Post Time, now a six-time stakes winner trained by Brittany Russell, had his work cut out for him chasing through slow early fractions and splitting horses in the $125,000 Deputed Testamony Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday. At his home track, however, those mountainous obstacles seemed to shrink before him, as the Maryland-bred star overpowered a pair of local rivals to win by 3 1/2 lengths. Coming off a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Blame at Churchill Downs last time out, Russell worried that she pushed the horse along too quickly in his second start this year. She made a new plan to “keep him winning,” and for the Maryland-bred superstar, there’s no place like home. With his victory Saturday, he is now undefeated in nine starts at Laurel. Only two runners in the field of five were expected to give Post Time any trouble, and both ended up ahead of him early on. Speedyness, a two-time stakes winner trained by Jamie Ness, broke sharpest and went straight to the lead. Offaly Cool, the 5-1 second choice trained by Jacinto Solis, chased from second. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports In the short field, Speedyness and Jaime Rodriguez loped ahead to a two-length lead through a quarter-mile in 25.79. Offaly Cool wasn’t applying any pressure behind him and Post Time was four lengths back, running alongside longshots Tell ‘Em I’m Comin and Curlin’s Malibu. Sensing the slow pace in front of him, jockey Sheldon Russell began urging Post Time forward on the backstretch in order to stay in touch. Speedyness completed a half-mile in 51 seconds and was still ahead by a length in the stretch. By the time the early leader turned for home, however, Post Time had already moved into second in a powerful bid to pass Offaly Cool. “Post Time was eager and a lot closer than he usually is, so I could tell they were going slow,” Sheldon Russell said. “They were going to build it up and try to sprint home, but Post Time traveled so good today.” Post Time lacked room for a moment at the top of the stretch as Speedyness and Offaly Cool both dug in on each side of him, but the race was over as soon as he found a clear path. “I trust him,” Russell said. “I could have probably come three wide there and kept it simple, but he was happy inside and I’m glad it worked out.” The 2024 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile runner-up outclassed the other contenders in every sense in the final furlong, finishing the 1 1/8-mile race in 1:51.36 and paying $2.20 to win. While Post Time was driving away to his 3 1/2-length victory, Offaly Cool eventually got around Speedyness to take second by a length. Behind the top trio, the two closing longshots never had a chance under slow fractions and finished well out of it. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.