Mid-Atlantic: Noteworthy Peach back for more

After Noteworthy Peach’s six-length win in the Jennings Handicap at Laurel Park on Dec. 26, trainer Gary Capuano considered giving the then-3-year-old a freshening. He ultimately decided to keep the son of Read the Footnotes in training and has entered Noteworthy Peach in a third-level optional race Saturday.

“I was debating whether to give him a break, and the way the weather turned out, maybe I should have,” Capuano said. “They had a race at a flat mile for him last Monday, but there was no racing because of the weather. They brought it back Saturday at seven-eighths, so we’ll go there and then maybe give him some time off.”

Noteworthy Peach has improved dramatically since making his first three starts in maiden-claiming company in late 2014 and early 2015. He finished second in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico in April and, following a five-month layoff, has won 2 of 3 starts. He was clearly best in the one-mile Jennings against statebreds and earned an 89 Beyer Speed Figure while finishing under a strong hand ride from Jevian Toledo.