Magic Wallet, Jumping the Gun prevail in juvenile stakes
Magic Wallet, a 2-year-old colt trained by Claudio Gonzalez, left no room for doubt when he pulled away to win the $75,000 Dover Stakes at Delaware Park on Thursday. The Maryland-bred is still unbeaten after shipping to two tracks in less than three weeks.
“He acts like an older horse with everything he does,” Gonzalez said. “In the morning with galloping and in the barn, he just acts like an older horse. We have always really liked him and today he showed he could be a good one. I also think distance will not be a problem for him.”
In his debut at Colonial Downs last month, Magic Wallet split a $70,000 maiden special weight victory three ways in a triple dead heat, but he was in no mood to share on a good track at Delaware on Thursday. The unbeaten colt broke near the front early, but jockey Victor Carrasco waited for others to advance before making his move.
Max Capacity and Mr. Supreme broke sharply and vied for the early lead through a quarter-mile in 23.01 seconds, but both runners were already showing signs of fatigue entering the far turn, leaving the race in the hands of several closers. Majestic Blue, a gelding trained by Lynn Ashby, made an early bid under jockey Carol Cedeno after hopping at the start, hustling forward on the far turn to take a one-length lead through a half-mile in 46.52.
While Majestic Blue was pulling away from Max Capacity turning for home, Carrasco was guiding Magic Wallet to the outside to prepare for a wide bid in the stretch. Blue Forty Two, a 35-1 longshot trained by Christopher Seale, made a move from last along the rail to move into contention as well.
Magic Wallet and Blue Forty Two began their stretch runs in roughly similar positions, but when Majestic Blue began to fade, only one of them had the closing kick to run him down. Carrasco and Magic Wallet easily drove past and pulled away in the final strides to win by 2 3/4 lengths. He completed the six furlongs in 1:12.07 and paid $4.80 to win.
Majestic Blue prevailed by a nose for second over Blue Forty Two, who outran his odds under jockey Gabriel Maldonado but could not sustain his rally from well off the pace.
Wall Art, a colt trained by Kieron Magee, ran on for a quarter-mile after breaking outwardly but was pulled up by jockey Jaime Rodriguez and walked off.
Blue Hen
Jumping the Gun, a 2-year-old filly trained by Andrew Simoff, made the most of a perfect trip under Julio Hernandez to win the $75,000 Blue Hen Stakes at Delaware Park on Thursday.
“Since I have had her, she has never done anything wrong,” Simoff said. “She came off the truck from the farm and you could just see, she had it altogether. When she went past the five-eighths, I was a little concerned, but when I saw Julio stand up, I knew he had a lot of horse and we were in good shape.”
The Blue Hen was the first juvenile stakes held at Delaware this meet and attracted a shortened field of six after Lunar Buzz and Edy’s Flame scratched. Coming off a 1 1/2-length maiden victory in her debut at Delaware last month, Jumping the Gun had to deal with several shipping rivals but easily passed her second test.
Her strongest challenger was expected to be Lilies N Paradise, fifth-place finisher in the $225,000 Debutante at Churchill Downs last time out. Trainer Mike Maker said that he hoped a trip to Delaware would help her find a softer spot, but she was immediately compromised when Blames Honey, one of two fillies trained by Anthony Farrior, broke sharply from the rail to challenge her for the early lead.
While Lilies N Paradise chased close behind Blames Honey through an opening quarter-mile in 22.46, Jumping the Gun and Hernandez settled in fifth and quickly began making up ground entering the far turn. By the time Lilies N Paradise put away her front-running rival, Jumping the Gun was already moving forward and pulled alongside her through a half-mile in 46.24.
Lilies N Paradise and jockey Jaime Rodriguez dug in stubbornly on the inside at the top of the stretch, but the 9-5 second choice was simply on the wrong side of a powerful swing. Jumping the Gun motored down the center of the track, invulnerable to any further challenge, and kicked clear to win by 4 1/4 lengths. She completed the six-furlong sprint in 1:12 and paid $3.60 to win.
Sassy Fox, the other filly trained by Farrior, never came close to the winner, but the 17-1 longshot managed to make up ground on Lilies N Paradise and finished three-quarters of a length ahead of her for second.
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