O Dionysus will get shot going two turns after winning Miracle Wood
Trainer Gary Capuano is eager to see what his 3-year-old colt O Dionysus can do racing around two turns after an easy score as the 4-5 favorite in Saturday’s $75,000 Miracle Wood Stakes at Laurel Park.
“A two-turn race will be next,” said Capuano, after watching O Dionysus ($3.80) overcome a slow early pace to score by three lengths in the one-mile Miracle Wood.
Capuano, who trains O Dionysus for Peter Angelos, majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles who races under the banner Marathon Farms, said he will point the son of Bodemeister to the $100,000 Private Terms, a 1 1/16-mile race at Laurel on March 18. A good performance there could earn him a shot at the $125,000 Federico Tesio, a 1 1/8-mile prep for the Preakness Stakes, on April 22.
“The Private Terms next month, that’s two turns. If everything goes well we’ll point for that,” Capuano said. ”We’ve been looking for that two turns without shipping him out of town.”
O Dionysus, second after a troubled trip as the 2-5 favorite in the Frank Whiteley in January and runner-up by a nose in the Marylander in late December, both races at seven furlongs, was fifth on Saturday, but less than two lengths behind slow opening fractions of 25.25 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 49.30 for a half-mile. O Dionysus moved up to second, a head behind High Roller, after six furlongs in 1:13.65. He took control in upper stretch and drew clear despite drifting in during the final sixteenth. The winning time was 1:37.06.
“We had a lot of trouble last time so I tried to keep him in the clear today,” said winning rider Jevian Toledo.” Turning for home I knew I had plenty of horse. When I asked him, he responded.”
New York shipper Everybodyluvsrudy, fifth at the eighth pole, rallied under Irad Ortiz Jr. to get second by a half-length. No More Talk, a last-out maiden winner going a mile, got third at 25-1 by a neck over High Roller, winner of last month’s Frank Whiteley.