McCarthy sweeps dirt-sprint stakes with Tiz He the One, Our Super Freak

Tiz He the One makes his home right now in New York with trainer Linda Rice, but his heart – and best races – belong to Maryland.

Tiz He the One made it five wins from six starts at Laurel Park when powered home behind a hot pace and won the $75,000 Challedon Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths Saturday.

Taco Supream bid into a strong 44.93-second half-mile pace and held second despite tiring late, coming home three-quarters of a length in front of 4-5 favorite Wonderful Light, who appears to better suit six-furlong races. The seven-furlong Challedon was open to horses who hadn’t won a stakes race in 2019, and Tiz He the One clocked a snappy 1:22.17 over a fast dirt track.

Tiz He the One ran through three straight allowance conditions in one-turn Laurel miles last fall when trained by Jeremiah Englehart, and while jockey Trevor McCarthy said after Saturday’s win that his mount probably wants to run farther, Tiz He the One had this race wrapped up a furlong from home after pouncing on the enervated speed in upper stretch.

A 5-year-old gelding owned by Lady Sheila Stable and Iris Smith Stable, Tiz He the One is by Tiz Wonderful out of Barby Sue, by Purge.

Freak gets jump on Hot and Row, wins Again

Our Super Freak stalked the speed, got first run on favored Sagauro Row, and won the $75,000 Shine Again by three-quarters of a length, giving jockey Trevor McCarthy a sweep of the dirt-sprint stakes on the Saturday card at Laurel.

Steamy Hot edged 2-1 favorite Saguaro Row for second after the latter wound up very wide into the homestretch while trying to close into a moderate tempo.

Munificent and Last Love, neither of whom played any final part, led the Shine Again through a half-mile in a tepid 46.07 seconds, 1.14 seconds slower than the Challedon two races earlier. That gave an edge to Our Super Freak, who jumped on the pacesetters past the quarter pole, took a two-length lead to the stretch call and held her advantage to the wire. She stopped the timer in 1:22.98 for seven furlongs on a fast track and paid $7.40 as the second choice in the Shine Again, which was restricted to fillies and mares who hadn’t won a stakes race in 2019.

Jamie Ness trains Our Super Freak for Jagger Inc. and the 3-year-old filly, by Mineshaft out of Thatcher, by Giant’s Causeway, has prospered since being turned back from routes to sprints over the summer. She won for the fourth time in 17 races while making her 11th start of 2019.