In a gutsy front-running performance, Hollywood Import earned his second stakes victory in the $100,000 Spectacular Bid at Laurel Park on Wednesday. Obstructed and delayed by poor weather in January, trainer Gary Capuano liked what he saw when he finally managed to get the 3-year-old colt back in the gate. Close the Gate, a last-out maiden winner trained by John Salzman Jr., gave Hollywood Import everything he could handle in the stretch, but the game front-runner managed to re-rally under jockey J.G. Torrealba and pulled clear by three-quarters of a length. He completed the seven furlongs in 1:26.36 and paid $7.20 to win. “He really dug in and came back,” Capuano said. “It was a really gutsy performance. It’s hard for those horses to come back after getting passed, but he dug in nice.” After a front-running victory in the $100,000 Heft in December, Capuano immediately began considering options to give Hollywood Import more distance. He boldly targeted the $200,000 Withers at Aqueduct, preparing for the 1 1/8-mile race by working Hollywood Import and stablemate Wild Warrior at a mile three times in two weeks. But when a brutal cold snap fell over the Northeast, interrupting most training schedules in the Mid-Atlantic, Capuano began to worry about taking the chance at a new distance. He still plans to stretch out with Hollywood Import soon, but in his 3-year-old debut, he decided to stay home for the Spectacular Bid. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Five horses scrambled for the lead out of the gate, but Hollywood Import quickly settled the debate and took a 1 1/2-length lead through an opening quarter-mile in 24.17 seconds. Torrealba coaxed him through a half-mile in 48.66, but his work was far from done. Stalking from third and then second, Close the Gate was the only one who challenged in the late stages. His bid under Ismerio Villalobos was furious, and after taking a short lead turning for home, he was on the verge of leaving Hollywood Import well behind when the early leader finally kicked back into gear. Sharper than ever after a rigorous stamina-building regimen in January, Capuano’s colt found what he needed to make one final run. Torrealba urged him back into contention in the final furlong, and with a decisive burst, he managed to retake command for good. “I do want to stretch him out to two turns if I can,” Capuano said. “But it worked out. Plan B worked out really good, so it was okay.” Capuano, who entered two more runners in the field of seven, said he was content with Wild Warrior’s fifth-place finish, as the colt is better suited to route distances. Awesome Andy came out of the race sound after a disappointing sixth. Code of Silence, a restricted stakes winner last year, closed from last to finish third for trainer Timothy Keefe. He finished a neck ahead of Trendsetter, the 5-2 favorite who finished flat for trainer Ben Colebrook. Because the Spectacular Bid was pushed back from Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, Capuano said he is somewhat uncertain about Hollywood Import’s next start. The $100,000 Miracle Wood at Laurel on Feb. 21 and Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct on Feb. 28 are both suitable races at a mile, but if the trainer feels pressed for time, he said he could skip both and target the $100,000 Private Terms at Laurel in March. Xtra Heat When Mike Maker shipped 3-year-old Victory Music to Laurel for the $100,000 Xtra Heat on Wednesday, it was clear that he wasn’t wasting his time. The trainer had not run a horse at the track in more than a year, and he could not have asked for a better return when his front-running filly dug in late for a game photo-finish victory. Based at Oaklawn since December, Victory Music moved to Fair Hill and recorded a published workout on Feb. 1 after the Xtra Heat was postponed Saturday. She was one of five shippers in the field of seven, with several trainers tempted to travel for a six-furlong stakes for 3-year-old fillies. A deep closer in the $135,000 Astral Spa Overnight in December, Victory Music went straight for the lead under Angel Cruz at Laurel and dueled on the outside of rail runner For the Ladies, who shipped in from New York for trainer Tom Morley. The pair dueled through an opening quarter-mile in 22.95 seconds and half-mile in 46.98, but Victory Music wore her down around the far turn and took a slight advantage turning for home. “They told me to break sharp,” Cruz said. “The filly got a lot of speed. Last time, she broke bad, but today, she broke perfect, and I sat on the outside and it played out well.” Slowing things down before the stretch was key for Cruz, who could feel several challengers closing in behind the top pair. Bresha, a Keeneland-based filly trained by Wayne Catalano, proved to be the most persistent of the bunch and drew alongside the leader in the final furlong. In her first start on dirt after a debut victory on synthetic in December, Bresha briefly took command in midstretch and seemed ready to move past for good under jockey Joe Rocco Jr. Cruz kept calling on Victory Music, however, and despite dueling on the outside all the way around, the filly still had enough to come back on her late-running rival and win by a neck. She finished the six-furlong sprint in 1:13.72 and paid $7 to win. Victory Music’s triumph in the Xtra Heat marked Mike Maker’s first victory at Laurel since November 2023, when Rosy Tomorrows won a $30,000 maiden-claiming race on turf. In September of that year, he won the $100,000 Japan Turf Cup with Yamato, his last stakes winner at the track. Tap Into Grace, a Maryland-based filly trained by Brittany Russell, closed to finish three-quarters of a length back in third. She won her own photo over Unfaithful Rose, who rallied too late for trainer Ethan West. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.