Harpers First Ride upsets Owendale in Pimlico Special

BALTIMORE – It’s one of those paradoxes of racing – the longer the race, the more effective early speed can be. It certainly applied Friday in the Grade 3, $250,000 Pimlico Special when the victorious Harpers First Ride led from the start at spectator-free Pimlico.

Sent straight to the front from his outside post by Angel Cruz, Harpers First Ride had the odds-on favorite, Owendale, lapped on his outside flank as the two proceeded through the first turn and down the backstretch of the 1 3/16-mile race.

“I said, ‘I’m going to the front,’ and I took the lead really easy and slowed it down,” said Cruz. “Nobody wanted to go with us.”

As the other five older horses gave futile chase amid long shadows and a late-evening chill, Harpers First Ride and Owendale then went head-and-head to the furlong pole, where Harpers First Ride, racing closest to the inner rail, began to repel the 7-10 favorite. Approaching the wire, Cruz celebrated with a few excited fist pumps when realizing he was about to notch just the third graded victory of his six-year riding career and his first since 2016.

“The horse really had a kick in the stretch,” he said.

:: Get DRF Betting Strategies for Pimlico’s Preakness Day card

Owendale, ridden by John Velazquez, finished two lengths behind the winner and another half-length before Cordmaker in third. Tenfold, the 2019 Pimlico Classic winner, was fourth as the 4-1 second choice and was followed in order by Forewarned, Someday Jones, and Clubman.

Harpers First Ride, trained by local conditioner Claudio Gonzalez for MCA Racing Stable, returned $13 as third choice after finishing in 1:54.97 over a fast track. Bred in Maryland by Sagamore Farm, the 4-year-old Paynter gelding now has won eight of 14 starts, with this being his first graded score. He earned $150,000.

Monongahela and Plus Que Parfait were early scratches, leaving a field of seven older horses.

The $2 exacta (9-8) paid $29.20, the $1 trifecta (9-8-1) returned $105, and the 10-cent superfecta (9-8-1-5) was worth $14.15.

Five Horse of the Year honorees have won the Pimlico Special since it was revived in 1988 following a lengthy hiatus. This was its 50th running.

* Eight of the 10 preceding Friday races on this penultimate card of the six-day Preakness meet were qualifiers for the popular Claiming Crown, with winners being awarded automatic berths to the 22nd annual series set for Dec. 5 at sister track Gulfstream Park. Those Claiming Crown preps offered purses ranging from $35,000 to $50,000, with Trevor McCarthy riding three of the eight winners.

* First post for the 12-race Preakness Day card Saturday is 11 a.m. Eastern.