wine Collector, Mortal Sin, Understudy Kitty, Sasse’s Class, Skellig Island, Grand Kingdom, Dancing Mischief, Tropandhagen, and Elevated Game completed the order of finish.
Thedingoateyobaby, Edgartown, Blame the Tux, and Bolt of Aurum all scratched.
“He was a little sharp coming from sprinting,” said winning Delacour. “He broke on top, and [Marquez] did manage to get him to settle. He didn’t really get in a fight with him, just did a great job to make him drop the bit.”
Air Recruit made his debut at Colonial on Aug. 5, and beat two next-out winners when graduating in a maiden special weight at 5 1/2 furlongs.
In his second start, he finished third to No Nay Mets, arguably the best 2-year-old turf sprinter in the country, in the Rosie’s Stakes at Colonial on Sept. 9.
“He always showed a lot of speed,” said Delacour. “We knew we had something. I didn’t know about the distance. That’s kind of an experiment.”
A son of Air Force Blue, Air Recruit was bred in Kentucky by Springhouse Farm. He was purchased by Mark Grier for $105,000 as a yearling. A half-brother, Howling Time, was a stakes-winning dirt router at two.
“Depending on how he comes back, if we get into the Breeders’ Cup, that would be an option,” Delacour continued. “He did it impressively enough that we could give him a shot if we get in.”
Selima
Trainer George Weaver went into the Saturday program at Laurel with 12 wins from 31 juvenile turf starters in 2023.
He added to that gaudy statistic when Brocknardini rallied outside under jockey Joe Rocco Jr. to take the Selima.
A daughter of Palace Malice owned by Thomas Brockley and Daryn Bedinotti, Brocknardini settled comfortably in mid-pack as Flowers for Me and Carmelina set an opening fraction of 24.77 seconds.
Carmelina cleared off the lead and the rail after a half-mile in 51.26 while Brocknardini remained covered up in between rivals.
Rocco briefly maneuvered Brocknardini inside to follow pocket-sitting Hekate, eased out in between horses on the second turn, and patiently waited for a hole to materialize turning into the stretch.
Brocknardini angled outside to split rivals three wide, then kept the filly to her task. She completed the distance in 1:47.45 and returned $9.40 as the third choice in the wagering.
Flowers for Me finished a game second, 2 1/4 lengths behind the winner. Then came Yatta, favored Positive Carry, Low Mileage, Determined Sail, Carmelina, Kissedbyanangel, Gorgeous Girl, and Hekate.
"I thought she'd be a little slower to get going early," Rocco said in the winner's circle. "She actually broke really well and put herself in a really good position. It really made my job easier. I was able to get out to where I thought the ground might be a little firmer down the stretch, and I had a lot of horse to go to the wire."
Bred in New York by Thirty Year Farm, Brocknardini surprised Weaver when she won her career debut around two turns at Saratoga against fellow statebreds on Aug. 2.
“I was just giving her a race,” Weaver told Daily Racing Form earlier this week. “She jumped up and showed me something good. I was proud of her for doing it.”
Weaver tested Brocknardini in the Grade 1 Natalma at Woodbine on Sept. 16, but the filly didn’t get a true opportunity to strut her stuff. She broke poorly, then was eliminated in upper stretch when pinched back and checked from between horses.
A $20,000 yearling that resold for $35,000 in May, Brocknardini hails from a classy Phipps female family. Her fourth dam, My Flag, won four Grade 1 races. My Flag’s dam was the undefeated Hall of Famer Personal Ensign.
Brocknardini has earned $138,770 from three starts.
Japan Turf Cup
Yamato ran so fast that jockey Horacio Karamanos split his pants.
Literally.
“I’m not really sure what happened down the backside,” said Nolan Ramsey, assistant to winning trainer Michael Maker. “Horacio came back and his pants were all torn up, and so there was some contact.”
It Can Be Done set a fast pace for the distance, carving out splits of 25.38, 50.62, and 1:16.28 seconds while tracked by Eons. With five furlongs remaining, both Yamato and Bear Oak commenced an early bid from mid-pack.
The pacesetters drifted out slightly, Bear Oak leaned in, and Yamato had to check between horses, causing Karamanos to steady in the irons while almost losing his trousers.
Undaunted, Yamato gathered steam once again, shrugged off a one-paced Bear Oak, and set off after Eons, who grabbed the lead from It Can Be Done entering the third turn.
Yamato willingly ran by Eons, and went on to score over that one by 2 1/2 lengths in 2:31.60. Bear Oak was third, followed by Will E. Sutton, Serifos, Regal Kingdom, It Can Be Done, Oceans Map, The Happy Giant, and Tiz a Giant.
Yamato returned $5.40-as the favorite.
Zabracadabra, Tappin Cat, Magic Michael, Ajourneytofreedom, and Derby Code scratched.
“The first group opened up a little bit,” Karamanos said. “I saw [Bear Oak], one of the horses to beat, and I didn’t want to move inside of him, but I let him go. I didn’t want to pass right away, but he was rolling. He doesn’t want to stop. He could run three miles.”
Bred in Kentucky by Recep Avsar, the Artie Schiller gelding was claimed by Maker on behalf of Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher for $50,000 out of a winning effort over Gulfstream’s Tapeta surface on March 31. The Japan Turf Cup was his first victory for Maker, and 10th overall from 30 lifetime starts.
Maker specializes in claiming horses, stretching them out in distance on turf, and often winning stakes races with them.
“A little bit of magic and luck,” Ramsey said with a laugh. “We look for horses with the pedigree that says they want to do it, and just give them the opportunity.”
Indeed, Yamato has plenty of pedigree. His dam is a half-sister to three-time Grade 1 winner Gufo. Ramsey indicated that Yamato would next start in stakes company at Churchill Downs.
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