Awesome Speed, A P Majetstic placed first in stakes

If you are keeping score, jockey Jevian Toledo was placed first after finishing second in the Federico Tesio Stakes (race 2) at Laurel Park on Saturday and disqualified from first to second in the Weber City Miss Stakes (race 4).

Mike Trombetta trains In the Navy Now, who was disqualified in the $100,000 Weber City Miss, and A P Majetstic, who was placed first in that race.

"That's never happened to me before," Trombetta said, "having one taken down and another put up."

In the Weber City Miss, In the Navy Now moved to within striking distance along the inner rail on the far turn. She slipped through inside the leaders entering the stretch, and in upper stretch there were four horses across the track: In the Navy Now, Alto Belle, Its a Journey, and A P Majetstic.

Alto Belle dropped out first, then Its a Journey began to flatten out.

Toledo switched his whip to his left hand at the furlong pole of the 1 1/16-mile race, and In the Navy Now ducked outward when he hit her. When Toledo hit her again leaving the sixteenth pole, she came out, floating A P Majetstic farther out in the track and causing her rider, Victor Carrasco, to steady.

In the Navy Now won by one length, but the stewards promptly lit the inquiry sign, and when Carrasco returned to the unsaddling area, he lodged an objection against Toledo and In the Navy Now.

A P Majetstic paid $25.40 as the second-longest shot in the six-horse field. She was timed for the 1 1/16 miles over a good track in 1:47.51. She also earned a fees-paid berth in the Grade 2, $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico on May 20, as the Weber City Miss is a Win and You're In for that race.

"I put her in an allowance race, but it didn't go, so I put her in the stakes," Trombetta said of A P Majetstic. "Now she's a stakes winner.”

Although In the Navy Now was disqualified, the Weber City Miss was her best career race.

"These two are steadily improving," Trombetta said. "It's not easy to find young fillies who can go a distance, and that's what they both want to do."

It was 2 1/2 lengths back from A P Majetstic to third-place finisher Its a Journey. Alto Belle was fourth, 11 1/4 lengths behind Its a Journey.

Tesio: A DQ after a sustained stretch run

Governor Malibu and Awesome Speed both showed a lot of heart in the stretch run of the $100,000 Federico Tesio Stakes, and at the finish, Governor Malibu prevailed by a nose.

But the stewards lit the inquiry sign while the horses were pulling up, jockey Jevian Toledo lodged an objection against the winner, and after reviewing the video, the stewards reversed the order of finish.

Awesome Speed set the early pace on an unchallenged lead in the 1 1/8-mile Tesio. He was joined from the outside by Never Gone South on the far turn and then by a three-wide Governor Malibu nearing the stretch. When Never Gone South began to tire in upper stretch, the race came down to Awesome Speed and Governor Malibu, neither of whom would give an inch.

In upper stretch, there was plenty of room between Awesome Speed and Governor Malibu, who had Horacio Karamanos aboard.

Karamanos repeatedly put Governor Malibu to a left-handed whip in upper stretch, but when he began to drift outward, Karamanos switched the whip to his right hand. After several whacks of the stick, Governor Malibu came inward and bumped Awesome Speed solidly about five or six strides before the finish line. Governor Malibu proved best on the wire.

Awesome Speed, who was very game during the stretch run, is trained by Alan Goldberg. Governor Malibu is trained by Christophe Clement.

The Tesio was a Win and You're In for the Preakness, and Awesome Speed is now guaranteed a spot in the field and will save $30,000 in entry and starter fees.

“It’s pretty good spacing – that’s the main thing. I think it would be good,” Goldberg said regarding the Preakness. “We’ll have to see how the Kentucky Derby shakes out and all that and see what’s what.”

Awesome Speed ($3.40) set easy early fractions of 25.60, 50.93 and 1:15.79 over the good track. Governor Malibu completed the nine furlongs in 1:53.31.

I Came to Party finished third, 3 1/4 lengths behind Awesome Speed. Flash McCaul was fourth, another half-length back. D T Goodie was fifth and Never Gone South last in the six-horse field.