Trainer Capuano wraps up solid year with 1-2 finish in Heft Stakes
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Trainer Gary Capuano unleashed three runners in the $100,000 Heft Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday and wrapped up his outstanding juvenile campaign in style, securing a 1-2 finish with colts Hollywood Import and Probably Dreaming.
In 62 starts with 2-year-olds this year, Capuano has earned 24 victories, including six in stakes competition.
“It just caps off a phenomenal year,” Capuano said. “With these babies this year, it's hard to put it into words, but you just don't want the year to end when it's like that.”
For Capuano, who has been practically untouchable with 2-year-olds at Laurel this fall, the Heft was a culmination, of sorts. The trainer entered four horses in the field of eight, and even after Worker Bee scratched, he was left with three strong contenders in the seven-furlong sprint.
Probably Dreaming earned the betting public’s respect after two stakes victories at Delaware Park and a runner-up finish in the $150,000 Nashua at Aqueduct last month. After breaking last, however, the 6-5 favorite simply could not make up the necessary ground on Hollywood Import, who never trailed and paid $21.20 to win.
“I wasn't expecting Hollywood Import to be on the lead,” Capuano said. “I figured he'd be midpack or tracking or even a little farther behind, but he broke so good today. Just had a good trip, had things his way, and was able to keep it going.”
Before the race, Capuano said that he had been waiting for Hollywood Import to have his moment in the spotlight. After a flashy debut victory at Delaware Park in October, the colt regressed on wet tracks in his next two starts. Back on a fast track Saturday, he didn’t waste a second.
In his first race aboard Hollywood Import, a deep closer in his three prior starts, jockey Mychel Sanchez sent him straight to the front, opening a two-length lead through an opening quarter-mile in 23.48 seconds. Erin McClellan-trained colt Red Zone Runner stalked in second without applying pressure, while Very Volatile, Capuano’s third runner, briefly hustled into third before faltering and easing to last on the far turn. Capuano said that he came out of the race “fine,” though he will continue evaluating him in the coming days.
After briefly losing touch with the field in last, jockey Carlos Lopez urged Probably Dreaming forward while his stablemate extended his lead through a half-mile in 47.28. The favorite drew alongside Red Zone Runner turning for home, but when the two challengers tried to advance on the leader, Hollywood Import proved far too tough. Sanchez tapped him for more and he immediately responded, holding fast to win by 1 3/4 lengths. He completed the seven-furlong distance in 1:27.06.
In a crawling fight for second, Probably Dreaming prevailed over Red Zone Runner by a neck. The defeated pair finished 6 1/2 lengths ahead of the next finisher.
By entering three horses in the Heft, Capuano ensured that his 2025 strike rate with 2-year-olds would drop from 40 percent. Even at 39 percent, however, Capuano still leads the nation in winning percentage among trainers with at least 50 starts in juvenile company. He is just ahead of California-based trainer John Sadler, who boasts a 38-percent strike rate and has two more juveniles entered at Santa Anita in the next four days.
Capuano has repeatedly said that he pinches himself every day, considering his 2025 campaign “impossible.” His showing in the Heft was startlingly real, however, as his cup ran over at the end of a stellar year. There simply weren’t enough stakes races left at Laurel, or days on the calendar, to accommodate his embarrassment of top-notch 2-year-olds.
Gin Talking Stakes
When the $100,000 Gin Talking Stakes was cut down to three horses at Laurel Park on Saturday, many expected it to be the perfect way for Just Philtored and Slewperstitus to settle their season-long rivalry. But in the end, the new face proved best, as juvenile filly Peach Tie buried the favored two in an eight-length victory.
Trained by Brittany Russell, Peach Tie ran at four different tracks in her first four starts, staying on the outskirts of the Mid-Atlantic scene. After a maiden victory at Colonial Downs in August and a third-place finish in the $100,000 Presque Isle Debutante, Russell limited her to allowances for the next two months that she won in commanding fashion at Keeneland and Laurel.
Back in stakes company in the Gin Talking, Peach Tie found herself right in the middle of an ongoing feud. In three prior meetings this year, Mike Trombetta filly Just Philtored got the better of Slewperstitus, who would have otherwise been undefeated in five starts for trainer Robert Bailes.
Bettors were taken in by the rivalry and made Peach Tie the longest shot in the short field at 2-1 odds. It proved to be a costly error, as the filly paid $6.60 to win in a commanding rout. She completed the seven-furlong sprint in 1:27.30.
Jockey Sheldon Russell wasn’t afraid to get Peach Tie in the mix, as the filly broke sharply and quickly pressured Just Philtored on the front end through an opening quarter-mile in 22.99 seconds. Slewperstitus tracked close behind in third.
After getting nagged for the early lead on the backstretch, jockey Mychel Sanchez was powerless aboard Just Philtored when Peach Tie poked a head in front through a half-mile in 46.56. The 3-5 favorite tried to re-engage, and Slewperstitus also tried to fire from an ideal stalking position, but both rivals quickly became afterthoughts.
Peach Tie powered around the far turn to take a two-length lead entering the stretch and kicked away with authority from there, never leaving any doubt. Just Philtored, stubborn to the very end in her one-sided rivalry, prevailed over Slewperstitus by a half-length for second.
Russell’s chances in the Gin Talking seemed to diminish when she scratched Dazzling Dame, the 5-2 second choice on the morning line coming off a victory in the $100,000 White Clay Creek at Delaware in October. The trainer’s juvenile ranks run deep, however, and Peach Tie was highly qualified in her first stakes victory over two strong local contenders.
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