Circle P got the better of familiar rival Speedyness to win Saturday's $75,000 Not For Love Stakes at Laurel Park. The pair had met in seven previous races, with Speedyness finishing ahead of him on five occasions. Despite getting rebuked in four straight stakes tries at Laurel, including two defeats to the outstanding 4-year-old gelding Quint's Brew, trainer Flint Stites entered Circle P in the Not For Love with confidence. Speedyness had given his gelding trouble in the past, but the two had never met at six furlongs. "I thought he could do it," Stites said. "He's an awesome horse, wants to play and have a good time, and he's really neat to be around." From the starting gate, even-money favorite Speedyness ran his typical race but never managed to get comfortable on the front end. Natural sprinter S S Sinatra, who went off at 9-1, shot up the rail to immediately challenge him. The pair ran together throughout.  :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Dueling on the outside through an honest half-mile in 45.52 seconds, Speedyness was game in the stretch despite showing obvious signs of fatigue. He finished third, a half-length behind S S Sinatra, who bore down even more after weathering the duel on the inside. Neither managed to hold off Circle P, who closed from third and ground down the leading duo to beat S S Sinatra by a nose at 5-1 odds.  Hittheroadjak, the only other contender in the race for trainer Rodolfo Sanchez-Solomon, never got involved and finished fifth. He was one of several runners who seemed uncomfortable cutting back to six furlongs. While many of these will likely stretch back out next time, Stites said that he wants to keep Circle P at sprint distances if he can.  "I'd like to stay," Stites said. "He still has a two-other-than [condition], so if we have to, we can always put him in there." The gelding, now a four-time winner in 18 starts, has been competitive beyond a mile and has his fair share of money finishes regardless of distance. This performance at six furlongs was a clear improvement, however, and puts him on par with some of the best on the state-restricted scene in Maryland. Stickwiththecolors takes Conniver Stickwiththecolors, a 4-year-filly previously untried in stakes competition, won the $75,000 Conniver Stakes going seven furlongs. Taking a comfortable lead through soft early fractions, trainer John Salzman knew his 10-1 filly had a strong chance heading into the turn. "She was doing it so easy," Salzman said after the race. "Last couple races she's run, something has pressed her, then something picked her up, and then something got by her and she dug back in. I was just happy to see the slow pace down the backside." The filly's wiring effort Saturday marked Salzman's first stakes victory since September 2023, when Low Mileage, a juvenile filly at the time, won the Jamestown at Colonial Downs. While many of the contenders in the state-restricted Conniver were cutting back to seven furlongs, the question for Stickwiththecolors was whether she could handle added distance. Her previous two races, both wire-to-wire victories, were on the front end at six furlongs.  Coasting along through a half-mile in 46.79 seconds certainly helped the upset winner withstand a late charge in the stretch. There were no short-priced runners near Stickwiththecolors by the end, but 30-1 shot Malibu Moonshine slipped through on the inside and charged hard in the stretch, just missing at the wire. Gold Digging Broad went off at 11-1 odds and picked up the pieces for third, completing a $1 trifecta that paid $1,625.10.  There were two objections, one of which was upheld after a stewards' inquiry. Fifth-place finisher Royal Whisperer was disqualified to seventh after starting awkwardly and impeding several rivals out of the gate, including stakes winners Call Another Play and Spencerian. An objection by Angel Cruz, the rider on Malibu Moonshine, against winning jockey Jevian Toledo for interference leaving the chute was dismissed. In 10 career starts, Stickwiththecolors now has five wins at Laurel, four of them coming with Toledo in the saddle. The filly could be hard-pressed to stay at this level beyond a mile, but her victory over proven stakes runners Saturday is a clear sign that her speed can surprise. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.