The Reds takes Federico Tesio Stakes via disqualification
The Reds ($5.80) had his number put up via disqualification in the $125,000 Federico Tesio Stakes for 3-year-olds over 1/18 miles at Pimlico on Saturday. As a result, The Reds earned a "Win and You're In" berth to the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes in three weeks.
The Reds, owned by Flanagan Racing and trained by John Kimmel, made his stakes debut last month with a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
In the Tesio, The Reds was pinched back at the start under jockey Victor Carrasco and pulled his way up to midpack on the outside on the first turn.
Up front, Shackled Love and Maythehorsebwithu, the one-two finishers in last month's Private Terms Stakes, set solid fractions of 24.13, 48.12 and 1:11.50.
:: Bet horse racing on DRF Bets. Double Your First Deposit Up to $250. Join Now.
Excellorator, third in the Private Terms, tracked them in third under Angel Cruz and swung to the outside on the far turn. The pacesetters paid the price for their early efforts and were soon swamped by the closers.
Excellorator made the first bid, followed by The Reds with Royal Number attempting to come over the top of everyone. Excellorator drifted out in the stretch and just held off The Reds' late flurry, but his wanderings caused two jockey objections and a lengthy stewards’ inquiry.
After deliberation, it was judged that Excellorator interfered with The Reds and cost him a placing. The final time was 1:49.98.
Excellorator was placed second. Royal Number was third, followed by Hello Hot Rod, Maythehorsebwithu, Shackled Love, Zertz, and Tiz Mandate.
The Reds is a son of Tonalist out of Grade 2-placed Ash Zee. He is a half-brother to Grade 2-placed turf miler Zee Drop from the family of Grade 1 Alcibiades winner Wickedly Perfect.
Weber City Miss
Miss Leslie ($21.20) successfully stretched out to the distance of her victory in last year's Anne Arundel County Stakes to upset Saturday's $125,000 Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies at Pimlico.
Trained by Claudio Gonzalez, Miss Leslie returned from the Anne Arundel County to finish second in the Xtra Heat at six furlongs on Jan. 16 before running sixth in the Wide Country at seven-eighths on Feb. 20.
"All the time she comes from behind," Gonzalez said in a post-race interview conducted by Pimlico. "The key for me is that she wants to run long."
Miss Leslie was pinched back to last at the start of the Weber City Miss and trailed the field along the inside on the first turn.
"The break was awful," Acosta said on the Pimlico post-race feed. "Claudio told me not to get in trouble and I got in trouble from the get-go. Since then, I tried to save ground and be patient and tried to make the move when she decided to move."
Meanwhile, longshots Moonsafe and Exogen set fractions of 24.59, 48.59 and 1:12.78 with Hybrid Eclipse, favored Littlestitious and Kentucky invader Oliviaofthedesert in behind the front-runners. Littlestitious advanced outside on the far turn while Oliviaofthedesert saved ground and eventually split rivals at the three-sixteenths pole. The latter responded better and forged to a short lead, but Miss Leslie was in high gear once switched to the far outside.
"I was really happy the way she responded," Acosta said.
Miss Leslie's official margin of victory was 1 1/4 lengths over Oliviaofthedesert. The winner completed the distance in 1:44.28 seconds and earned a "Win and You're In" berth to the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes in three weeks. Littlestitious finished third, followed by Exogen, Moonsafe and Hybrid Eclipse. Fraudulent Charge was scratched.
Claimed by Gonzalez and BB Horses for $25,000 on Nov. 13, Miss Leslie is a daughter of Paynter.
Frank Y. Whiteley
Laki loves Pimlico. Heck, Laki just loves the racing game.
Returning to the scene of his win in last fall's Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash, Laki ($10.20) took the measure of pacesetter Lebda and heavy favorite Whereshetoldmetogo to earn his 11th lifetime victory in the $100,000 Frank Y. Whiteley Stakes at six furlongs.
The Whiteley was originally scheduled as a seven-furlong test at Laurel, but the ongoing track maintainence there forced the change in venue and distance. Trainer Damon Dilodovico improvised and shipped Laki to Pimlico early to train.
"He came up Monday and breezed him and he loved the surface up here," Dilodovico said in a telephone interview after the race. "He went super-smooth. It was huge to get him up here on this track and let him do his thing. Just to train on half the track with other horses. He's the type that can get a little upset if someone is zooming by him or something like that."
Dilodovico also mentioned that he was very happy with the shorter six-furlong distance. Seven of Laki's wins have come at this trip.
Laki broke well under Horacio Karamanos and settled into the pocket behind Lebda's opening fractions of 23.33 and 45.55 seconds. They swung to the outside turning into the stretch, drifted out a bit at the three-sixteenths pole, then surged on home to win by a half-length in 1:09.33.
"I was certainly thrilled with how he breaks," Dilodovico said. "He almost always gives us a start like that when we give him enough time between starts."
This was Laki's first start since finishing third in the Grade 3 General George at Laurel on Feb. 20.
"He had a tough campaign and it was all within a six-month campaign," Dilodovico said in an interview broadcast by Pimlico. "After the last race, he was letting me know he wasn't 100%. Not unsound, he just has a way about him. So the rest was definitely warranted and it paid off. He means everything to us. He's our cornerstone."
