Sagamore pair head back to Maryland

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Trainer Chris Block and owner Bob Lothenbach had a first and a second in Arlington stakes Saturday, with Bet She Wins taking the Arlington-Washington Lassie and Captivating Moon running second in the Arlington-Washington Futurity.

Trainer Horacio de Paz and Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Farm also had a first and a second in stakes on Saturday.

They won the Arlington-Washington Futurity with Barry Lee and finished second in the Lassie with Southampton Way. Southampton Way is a Sagamore homebred, while Barry Lee was purchased at auction and is owned in partnership with Stanley Hough.

Both horses came out of their start in good physical condition, de Paz said, and Monday were en route back to Plank’s farm in Maryland.

Barry Lee got a 78 Beyer in the Futurity, where he beat Captivating Moon by three-quarters of a length, a major turnaround from an eighth-place finish Aug. 13 in the Saratoga Special. De Paz said “all options are open” with Barry Lee regarding his next start.

Southampton Way, second in the Adirondack at Saratoga, did not appear to love racing on Polytrack on Saturday. De Paz said the filly would be considered for a switch to turf, with the Miss Grillo at Belmont under consideration.

Breakthrough for Lopez

Jose Lopez rode Bet She Wins to her Arlington-Washington Lassie victory on Saturday, the 32-year-old’s first stakes win since 2012.

Lopez is spending his first meet at Arlington, and after last week’s racing was eighth in the jockey standings with 23 wins from 136 mounts. That is pretty good work for a jockey who rode only 112 races in 2015 and 2016 combined.

Lopez, a native of Puerto Rico, had some good years in the early 2000s, and won 91 races in 2004. Lopez said he has struggled with his weight in recent years, and that he got buried in a deep Tampa Bay Downs colony this winter.

Lopez came to Arlington after striking a deal with trainer Ignacio Correas to work his horses in the morning and ride them in the afternoon. That partnership, fruitful for both sides, ended in August, but when fellow Puerto Rican C.H. Marquez Jr. went down with an injury, Lopez hooked up with Marquez’s agent, Jimmy Ernesto, and started getting some looks from other Arlington barns.

“He listens well, and I think he rides a pretty smart race,” said Chris Block, who gave Lopez the ride on Bet She Wins. “He’s not afraid to give me feedback after a race. I’ve been really impressed.”

Lopez said he plans to ride at Hawthorne after the Arlington meet ends this month.

◗ Kasaqui, who won the Grade 2 Wise Dan earlier this year, will make his next start in an overnight turf stakes Sept. 23 at Arlington, trainer Ignacio Correas said.