Tony Eclipse turns on speed in stretch, takes Maryland Juvenile

Favored Tony Eclipse won Saturday’s $100,000 Maryland Juvenile for Maryland-bred or -sired 2-year-olds racing seven furlongs at Laurel Park.

Trained by Brittany Russell, Tony Eclipse settled beautifully off the outer flank of pacesetter Executive Order through early fractions of 23.14 and 47.16 seconds.

Even though a three-wide Saxton loomed menacingly outside Tony Eclipse inside the quarter pole, jockey Jevian Toledo remained cool and confident aboard Tony Eclipse.

Toledo pushed the button turning into the stretch and Tony Eclipse responded, putting Saxton in the rear-view mirror and drawing off to prevail by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:25.28.

Saxton was second, a neck ahead of Barbadian Runner. Sacred Thunder, Reggie Runs Rogue, Mission Artemus and Executive Order completed the order of finish.

:: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets.

Bjorn and It’s Hammertime both scratched. Tony Eclipse returned $6.20 to win as the betting favorite.

“The horse broke really sharp and put me in a great spot early,” Toledo said in a post-race interview broadcast by Laurel Park. “He took me basically to the wire. When I asked him in in the stretch, it was like he broke again from the gate. He picked it up really quickly.”

A homebred foaled in Maryland, Tony Eclipse is owned by Stuart Grant’s The Elkstone Group. By Not This Time, Tony Eclipse was a $300,000 RNA as a 2023 Keeneland September yearling, and is the first foal out of unraced Tapit’s Faith, by Tapit. The second dam, Let Faith Arise, won the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Handicap.

Maryland Juvenile Fillies

Caprice displayed her class in fending off a race-long challenge from Safe Trust to win the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Fillies for 2-year-old statebred or -sired fillies at seven furlongs.

The complexion of the race changed when Ms Notion, bet down to the 5-2 second choice in the betting, broke awkwardly and lost jockey Tais Lyapustina leaving the gate.

That left Caprice and Safe Trust to contest fractions of 23.21 and 46.86 while tracked from the inside by Onyx Ten and from the two-path by Malibu Hooch.

Caprice and Safe Trust turned into the stretch together, but the favored winner was too much in the final furlong, and she stopped the clock in 1:25.89 while prevailing by 1 1/2 lengths.

Safe Trust held second with Onyx Ten another 1 3/4 lengths back in third. Then came Malibu Hooch, Ade and Ms. Notion.

Caprice returned $4.40 to win as the favorite. First Pearl scratched.

“I was a little bit worried,” winning jockey Jaime Rodriguez said. “Last time, she broke a little bit bad, and she came from off the pace, but today she was so relaxed and comfortable in the gate. The gate opened and she was on top, and I said we had to go now. She was comfortable all the way around. When we got to the three-eighths pole, she was just playing around with the horse. Every time somebody came next to her, she gave me more and more. She gave me everything.”

A homebred foaled in Pennsylvania, Caprice is trained by Cal Lynch for Gregory and Carol Bentley’s Runnymoore Racing LLC. The Golden Lad filly won her first three starts including Delaware Park’s restricted Blue Hen and Small Wonder Stakes before placing second after a troubled journey in the open White Clay Creek Stakes there on Oct. 9.

She bounced back from that defeat to win Laurel’s Smart Halo Stakes at six furlongs on Nov. 9, her final start prior to the Maryland Juvenile Fillies.

Caprice has a fascinating pedigree. Her second dam, Dance Away Capote, was a Grade 3 winner going long on turf, and her third dam is related to Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Skip Away.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.