For the first time in 11 months, Mid-Atlantic star Quint’s Brew left the track a winner, making a belated move to win the $100,000 Jennings Stakes by a nose at Laurel Park on Saturday. To Ned Allard, the drought might have felt much longer, but after settling for second in three straight defeats, the trainer got to stand tall again when his 5-year-old gelding finally got the winning end of a photo. “He’s funny,” Allard said. “He bobbled a little bit the last time and he bobbled a little bit today, but it probably worked to his advantage.” Last year, the Jennings was the race that shot Quint’s Brew into the highest tier of his region, when he kicked away to defeat the state-restricted field by six lengths. He went on to win the $200,000 General George the following month with a 101 Beyer Speed Figure before losing two straight graded stakes at Aqueduct by less than a length. After a hard-fought runner-up finish behind Bishops Bay in the Grade 3 Westchester in May, Allard discovered a minor issue that sidelined Quint’s Brew for more than seven months. He was expected to make a triumphant return to Laurel in the $100,000 Bender Memorial on Dec. 20, but an unlucky trip cost him ground behind eventual winner Slam Notion. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “The first time he ran, he got into so much trouble,” Allard said. “It was unbelievable. For almost a quarter-mile, he was swinging so he didn't clip heels. How much he really got out of that race? I don't know.” With white-hot apprentice Yedsit Hazlewood in the irons for the first time on Saturday, bettors were again eager to support the two-time stakes winner. But after chasing Blue Kingdom and Maclean’s Rook all the way around the track, he seemed unlikely to make up the ground in a drifting stretch run. “The horse does not like dirt in his face,” Hazlewood said. “So when I got clear, I just got more horse and more horse. And the finish was coming and I just said, ‘Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.’” Blue Kingdom, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Jamie Ness, was always expected to go to the front end, but Maclean’s Rook made an unexpected early move to challenge the pacesetter through an opening quarter-mile in 24.29 seconds. In his stakes debut, the Mike Trombetta gelding even managed to take a short lead through a half-mile in 47.10. Blue Kingdom, more seasoned under Mychel Sanchez, managed to reassume command on the far turn, but Maclean’s Rook never gave in. Quint’s Brew, meanwhile, entered the stretch two lengths back and didn’t engage with the top pair until he ducked out and switched to his left lead near the sixteenth pole. After the race, Hazlewood admitted that he was nervous about Quint’s Brew’s belated kick down the center, but in a ride that proved to be perfectly timed, he managed to nip Blue Kingdom by a nose at the wire, completing the one-turn mile in 1:37.37. “A little late, a little late,” Hazlewood said. “Thank God.” Maclean’s Rook finished three-quarters of a length behind the top pair, clearing the next finisher by nine lengths. With the state-restricted Jennings out of the way, Allard intends to stay the course with Quint’s Brew for now. As he did last year, he intends to target the General George at Laurel next month, after which he could consider a return to New York if all goes well. Geisha Takethemoneyhoney could not have looked any better at Laurel Park on Saturday, rocketing home to win the $100,000 Geisha Stakes by 6 1/4 lengths. Now a three-time stakes winner for trainer Mike Moore, the Maryland-bred mare seemed stronger than ever while stretching back out to a one-turn mile. “I think the one-turn mile is great,” Moore said. “That's what I think and that was today. Ideally, I think that's really good for her. She can use her speed, you don’t have to be in front, but you can use it to play for something else. She’s a nice, nice filly.” In the $100,000 Politely at six furlongs last time out, Takethemoneyhoney played the part of a rating sprinter against Maryland-breds and breezily closed to win by a length at 4-5 odds. Stretching out to a mile in another state-restricted race on Saturday, she left nothing to chance at even shorter odds, paying $2.20 to win. “She couldn't have done it really any easier than that,” Moore said. “She always looked like the winner to me. [Jockey Eliseo Ruiz] put her where she's supposed to be, let those other horses hang in a little bit. But then she was coming off the turn and he's not moving.” Ruiz, who took the trip to Laurel to ride the 1-9 favorite, had his work cut out for him early when longshots Late Nite Call and Kissedbyanangel both broke sharply on either side of Takethemoneyhoney. On a fast track that had sustained snowfall earlier in the day, the highly touted front-runner was hounded through an opening quarter-mile in 23.98 seconds. The three early leaders ran in order most of the way, but after settling in and completing the half-mile in 47.24, there was little doubt that Takethemoneyhoney was capable of dispatching both rivals whenever she wished. “I saw [the pressure] at the three-eighths pole, but my feeling was that she was galloping, and I felt a lot,” Ruiz said. “When I called her at the quarter pole, she opened easy.” When Ruiz asked for finishing touches on the far turn, she unleashed a devastating kick and was already ahead by eight lengths by the time she hit the stretch. It is likely that she could have won by much more, but she cruised home instead, completing the mile in 1:38.81. Navani, a 32-1 longshot trained by Ferris Allen, closed from last in the field of seven to take second. The 5-year-old mare finished two lengths ahead of Late Nite Call, who was spent by the end but held third for trainer Niall Saville. Ruiz, who has ridden Takethemoneyhoney in seven straight starts and three