Nimitz Class looks to bounce back in Deputed Testamony
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Nimitz Class has blossomed into one of the better handicap horses in the region, and he’ll look to earn another stakes victory at Laurel Park in Saturday’s $100,000 Deputed Testamony for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles.
The Deputed Testamony is one of five stakes headlined by the $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash.
Nimitz Class’s five-race win streak, which included four stakes tallies, was snapped in his most recent start when second in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth.
Trained by Bruce Kravets for Tom Coulter’s Arrowwood Farm, Nimitz Class has won 10 of 17 races, and earned two triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures at Laurel earlier this year.
Ridin With Biden won last year’s Deputed Testamony for trainer Butch Reid and enters after finishing last of three in Delaware’s Battery Park behind Grade 1 winner Doppelganger.
“The race kind of fell apart,” Reid said. “Those races without any real pace, or anybody to judge it off of can come out with an outcome that you didn’t desire.”
Reid mentioned that his biggest concern is the weather and the prospect of triple-digit heat indexes. Laurel canceled Friday’s program due to the probability of oppressive heat.
Per Reid, Ridin With Biden’s main goal this fall is the Grade 3, $200,000 Greenwood Cup at Parx Racing, a race he captured in 2022.
Be Better steps back up into stakes company after winning two allowances.
“I think he just likes Maryland,” trainer Brittany Russell said. “We were thinking of giving him some time in between – he ran big last time – and point for this race. It came up real salty, but he’s trained really well.”
Jamie Ness counters with the uncoupled duo of Ournationonparade and Yodel E. A. Who, who have combined for 23 wins and more than $1 million in earnings. Ournationonparade hit the board in his last 11 races, including a win in the Maryland Million Classic over this course and distance last fall.
Yodel E. A. Who has sprinted for most of his career but rallied from off the pace to take a two-turn allowance on July 8 at Laurel.
Wish for Peace and Mischief Afoot also entered.
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Alma North
The complexion of the $100,000 Alma North for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs changed Thursday morning when trainer John Robb announced that he would scratch both Street Lute and Princess Kokachin.
“It’s too dangerous to run these horses without Lasix once they’ve been on it, especially in this kind of weather,” Robb said.
The defections leave a potential field of seven, with Beguine the likely pacesetter for trainer Ned Allard. Second in the Grade 3 Fantasy at Oaklawn last year, Beguine earned a 101 Beyer when second in a first-level allowance Nov. 13 at Aqueduct. She concluded her 2022 campaign with a runner-up try in the Garland of Roses.
“She made her first start back in the mud at Belmont, and she was so impressive,” Allard said about the 9 3/4-length win in a first-level allowance on May 20. “We talked ourselves into taking a shot in [the Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses at Belmont on June 17], and I don’t think she was quite seasoned enough to handle that group.”
The Bed o’Roses was won by reigning Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint champ Goodnight Olive.
Gunning, a half-sister to Kentucky Derby winner Mage, returns after finishing sixth of eight in the Skipat on May 20 at Pimlico.
“We weren’t thrilled with the way that one came out,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “It didn’t look like she had the cleanest trip.”
Sweet Gracie, Six the Hard Way, Dreamster, Response Time, and Moody Woman are expected.
Star de Naskra
Multiple stakes winner Coffeewithchris makes his second start since competing in the Preakness when heading the $75,000 Star De Naskra at seven furlongs for 3-year-old Maryland-bred or -sired runners.
Last of seven in the Preakness, Coffeewithchris then ran second in the open Concern behind odds-on Prince of Jericho. John Salzman Jr. trains the Ride On Curlin gelding.
Easy Action, Super Accelerate, It’s Viper, Freeze the Fire, Parkerness, and Feeling Woozy are among the other main contenders in the Star de Naskra.
Miss Disco
Malibu Moonshine, last year’s Maryland-bred champion juvenile filly, returns from more than a five-month layoff in the $75,000 Miss Disco for statebred or -sired 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs.
A daughter of Bourbon Courage, Malibu Moonshine won all three starts in Maryland last year, including two stakes. She last raced Feb. 5 at Aqueduct, where she placed third in the Ruthless.
“We just gave her some time off to grow up a little,” trainer Charlton Baker said. “She’s stronger and working a lot easier.”
Precious Avary, a winner of her last three against New Jersey-breds for trainer Tim Shaw, looks like a strong challenger.
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