Laughing Boy awarded Excelsior Stakes win via DQ, returns $111

Trained David Jacobson had himself a big Saturday at Aqueduct as he saddled five winners, including Laughing Boy’s victory by disqualification in the $150,000 Excelsior Stakes for 4-year-olds and upward at 1 1/8 miles.

Laughing Boy, dismissed as the longest shot on the board at 54-1 odds, immediately went to the lead from his inside post under jockey Samuel Camacho Jr., and they were hounded through a quick opening quarter of 23.67 seconds by Rocco Strong, Messier, and a four-wide Olympic Dreams.

Olympic Dreams was the first to back out of it, but Laughing Boy continued to run hard while pressured after a half-mile clocking of 46.60.

Messier, winless since the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes in 2022, turned up the pressure on the second turn, and they drew abreast of the pacesetter after six furlongs in 1:10.73.

Messier and jockey Jose Gomez had the momentum, and they surged into the stretch with a short lead. Messier drifted inward, however, and that forced Camacho to check along the rail with Laughing Boy.

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Favored Messier completed the distance in 1:49.91 while a length ahead of a still-trying Laughing Boy with Kuchar an excuse-free 4 1/4-lengths back in third. Then came Quality Chic, Kinetic Sky, Curbstone, Olympic Dreams and Rocco Strong.

Camacho lodged an objection, and the stewards conducted a very lengthy review of the stretch run. They ultimately decided that the incident warranted a disqualification.

Messier was placed second behind Laughing Boy, who returned $111 to win. It was Camacho’s first stakes win in New York.

"I loved him [Laughing Boy] in here,” Jacobson told NYRA publicity. “The horse has run some good races, but he just got all out of whack in the last race. All his other races are tough races, and he ran well. He lost some momentum - if he had got through on the rail and the horse [No. 5, Messier] didn't come over on him, we would have won the race outright without a doubt."

Gomez disagreed. “Nothing at all happened. My horse lugged in a little bit, but he didn’t touch him [No. 1, Laughing Boy], didn’t bother him. We were going by him, and he wasn’t beating us today.”

A 6-year-old horse by Distorted Humor out of the Congrats mare Applauding, Laughing Boy was purchased for $400,000 as a yearling, and won twice from 11 starts for trainer Ken McPeek before selling for $180,000 at public auction during the summer of 2022.

Laughing Boy then went through a dry spell while conditioned by Gedaliah Goodman, failing to reach the winner’s circle from 10 starts. Returning to the Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age sale last year, Laughing Boy was purchased for $47,000 by Jacobson and Lawrence Roman.

Laughing Boy hit the board three times in his first five races for Jacobson without winning and was even dangled into a $35,000 conditioned claimer during the Belmont at the Big A meeting.

A trip to Charles Town was just what the doctor ordered, however, and Laughing Boy won the Chocolate Town Stakes there at one mile on Nov. 22. His subsequent three starts yielded no victories, but all those races were contested over sealed, sloppy tracks, including his final start before the Excelsior, a last-place finish in Aqueduct’s Stymie on March 2.

Laughing Boy has won 4 times from 31 starts for earnings of $369,988.

Jacobson’s other winners on the program were Synthesis ($13), Heard On Thestreet ($13.20), Colonel Vargo ($7.20) and Sittin On Go ($9.40).

"We had the horses all ready and prepared,” Jacobson said. “The races fell our way and we got a few breaks. In this race it was obvious the horse should come down and the stewards did the right thing."

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