Big Cuddle rolls past Final Story to upset the Sir Barton, TMJC Photo
Preakness 151 Press Release
LAUREL, MD – Pocket 3’s Racing’s Maryland-bred Big Cuddle, newly fitted with blinkers while exiting his first career loss, collared favored pacesetter Final Story in mid-stretch and edged clear for a half-length victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Sir Barton sponsored by the Connolly Family Foundation to benefit the TAA at Laurel Park.
The 28th running of the 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton for 3-year-old non-winners of an open sweepstakes was the second of nine stakes, four graded, worth $3.15 million in purses on a spectacular 14-race program headlined by the 151st Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
It was the third win of the day for jockey Yedsit Hazlewood, Maryland’s leading apprentice and a finalist for the Eclipse Award as North America’s champion apprentice rider in 2025. Big Cuddle ($12.80) covered a fast main track in 1:44.47.
Big Cuddle’s Gary Capuano-trained stablemate Let’s Go Lando led the way early, going the opening quarter of a-mile in 24.69 seconds. Final Story settled in second two wide under a snug hold from jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., with Big Cuddle saving ground inside in third and Falcon Jet in the clear three wide in fourth.
Final Story took over the top spot from Let’s Go Lando after a half in 48.64 and was still in reserve leaving the far turn when Hazlewood tipped to the outside with Big Cuddle to launch their bid, ranging up alongside the leader and drawing past in a steady drive. Final Story, making his stakes debut, was 6 ¾ lengths ahead of late-running Minorinconvenience in third.
Let’s Go Lando, Pont Aven and Falcon Jet completed the order of finish. Reagan’s Honor, the 7-5 program favorite trained by Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Cherie DeVaux, was scratched.
Big Cuddle ran twice last fall at 2, graduating at Delaware Park and capturing the Maryland Million Nursery in mid-October at Laurel. The Great Notion colt made his 3-year-old debut April 18 at Laurel, running second as the favorite in a 5 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance.
Sir Barton won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1919, becoming the first horse to sweep what wouldn’t become known as the Triple Crown until Gallant Fox matched the feat in 1930. He won or placed in all 13 of his starts as a 3-year-old and retired in 1920 with 13 wins from 31 races. Based in Maryland with Hall of Fame trainer H. Guy Bedwell, Sir Barton was inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in 1957.
$100,000 Sir Barton Quotes
Winning Trainer Gary Capuano (Big Cuddle): “He ran super. He got a pretty good trip, but it got a little tight around the turn. I thought he might get pinched a little bit, but once he got through….
“He’s just been training awesome. It was a good race, a great race.
“He still didn’t break sharp, even with the blinkers. For some reason he seems to not break too quick, but going two turns it helped, because the pace isn’t so fast, so he didn’t have as much to do to catch up.”
Winning Jockey Yedsit Hazlewood (Big Cuddle): “Everything went good. First, I want to thank the trainer for the opportunity to ride him. The trainer told me, ‘Just follow the number 4 around there,’ and that was it, that was the procedure. It was tight at the half-mile pole, and I had just a little bit of trouble, but then I was able to get in the clear and get the position I wanted and that was it. He really held on at the end.”
