Quint’s Brew and Blue Kingdom added another thrilling chapter to their budding rivalry in the $100,000 Not For Love Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday. Nearly two months after the 5-year-old geldings ran to a photo finish in the $100,000 Jennings, Quint’s Brew got the better of his familiar foe again in another hard-fought photo. “It looked like [Blue Kingdom] had us beat 70 yards from the wire,” trainer Ned Allard said. “But Brew gave it another go.” Allard, who went to the hospital earlier in the day with stomach pain, watched Quint’s Brew from home as the gelding picked up his fourth career stakes victory. “Maybe today’s not so bad after all,” Allard said. Blue Kingdom, still searching for his first stakes win for trainer Jamie Ness, has squared off with Quint’s Brew in four straight races. After coming up a nose short in the Jennings, he finally got the better of him as the runner-up in the $200,000 General George on Feb. 14. Allard said he entered that race concerned about Quint’s Brew’s fitness, but he felt more confident in the Not For Love on a three-week turnaround. The muddy, sealed track was not an issue for the seasoned gelding. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. When Quint’s Brew last won a photo finish over Blue Kingdom in the Jennings in January, he was the one making up the late ground, winning by a nose with one final lunge near the wire. This time, it was Blue Kingdom applying the late pressure after Quint’s Brew went straight to the early lead under new jockey Forest Boyce. “He made it awfully easy and it was a wet racetrack,” Allard said. “Forest followed instructions to a T.” Potential pacesetter Twisted Ride was one of two scratches in the Not For Love, leaving Quint’s Brew with a prime opportunity to lead in the shortened field of four Maryland-breds. Suremeanttobe, another front-runner, challenged early but quickly faded, allowing Boyce to put the 4-5 favorite in command through an opening quarter-mile in 22.65 seconds. While Quint’s Brew carried on through a half-mile in 45.70, Blue Kingdom and Mychel Sanchez slowly advanced from fourth to prepare for the run around the turn. The Ness-trained gelding launched into contention around the far turn and was the only challenger to Quint’s Brew by the time they hit the stretch. Blue Kingdom bore down on his archrival in a ferocious final bid, drawing alongside and even putting a short head in front near the wire. Quint’s Brew still had something left, however, and Boyce had the deft touch to keep him engaged in the final furlong. “Normally, somebody probably would have whacked him at the 70-yard pole and he would have ducked out, probably ended up being taken down,” Allard said. “But Forest just pursued tapping him on his neck and it worked out.” With a fierce second rally, the pacesetter managed to fight back to win by a neck. He completed the six-furlong sprint in 1:11.53 and paid $3.60 to win. S S Sinatra, who tracked close behind Quint’s Brew on the backstretch, never fired and finished 5 1/2 lengths back in third for trainer Kerry Hohlbein. Takethemoneyhoney has no problems in Conniver Mike Moore tried to downplay Takethemoneyhoney’s overwhelming chances ahead of the $100,000 Conniver Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday, but few of his fellow trainers were fooled. Three horses in the state-restricted field of six scratched, leaving the 4-year-old filly and jockey Eliseo Ruiz to go through the motions on a muddy, sealed track. “I know they had a hard time getting horses for that race, and I honestly think a lot of them in those Maryland-bred races don't want to run against her,” Moore said. “Then you got a sloppy track, so I definitely didn't think it was going to be six horses. I didn't necessarily think it was going to be three.” Takethemoneyhoney, now a four-time stakes winner and five-time winner at Laurel, has sustained all three of her career defeats in photo finishes, the most recent coming in the $200,000 Barbara Fritchie on Feb. 14. The camera wasn’t needed Saturday, as the Maryland-bred star easily pulled away to a five-length score. Looking to bounce back from a stinging defeat to Passage East last month, Moore decided to bring Takethemoneyhoney back on a three-week turnaround in order to target softer competition in the state-restricted Conniver. Grayson’s Girl, Destination, and Isabella’s Glory scratched, leaving just three runners, but Moore’s biggest concern was Dwelling Legacy, who stayed in the race for trainer Gary Capuano. A gate-to-wire allowance winner at 5 1/2 furlongs on a sloppy track last time out, Dwelling Legacy tried the same trick in the Conniver, hustling to take the early lead under Yedsit Hazlewood. The speedy rail runner took a 2 1/2-length lead in the short field and completed the opening quarter-mile in 22.71 seconds. “I was a little surprised that the other filly got away from her a little bit early, but she was coming out of a shorter race, so maybe that was it,” Moore said. “Eliseo did a good job being patient, and then going after her and taking over, basically at the quarter-pole.” Ruiz was content to sit off the pace in the seven-furlong sprint, tracking behind as Hazlewood and Dwelling Legacy tore through a half-mile in 45.87. When Ruiz decided it was time to go, he got an instant response, as Takethemoneyhoney erased the deficit in a few strides and pulled ahead by 1 1/2 lengths turning for home. Dwelling Legacy tried to keep pace, but there was nothing for the 5-2 second choice to do. Takethemoneyhoney cruised home at the end, completing the seven-furlong distance in 1:24.84. She paid $2.40 to win. You’re the One, a 6-year-old mare trained by Lynn Ashby, was never involved and finished 7 1/4 lengths behind Dwelling Legacy in third. Moore said he intends to give Takethemoneyhoney a well-deserved break after asking her to run in the Conniver on short rest. She will likely return in six to eight weeks. Multiple scratches in both stakes at Laurel Saturday further damaged a card that was already short on runners. Across eight races on a muddy, sealed track, the track had an average field size of 4.75 after scratches. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.