Luna Belle cemented her status as the region's leading 3-year-old filly on Saturday with an impressive victory at Laurel Park in the $100,000 Beyond the Wire Stakes. The Beyond the Wire was one of five stakes on the card. The daughter of Great Notion entered the one-mile race with the reputation as a late-runner, but she stayed closer to the pace in her route debut. She sat three wide and just off pacesetters Diamond Collector and Click to Confirm after an opening quarter of 24.19 seconds. Jockey Denis Araujo could hold Luna Belle no longer after a half-mile in 47.27 and they took the lead entering the far turn. Luna Belle opened up a solid lead through six furlongs in 1:12.41, but faced a challenge from Candy Light turning into the long stretch of the one-turn mile. Candy Light's bid was brief, however, as Luna Belle stayed to her business. She finished up strong to complete the distance in 1:38.93 while 3 1/2 lengths clear of Candy Light. It was 5 1/2 lengths back to Click to Confirm in third. Completing the order of finish were Diamond Collector, Luna Belle returned $2.40 as the prohibitive betting favorite. "She was a lot closer than she normally is," trainer Hamilton Smith said via telephone after the Beyond the Wire. "Going a mile, she should be up a little closer than in the sprints, but she was a little closer than I expected. She responded well and it looked like she won it pretty handily." The Beyond the Wire was Luna Belle's fourth stakes victory in a row. She rallied from last to win the Maryland Juvenile Fillies Championship at seven furlongs on Dec. 18, grabbed the Xtra Heat by six lengths on Jan. 29, then overcame significant traffic trouble to dispatch her rivals in the Wide Country on Feb. 19. "She's been running steady since last summer so we'll just see how she repsonds before we decide where to go," Smith said. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Smith did not discount a race outside of Maryland for her next start. Not For Love: Whereshetoldmetogo repeats Whereshetoldmetogo won the $75,000 Not For Love for the second year in a row after rallying resolutely to deny pacesetter Jaxon Traveler in the six-furlong test for Maryland-restricted performers. Trained by Brittany Russell, Whereshetoldmetogo raced three wide in fifth position as Jaxon Traveler cleared from the outside post to set an opening quarter split of 22.53 seconds. Pressed by Air Token from the outside, Jaxon Traveler completed a half-mile in 45.62 with Whereshetoldmetogo advancing into third under jockey Jevian Toledo. Jaxon Traveler dispatched Air Token and dug in gamely, but Whereshetoldmetogo just wouldn't go away. Whereshetoldmetogo forged past Jaxon Traveler to prevail by three-quartes of ar length in 1:10.97. Jaxon Traveler held second by 1 1/2 lengths over Air Token with Youngest of Five a neck back in forth. Next were The Wolfman, Big Engine, and Karan's Notion. Whereshetoldmetogo returned $8.20 as the third-choice. Russell has a definite plan when it comes to preparing the 7-year-old and that is to give him plenty of time when his tender feet need a break. Whereshetoldmetogo has won his last five starts in races following layoffs of 61 to 180 days. The Not For Love was his first run since a fifth-place finish as the favorite in the Dave's Friend at Laurel on Dec. 26. “He stays in training when we back off of him,” Russell told Daily Racing Form earlier this week. “We have to take care of his feet and the winter training is hard on him." "We love this horse," Russell said in a post-race interview broadcast by Laurel Park. "It set up really well for him. Toledo rode him beautifully." Whereshetoldmetogo is a gelded son of El Padrino owned by the partnership of Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber, and BTR Racing. He has won 14 of 33 starts, is 7 for 9 at Laurel, and has 10 stakes victories. Conniver: Bargain claim wins first stakes Fille d'Esprit is a true rags-to-riches story. Claimed for $10,000 by trainer Jerry Robb during the summer of 2020, Fille d'Esprit became a stakes winner Saturday with an authoritative victory in the $75,000 Conniver, a seven-furlong race for Maryland-restricted fillies and mares. Ridden by Xavier Perez, Fille d'Esprit tracked longshot pacesetter Combat Queen through fractions of 23.82 and 47.51 seconds. The field bunched up behind the two leaders on the turn, but Fille d'Esprit quickly spurted away turning into the stretch and turned the Conniver into a procession. :: Want the best bonus in racing? Get a $250 deposit match, $10 free bet, and free Formulator with DRF Bets. Code: WINNING She was eight lengths better than runner-up Kiss the Girl, who nosed out Artful Splatter for second. Then came Coconut Cake and Combat Queen. Fille d'Esprit completed the seven furlongs in 1:24.54 and paid $3.40 as the betting favorite. Champagne Toast scratched. "I claimed her because she's bred identical to Anna's Bandit," Robb said referencing his recently retired stable star. Anna's Bandit, a winner of 17 of 39 starts for earnings of $806,655, captured two consecutive editions of the Conniver, and is also by Great Notion out of a No Armistice mare. Following a seven-length victory in a third-level allowance with a $50,000 claiming option in her final start of 2021, Fille d'Esprit finished a troubled seventh in the What a Summer at six furlongs on Jan. 29. She then was third in the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie at seven furlongs on Feb. 19. "The race before the Fritchie where she walked out of the gate and then got back in the race gave me confidence to run in the Fritchie," Robb added in a post-race interview broadcast by Laurel Park. "This is a big step down [in class] from the Fritchie so we had to be here." Fille d'Esprit has won 8 of 14 lifetime starts. She was bred in Maryland by Sweet Spirits Stables and is owned by C J I Phoenix Group and No Guts No Glory Stable. Harrison E. Johnson: Dontmesawithme upsets Dontmesawithme earned his first career stakes victory by upsetting the $100,000 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial. Trained by Flint Stites and ridden by Abner Adorno, Dontmesawithme broke sharp from the far outside post in the one mile race and went the first quarter in 23.90 while lightly pressured from the inside by Workin On a Dream. Whiskey and You split those rivals on the backstretch to take control after a half-mile in 47.01. Adorno remained patient aboard Dontmesawithme, engaged Whiskey and You from three paths off the rail following six furlongs in 1:11.84, scooted to the lead in upper stretch, and stayed strong despite hopping back to his left lead approaching the second wire finish. Dontmesawithme completed the distance in 1:39.09 seconds and paid $38.20 as the fifth betting choice. Workin On a Dream was second, 1 1/2 lengths behind the winner. It was another two lengths back to Galerio in third. Galerio was the odds-on favorite based on a triple-digit Beyer stakes victory in his previous start. He seemed a bit sluggish leaving the gate, advanced into a comfortable pace-tracking position, swung outside turning for home, but was only one-paced in the stretch. After Galerio came Whiskey and You, Torch of Truth, Gentleman Joe, and Bobby G. Dontmesawithme failed to hit the board in his three prior stakes appearances. He won a seven-furlong allowance race at Parx on Feb. 1, then finished sixth of seven in another allowance there 15 days later. "He ran very well at sven-eighths at Parx and I just thought he'd like the one-turn mile," Stites said during a post-race interview broadcast by Laurel. A 5-year-old homebred owned by Stephen and Debbie Jackson, Dontmesawithme is a gelded son of Fast Anna. He has captured 7 of 20 starts.