Motion doubles up in two of three stakes on card
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Graham Motion has a pair of 5-year-old mares entered in the All Along Stakes, one highly familiar to him and one still rather obscure.
The trainer isn’t sure what to expect from Sirona in her North American debut at 1 1/8 miles on turf, but he has spent the past year trying to get No Show Sammy Jo back in the winner’s circle. A trip to Laurel Park could be beneficial for both horses.
The All Along is one of three $100,000 stakes on the card, which also includes the Laurel Dash and the Sensible Lady Turf Dash.
Last year, No Show Sammy Jo made her stakes debut in the All Along and found the perfect trip under Jorge Ruiz, pulling away to win by 1 1/4 lengths. She missed by a nose in the Grade 3 Long Island next time out and has lost four races since.
“I’ve been a little disappointed with her this year,” Motion said. “I thought she was one of my best mares going into the season. I’ve tried her in tough spots and she’s run respectably, but I really just want to get her back on track.”
Motion has worked with No Show Sammy Jo for the better part of three years now, but he has only had a few weeks with Sirona. The mare recorded her first published workout at the Fair Hill Training Center on Aug. 30.
“I haven’t had her very long, to be honest,” Motion said. “There are just limited opportunities in the fall, and this seemed like a great spot to get her started.”
The German-bred made her last start in the Group 3 Princess Elizabeth at Epsom in June, finishing sixth by 11 1/2 lengths. It was arguably her worst race since her 3-year-old season, as she had been running well in stakes company for more than a year before that start.
Motion’s mares have a distinct class edge in the field of seven, to the point that their most intriguing challenger has no wins at all. After five defeats in maiden company to begin her career, trainer Jonathan Thomas has entered 4-year-old For Arrogate in her stakes debut. He said that he considers a minor prize a strong possibility for the deep closer.
Laurel Dash
After shipping to Laurel off a layoff earlier this year, Mischievous Angel will return to Maryland off another short break in the Laurel Dash on Saturday. Trainer Jorge Abreu is one of several trainers coaxed south by the six-furlong turf sprint.
At a mile in the Grade 3 Poker in June, Mischievous Angel pressed the early pace and faded to seventh by 6 1/2 lengths. At 5 1/2 furlongs in the $150,000 Harvey Pack in July, he was run off his feet and finished six lengths behind loose front-runner Bring Theband Home.
The gelding has won two allowances for Abreu, a six-furlong sprint at Aqueduct and a seven-furlong race at Kentucky Downs. After a runner-up finish going a mile in the $100,000 Henry S. Clark at Laurel, Abreu said that he might have found the perfect spot for him in the Laurel Dash.
“We finished second when we brought him to that course earlier this year at a mile,” Abreu said. “And I don’t think he wants to go a mile. I think three-quarters is what he wants.”
Trainer Michael Salvaggio Jr. also believes that the six-furlong stakes “seems like the ideal spot” for his gelding, Fierce and Strong. After three straight victories to kick off his 5-year-old campaign, the gelding struggled in the five-furlong Marshall Jenney at Penn National last month.
Sensible Lady Turf Dash
Most of the key contenders in the Sensible Lady Turf Dash Stakes will travel to Laurel in search of a bounce-back effort. Motion will double his chances with 4-year-old filly Toupie and 5-year-old mare Queen of the Mud.
In January, Motion shipped Toupie to Santa Anita and found the winner’s circle in the Grade 3 Las Cienegas. It was the first of four Grade 3 races she has run in this year. After a short break, she returned to finish fourth in the Giant’s Causeway, but her last two performances in the Royal North and Caress have been less encouraging.
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“Hopefully, getting a class relief now,” Motion said. “I’ve run her in some pretty tough spots. She’s a little tricky to place because I think five-eighths is a little short for her.”
Motion said that Queen of the Mud also should recover some form at the six-furlong distance. In her last two starts, she has lost by 19 1/2 combined lengths and has not finished better than seventh. Last year, the mare shipped to Laurel and finished second by a length in this race behind Loon Cry, who will return to run on Saturday for trainer Miguel Clement.
While most of the contenders are entering the Sensible Lady off defeats, Lifelovenlaughter could not be entering in better form. The 5-year-old mare has won three straight for trainer Mike Trombetta, including two state-restricted stakes. In June, she ran six furlongs at Laurel in the $100,000 Jameela and won by a length.
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