Lebda was game to finish second, 4 1/4 lengths better than Eastern Bay. Arthur's Hope, Absentee, Press My Bets, Factor It In, Silent Malice, and Whereshetoldmetogo completed the order of finish.
Whereshetoldmetogo, seeking his fourth consecutive stakes victory, saved ground in midpack and failed to fire. Perhaps he was adversely affected when Factor It In checked off heels behind him in the opening furlong.
Dahlia
Due to drainage problems last fall at Laurel Park, the $100,000 Dahlia for fillies and mares was the first turf race run on the Maryland circuit since Oct. 24.
It was worth the wait.
Xanthique ($14.20) earned the first stakes victory of her career when she nosed out favored Crystal Cliffs in the shadow of the wire. It was 2 1/4 lengths back to Vigilantes Way in third.
Trained by Tom Morley, Xanthique received a perfect ride from Feargal Lynch. They saved ground in midpack as outsider Elegant de Domino and Lagom set hot fractions of 23.25, 47.57 and 1:11.86 seconds, then followed Crystal Cliffs on a rail run turning into the stretch. Xanthique eased outside Crystal Cliffs late in the game and just got her nose down at the wire. The winning time was 1:41.92.
"She's as game as a tiger, this filly, and when she got to half a length down, I was actually willing the wire away so we had time to try and get past," Morley said in an interview broadcast by Pimlico.
Xanthique, a daughter of Into Mischief, was held up behind a slow pace in her prior start, the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial at Fair Grounds.
"She had some unlucky trips down at the Fair Grounds this winter," Morley said. "We claimed her, so she's come an awfully long way since we took her. She was a little headstrong when she was a younger filly and she struggled with two-turn races. As she's gotten older, she's learned to relax in her races more."
The Dahlia was Xanthique's first start since Feb. 13. "We sent her over to Nick Esler at Sandhurst Thoroughbreds in Ocala and gave her a month off in a field with the aim of coming here for this race," Morley said.
Crystal Cliffs acquitted herself quite well in her first start in 301 days. The lightly raced Grade 3-placed filly received a perfect pocket trip, looked the winner turning into the stretch, but was just denied late.
Completing the order of finish behind Vigilantes Way were Elegant de Domino, Fed Up Fired Up, Lagom, Don't Blame Judy, Ylikedis, and Fionnbharr.
Henry S. Clark
Third in the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth last year, Corelli ($12) made his first start in 189 days a winning one as he nipped favored Pixelete in the final jumps of the $100,000 Henry S. Clark Stakes at Pimlico.
Going into the Henry S. Clark, Corelli was known as a distance specialist, a horse that was at his best going 10 to 12 furlongs.
"I thought this year we'd just kind of reinvent him and let him fall off the pace and hope for a little bit of a strongly run race so he could finish up," trainer Jonathan Thomas said in an interview broadcast by Pimlico. "I put blinkers on him last year, probably ran him too long and he was kind of idling at the end. We just thought we'd try something different."
Turning back to 1 1/16 miles on Saturday, Corelli saved ground near the tail end of the field under Jevian Toledo, altered course to split rivals turning into the straight and utilized his stamina to wear down favored Pixelate in the final jumps. Late runners Dreams of Tomorrow and Eons picked up the minor placings.
The Henry S. Clark was run at a strong pace. Papal Law and Ballagh Rocks sparred through fractions of 23.73, 47.76 and 1:11.27 before succumbing to Pixelate. Fourth behind divisional leader Colonel Liam in his last start at Fair Grounds, Pixelate surged to a stretch lead, but was just nosed at the wire. It was 1 1/4 lengths back to Dreams of Tomorrow with another half-length to Eons. Corelli completed the distance in 1:41.55 seconds.
Ninety One Assault, Doc Boy, Ballagh Rocks, Papal Law and Dinar completed the order of finish.
Corelli is a half-brother to Group 1 St. Leger Stakes winner Lucarno by turf champion Point of Entry.
King T. Leatherbury
Completed Pass ($6.80) made it a stakes double on the day for trainer Claudio Gonzalez when he wore down favored pacesetter Francatelli in the $100,000 King T. Leatherbury Stakes at five furlongs on the turf.
A 7-year-old Indiana-bred gelding, Completed Pass won the Laurel Dash in one of the more remarkable races on the circuit in 2020. He clipped heels horribly turning for home and almost tumbled to the track but regained his footing and his composure to right the ship and win.
A horse with excellent tactical speed, Completed Pass was ready for the King T. Leatherbury, his first start in 147 days. He tracked Francatelli and Fair Catch through fractions of 22.09 and 45.19 before surging past in the stretch. Completed Pass finished the five-eighths off in 56.52 and prevailed by a half-length over Francatelli. Fair Catch was four lengths back in third followed by Love You Much, Robey's Boy, Dendrobia, Blessed Arion, So Street, Newstome and Williston Way.
"He was ready for this race," said winning jockey Angel Cruz in a post-race interview broadcast by Pimlico. "I've been working him. Claudio told me to ride with confidence."
:: DRF's Kenucky Derby Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, past performances, analysis, and more