Luna Belle runs by them all in Wide Country Stakes
Luna Belle cemented her status as the region's leading 3-year-old filly Saturday with a powerful last-to-first victory in Laurel Park's $100,000 Wide Country Stakes at seven furlongs.
Sent away the overwhelming 2-5 favorite in the eight-horse field, Luna Belle ($2.80) raced in and among horses near the back of the pack as Sandy's Garden provided the pace while pushed by both Beneath the Stars and Buff My Boots through a wind-aided opening quarter-mile of 23.11 seconds.
Luna Belle was still last while in tight between rivals after a half-mile in 46.24, but jockey Denis Araujo finally spied a seam inside the quarter pole. Luna Bella angled to the six path turning into the stretch and poured it on in the final three-sixteenths of the mile to win going away by three lengths in 1:24.71 over the fast track.
She Is Wisky, a 52-1 chance, made a bold bid to take a brief lead inside the furlong marker, but was no match for the winner. It was another 4 1/2 lengths back to Sandy's Garden in third. Then came Qualy, Buff My Boots, Moody Woman, Beneath the Stars and Money's Worth.
Winning trainer Hamilton Smith admitted in a post-race interview broadcast by Laurel Park that he was a little worried "for the first five-eighths of a mile.”
“She was running dead last and looked like she was in a bit of trouble around the turn,” he said. “Once she got clear, she came running like she did in the past races."
Luna Belle has now won three consecutive stakes races. She began her streak with a late-running triumph in the restricted Maryland Juvenile Fillies Championship on Dec. 18. She followed up that win with a six-length score in the Xtra Heat on Jan. 29.
A homebred foaled in Maryland owned by Smith and Deborah Greene, Luna Belle is a daughter of Great Notion and stakes-placed Heavenly Moon (by Mojave Moon). She is a half-sister to stakes-placed performers The Poser, Moon Virginia and Chinquapin. Luna Belle has won four of nine starts with career earnings of $246,570.
Smith said he would like to stretch Luna Belle out in distance for her next start. While plans are obviously still being formulated, the next local race for this division is the $100,000 Beyond the Wire at a one-turn mile on March 19.
Miracle Wood
Racing outside and in the clear suits Local Motive just fine, and the Maryland-bred gelding worked out a nice pace-pressing trip to win the $100,000 Miracle Wood Stakes for 3-year-olds at a one-turn mile.
Perfect Day, 2 for 2 entering the Miracle Wood, carved out moderate fractions of 24.17 and 47.24 while pushed by Local Motive and a three-wide Conclusive. J. D. Acosta pushed the button on Local Motive turning into the long stretch and his mount responded.
Local Motive took the lead inside the quarter pole and held on by two lengths over rail-skimming closer Majestic Frontier. Heffner finished another 2 1/2 lengths in third and was followed home by Perfect Day, Maximum Impact and favored Conclusive. Alottahope, Coastal Mission and Friar Laurence scratched.
Local Motive completed the distance in 1:39.14 and paid $9.20 as the third choice in the wagering.
"It set up exactly like I figured," trainer John Salzman, Jr. said in a telephone interview after the Miracle Wood. "I figured [Perfect Day] would show some speed. The good part is we were outside today. I didn't have to worry about horses coming over on him."
Local Motive won the first two starts of his career, including the $100,000 Hickory Tree Stakes on turf at Colonial Downs on Aug. 2. He was then sent away the 9-10 favorite in the Timonium Juvenile on Aug. 29, but was vanned off after being hit in the eye by a dirt clod.
Local Motive then finished fifth in Monmouth's Smoke Glacken Stakes on Sept. 26 before placing third in the Maryland Million Nursery at Laurel on Oct. 23. He returned to the winner's circle in the James F. Lewis III Stakes on Nov. 13 but was the beaten favorite in the Maryland Juvenile Championship in his final start of 2021.
Local Motive made his seasonal debut in the Spectacular Bid Stakes at six furlongs on Jan. 29 and finished a well-beaten third. Salzman believes Local Motive had an excuse.