stakes victories, said that he believes that she can handle two turns at some point soon, but Moore said that he plans to stick to what’s working for now. If he decides to point her to the $200,000 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel next month, she would enter the seven-furlong sprint as a potent contender coming off two state-restricted stakes victories. What A Summer  A trio of front-runners could not have set the table better for Passage East to earn her first stakes victory at Laurel Park on Saturday. With a perfect stalking trip under jockey Sheldon Russell, the 4-year-old filly stayed hot to win the $100,000 What A Summer Handicap by three-quarters of a length. “She was always traveling good,” Russell said. “It was just whether she'd jump on that right lead and keep going. Look, I didn't want to hit her until I really had to, because I still felt like I had horseshoes. She was really nice to ride.” Claimed by Hugh McMahon for $30,000 in December 2024, Passage East suffered five straight runner-up defeats before finally earning her maiden victory in April. In seven starts since, she has only lost once, a seemingly unstoppable turnaround resulting in gradually classier victories at five different tracks. “It's got to be one of the greatest claims I've ever seen,” Russell said. After a 1 1/4-length allowance victory at Laurel on Nov. 30, McMahon began pointing the upstart filly toward her stakes debut at six furlongs. Hazlewood, her rider last time out, was committed to ride Dwelling Legacy in the What A Summer, so Russell inherited the mount for the first time in the biggest race of her career so far. “She was pretty straightforward,” Russell said. “Hugh just stressed, ‘She's lovely, you're gonna love her. Just make sure you try and get a good break. She has a tendency to break slow and as big as she is, you just want to keep it uncomplicated’.” Hold Your Breath, the 3-5 favorite coming off a gate-to-wire victory in the $150,000 Garland of Roses at Aqueduct, broke sharply but never managed to find the rail. With Disco Ebo and Dwelling Legacy to her inside, she was forced to travel wide down the backstretch through an opening quarter-mile in 22.69. Trainer John Servis’s heavy favorite was still in contention through a half-mile in 46.25, but after getting the worst end of the three-wide duel early on, she soon faded to last in the field of six. Dwelling Legacy and Hazlewood put away Disco Ebo on the far turn as well, but the Gary Capuano mare was largely powerless when Passage East came calling. Sitting just behind the three leaders the entire way, Russell tipped her out on the far turn and brushed past Dwelling Legacy to take a half-length lead entering the stretch. Dwelling Legacy didn’t let her kick away, but Passage East had all the momentum and  easily held near the wire, completing the six-furlong distance in 1:11.90. Bolt Enoree, a 31-1 longshot shipping from West Virginia for trainer Steven Chircop, closed from fifth to finish third. She finished 1 3/4 lengths behind Dwelling Legacy. Fire Plug Point Dume never had an easy moment at Laurel on Saturday, with several classy contenders attacking the front-runner in shifts. Their collective efforts proved futile, however, as the determined gelding dug deep in the stretch to win the $100,000 Fire Plug Handicap by a gutsy half-length. In a hard-fought defeat in the $75,000 Kris Kringle at Parx last time out, jockey Angel Cruz said that he and trainer Timothy Kreiser learned that Point Dume did not respond well to being reined in. In the $75,000 M.P. Ballezzi Mile in October, the gelding led through faster early fractions and won, the first hint for his rider. “When you take a hold of him, I don't think he likes it,” Cruz said. “He likes to race loose. So I think, just let the reins loose and he'll be better.” Among Point Dume’s medley of challengers in the Fire Plug, Full Moon Madness set the tone, immediately gunning for the pacesetter through a brisk opening quarter-mile in 22.39 seconds. Coming off two Grade 3 races at Aqueduct, the Michelle Nevin gelding threw down the gauntlet with unexpected early speed and matched strides with Point Dume through a half-mile in 45.47. Full Moon Madness’s bid was so strong that he actually managed to take a short lead around the far turn and into the stretch, but Point Dume and Cruz finally managed to wear down that foe and retake command. There was no time for them to collect themselves, however, as 15-1 longshot On the Mark tried to slip up the rail to snipe the pacesetter in the stretch. After the race, jockey Tais Lyapustina claimed foul against Cruz for interfering with On the Mark on the turn, but no action was taken. “She had space, you know?” Cruz said. “But I'm not going to make it easy.” As soon as Point Dume turned away the runner on the rail, Chipotle ranged up on the outside with a furious bid under jockey Raul Mena. After everything Point Dume had overcome to that point, it seemed inevitable that Chipotle was going to breeze past in his first stakes victory for Mike Gorham. The betting public seemed to think he was ready too, having bet him down from 15-1 to make him a 3-1 co-favorite. But after running loose on the front end throughout the 6 1/2-furlong sprint, Cruz urged his gelding for more in the final yards and had enough to hold off one last contender. Point Dume prevailed, completing the distance in 1:17.09 and paying $8.60 to win. Chipotle, game to the very end under Mena, finished 1 1/4 lengths clear for second over Petingas Twin, who was searching for his third straight victory in a late charge for trainer Anthony Farrior. Latta, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Jacinto Solis, pulled up lame after a quarter-mile and was transported off the track in an equine ambulance. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.