Laurel: Noteworthy Peach looks ready to return to stakes company
Noteworthy Peach, the champion Maryland-bred 3-year-old male of 2015, bounced back from his first start following a five-month layoff to win an off-the-turf optional-claiming race at Laurel Park last Saturday. Noteworthy Peach had finished fifth on July 10.
A son of Read the Footnotes trained by Gary Capuano, Noteworthy Peach is now 5 for 12 in his career. Last year, he won the Jennings Handicap for statebreds and was second against open company in the Federico Tesio Stakes.
“He wasn’t quite ready to win the first time; he wasn’t tight enough,” Capuano said. “We had him ready to run [Saturday]. He’s coming back nice.”
Capuano entered Noteworthy Peach as a main-track-only runner in the third-level optional claimer. Carded as a 1 1/16-mile turf race, the distance was shortened to a mile when the race was switched to the main track.
“They were calling for storms today off and on; I was going to treat him with Lasix and take my shot,” Capuano said. “I knew we’d go to the flat mile. He likes the mile, and I just wanted to run – that’s the main thing. I took a shot, and it worked out.”
With the Saturday win under his belt, look for Noteworthy Peach to return to the stakes ranks in his next start.