"The dirt got to hitting him,” Salzman said. “He took himself back to last. Luckily J. D. knew him and it was basically the same thing that happened to him at Timonium."
Local Motive was bred in Maryland by Wasabi Ventures Stables, Greenspring Mares & Bowman and Higgins Stable. Owned by Bird Mobberley LLC, he is a son of Divining Rod. His second dam, Sticky, won three stakes and $381,650 in earnings. His third dam, Hair Spray, captured the Grade 3 Safely Kept Stakes.
Salzman said Laurel's Private Terms Stakes at Laurel on March 19 is a potential next objective. The Private Terms is at 1 1/16 miles.
Nellie Morse
Backers of Kiss the Girl endured some anxious moments when the Into Mischief mare steadied in behind horses entering the stretch of the $100,000 Nellie Morse Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles.
Jockey Victor Carrasco remained patient, however, and he found a seam in between rivals in the upper stretch. From there, it was all Kiss the Girl, who burst through to defeat Artful Splatter by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:45.60 over a fast track on a windy Saturday at Laurel Park.
The Nellie Morse scratched down to a field of five after the defections of Frost Point and Scatrattleandroll, and Kiss the Girl ($7.60) was made the 5-2 second choice in the betting. She settled into the pocket as Smooth With a Kick and Artful Splatter sparred through fractions of 23.66 and 47.16.
Meanwhile, race favorite Miss Leslie crept up to the leaders with a wide bid on the second turn and appeared ready to capitalize when Kiss the Girl found traffic problems. Miss Leslie soon flattened out, however, and Kiss the Girl went on to earn her fourth stakes triumph. Artful Splatter finished four lengths ahead of Miss Leslie. Then came Smooth With a Kick and Golden Plume.
“She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite horses,” winning trainer Michael Trombetta said in a post-race interview broadcast by Laurel Park. “Today, she had some adversity turning for home and Victor did a great job. He just had to regroup and find another avenue to get home.”
Kiss the Girl is a 5-year-old mare by champion sire Into Mischief. Second in the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes in 2019 when trained by Todd Pletcher, she has now won four stakes for Trombetta, including the Geisha at Laurel on Jan. 29.
Bred by Classic Thoroughbred XII and owned by Three Diamonds Farm, Kiss the Girl has won 8 of 23 races for earnings of $456,686.
John B. Campbell
The trainer-jockey combination of Salzman and Acosta earned a stakes double when Galerio desperately held off Forewarned’s stretch bid to take the $100,000 John B. Campbell at 1 1/16 miles.
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Galerio ($8.60) sat a perfect tracking trip as favored Workin On a Dream was occupied on the backstretch by Gentleman Joe through splits of 23.83 and 46.66 seconds. Acosta moved Galerio three wide on the second turn and they built a clear lead only to face Forewarned’s oncoming challenge.
Forewarned surged, but Galerio stuck his neck out and got his nose down on the wire to prevail in 1:43.67. It was three lengths back to Gentleman Joe in third. Next were Treasure Trove, Torch of Truth, Workin On a Dream and Bobby G.
Galerio is all racehorse as evidenced by his lifetime record of 33 starts with 10 wins, 15 seconds, 3 thirds and $514,250 in earnings. Six-times stakes-placed, including a runner-up effort in this race last year, Galerio finally earned his well-deserved first stakes victory.
Salzman won a four-way shake when claiming Galerio for $50,000 on behalf of Bird Mobberley LLC and Grady Griffith at Laurel on Nov. 6.
Galerio finished fourth in his first start for the new connections in the Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial on Nov. 26, then placed a close second in a $35,000 claimer with a two-other-than optional condition on Dec. 30. Galerio finished third in his 6-year-old debut in the restricted Jennings Stakes on Jan. 29.
“Lately, it doesn’t look like he wants to get to this winner’s circle,” Salzman said in a post-race interview broadcast by Laurel Park. “He was scaring me today, but he did it. He hung on.”
Bred in Maryland by Daniel Marconi, Galerio is a son of Jump Start
“He don’t like me,” Salzman joked. “He bites me, he kicks me. He doesn’t like me.”
If Galerio keeps winning, the bruises will be worth it.