Stitched cruises to another grass victory in Mystic Lake Derby
Stitched, who could’ve been claimed for $30,000 while still a maiden this past January, increased his career earnings to more than $280,000 while providing connections with more Midwest stakes satisfaction in the Mystic Lake Derby on Wednesday night at Canterbury Park.
Five weeks after winning his first stakes race in the $150,000 Caesars at Horseshoe Indianapolis, Stitched was comfortably best in the $150,000 Mystic Lake Derby, posting a 1 3/4-length win over Ben’s Malice in the one-mile grass race for 3-year-olds. Third-place Heaven Street finished another two lengths back in a spread-out field, while fourth-place Dowagiac Chief was taken out of his front-running game with a poor start and checked in fourth.
Stitched was timed in a moderate 1:34.76 for the mile over Canterbury’s fast-playing, firm turf course and paid $6.20 as the favorite. He completed a 10 percent takeout, all-turf-stakes pick five that paid $544 for 50 cents.
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Stitched lost his career debut, a Fair Grounds maiden sprint rained from turf onto dirt, by more than 30 lengths, prompting connections to run him in a $30,000 maiden-claimer second time out. Stitched dead-heated for the win in that start and has not seen a claiming tag since. On March 25 he faded to fourth in a Fair Grounds turf allowance race, his only loss now in five turf races. Stitched led on a slow pace in his two most recent wins but on Wednesday night under Florent Geroux he settled in third behind Next Journey and Magoo through a half mile in 47.59, seizing control of the race in upper stretch.
Greg Foley trains Stitched for Nathan McCauley, Michael Olzsewski, and William Minton. McCauley bred Stitched, a son of Mizzen Mast out of Walking Miracle, by Into Mischief. Long before he ran in the maiden-claiming race, Stitched failed to meet a $50,000 reserve when sent to a yearling auction in 2020.
Stitched’s success followed wins by Mr Dumas ($6.80) in the $100,000 Mystic Lake Mile, She Can’t Sing ($5.80) in the $100,000 Lady Canterbury, Spycraft ($10.20) in the $100,000 Dark Star Turf Sprint, and Schlofmitz ($9.40) in the $100,000 Curtis Sampson Oaks.
Mr Dumas got a heads-up ride from Reylu Gutierrez, who snuck up the rail on the backstretch, going from sixth place into a contending position just behind pacesetting Agent Peter Graves as the field bent into the race’s second turn. Agent Peter Graves, a 46-1 shot, held stoutly through the homestretch, but Mr Dumas simply is a better horse and wore him down to win going away by 3 1/4 lengths. Dyn O Mite, who raced just off a 46.81 half-mile split, went evenly for third. Mr Dumas clocked a fast 1:33.11 for the mile, just .24 second off the course record. John Ortiz trains Mr Dumas, a 6-year-old horse by Majesticperfection out of Ready Love, by More Than Ready, for WSS Racing and Hooties Racing.
She Can’t Sing, meanwhile, continued her run of turf-route success with a one-length win under Jareth Loveberry in the Lady Canterbury. Five-year-old She Can’t Sing made her first five starts, in 2019 an 2020, in two-turn races, won once in that span, and subsequently was cut back to one-turn racing for her next 19 starts. She won three of those contests but has blossomed since owner-breeder Bob Lothenbach and trainer Chris Block stretched her back out to two turns over the winter at Fair Grounds. There, She Can’t Sing won a pair of $100,000 stakes, and after a solid and somewhat troubled fifth-place finish in the Modesty Stakes on May 6 at Churchill, she was comfortably best in the Lady Canterbury.
She Can’t Sing, who should have been favored but was the close second choice behind seventh-place Saranya, stalked a 47.19-second half-mile from third, made the lead at the quarter pole, and edged clear for a final mile time of 1:33.82. Amalfi Princess was second, with Joy of Painting third. She Can’t Sing is by Bernardini out of Distorted Music, by Distorted Humor.
Spycraft, making his second start for trainer Joe Sharp, hadn’t run in a stakes race since finishing a remote seventh in the 2019 Nashua at Aqueduct, but the 5-year-old gelding has proven to be a potent turf sprinter and overcame post 11 under Adam Beschizza to win the Dark Star by 1 1/4 lengths over pacesetting Plane Talk. Mark of the Z was third while favored Seven Scents was a no-excuse fourth. Spycraft, now 5-4-0-0 in grass sprints, was timed in 55 seconds for five furlongs. The gelding races for Dugan-McNichol Racing and is by Discreet Cat out of Sugarcraft, by Bernardini.
Schlofmitz kicked off the stakes action winning the Curtis Sampson Oaks under Javier Castellano, who made his Canterbury debut Wednesday. Schlofmitz, trained by Mike Maker for Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Michael Caruso, rallied from seventh and held on by a head over fast-closing Whenthedawnbreaks, Winning time for the mile was 1:35.86. Latin Nikkita was three-quarters of a length back in third.
Schlofmitz, another former $30,000 maiden-claimer, is by Blame out of Summer Savory, by Horse Chestnut.