Still Having Fun closes powerfully to win Woody Stephens Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Still Having Fun contributed to a big weekend for Mid-Atlantic-based horses at Belmont Park when he ran down Engage in deep stretch to win Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Woody Stephens Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths.

On Friday at Belmont, Laurel-based horseman Cal Lynch won the $150,000 Tremont Stakes for 2-year-olds with Our Braintrust, and Luis Carvajal Jr., who has horses at Parx Racing and Monmouth Park, won the Grade 2, $250,000 True North with Imperial Hint.

Still Having Fun is based at Laurel Park with trainer Tim Keefe, who bought him for $12,000 at the 2016 Fasig Tipton Midlantic fall yearling sale in Timonium, Md., on behalf of Jim Scott’s Terp Racing. Gary Barber and Adam Wachtel bought into Still Having Fun after he won his career debut at Laurel last November.

Keefe stretched Still Having Fun out around two turns in the Private Terms and Federico Tesio stakes at Laurel, but when the horse lost those races, he cut Still Having Fun back to seven furlongs in the Chick Lang at Pimlico three weeks ago. Still Having Fun finished second to the brilliant Mitole that day over a sloppy track.

“He ran behind a great horse of Steve Asmussen’s, just a lights-out horse,” Keefe said. “I felt like a winner running second in that race, so that kind of bought us a ticket to run in here. Gary and Adam are both numbers guys. They said his numbers fit, so let’s take a shot.”

The Woody Stephens was Keefe’s first graded stakes win and the 499th victory of his career.

Promises Fulfilled set a fast pace of 21.46 and 43.68 seconds while being pushed by 5-2 favorite World of Trouble. That pair was still leading after six furlongs in 1:08.43 but had little answer when Engage, who had raced in sixth early, came calling.

It soon became evident that Still Having Fun was moving fastest, and he swept to the lead in the final sixteenth under jockey Joel Rosario.

“He was very comfortable,” Rosario said. “I was a little far back, but I thought he was in a good spot. He had a big stride. By the eighth pole, I knew he had it.”

Still Having Fun paid $28 and completed the course in 1:21.45. He is now 4 for 8, having previously won the seven-furlong Frank Whitely Jr. and the Miracle Wood stakes going a one-turn mile at Laurel.

“For me, the race felt like it was going in slow motion, and then I looked up at the time, and it was 21 and change, and there wasn’t anything slow motion about that,” Keefe said. “He’s a closing sprinter, and the last quarter of a mile, he has a big kick.”