Lanerie notches double with Debutante, Juvenile wins

Corey Lanerie rode both winning favorites Sunday in the last two stakes of the Ellis Park meet – although the second came more hard-earned than the first.

Lanerie began his stakes double at the western Kentucky track with a 13 1/2-length romp aboard Seregenti Empress in the $75,000 Ellis Debutante, then followed some 30 minutes later with Tobacco Road, who emerged from a three-way stretch duel to capture the $75,000 Ellis Juvenile by three-quarters of a length.

Serengeti Empress, always on the lead, returned $4.80 after finishing seven furlongs over a fast track in a swift 1:22.29. Include Edition was second and Lucky Girasol was third in a field of 11 2-year-old fillies.

“I just had to be a passenger,” Lanerie said. “I actually reached back and hit her a few times because I thought I heard something, but I looked back and nobody was there. She finished with plenty in the tank.”

Serengeti Empress, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Alternation, was bought last September at Keeneland for $70,000 by trainer Tom Amoss on behalf of owner Joel Politi. Her first two career starts last month resulted in an easy maiden win at Indiana Grand and a fourth-place finish in the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga.

“We knew she was good, and today was a terrific step forward,” Amoss said.

Tobacco Road wins Ellis Juvenile

In the Juvenile, Tobacco Road ($5.60), a Kentucky-bred colt by Quality Road, rallied from eighth to lead a one-two finish for trainer Steve Asmussen when finishing seven furlongs in 1:23.99. Whiskey Echo was second, with Manny Wah another head back in third in a field of 10 colts and geldings.

“The speed got away from us early, but I wasn’t too worried,” Lanerie said. “At the quarter-pole, I thought I’d win as easy as I wanted, but those other two horses put up a fight.

“It’s really nice to win races on young horses like this. We’re in great shape.”

Tobacco Road, owned by L and N Racing, was making his stakes debut when exiting a July 29 maiden win at Ellis.

The Debutante and Juvenile are timely lead-ins toward two graded events to be run Sept. 15 at Churchill Downs. Those races are the Pocahontas and Iroquois, the first points races toward the 2019 Kentucky Oaks and Derby.

The Debutante and Juvenile concluded a schedule of 10 stakes at the 2018 Ellis meet. Six programs remain at the 30-day summer meet, which runs through Labor Day, Sept. 3.