Bring The Smoke comes over the top to take the Maryland Sprint, TMJC Photo
Preakness 151 Press Release
LAUREL, MD – Awestrike Racing, Berry Family Racing, Legion Racing, GLAM Racing and Clarke Ohrstrom’s Bring the Smoke came with a steady run down the center of the track and got up in the final jump to win Saturday’s $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3) presented by Visit Baltimore at Laurel Park.
The 39th running of the six-furlong Sprint for 3-year-olds and up was the fourth 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.
Bring the Smoke ($16.50) was ridden by Tyler Gaffalione for trainer Whit Beckman, who will team together in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness with the maiden Ocelli, most recently third at 70-1 in the Kentucky Derby (G1). The winning time was 1:10.73 over a fast main track.
Faster Gator and Faust, both riding two-race win streaks, dueled through a sizzling quarter of a mile in 22.08 seconds with Haileysfirstnotion keeping tabs in the clear three wide in third and Bring the Smoke saving ground inside in fourth. Haileysfirstnotion took over the top spot after a half in 45.09 but Bring the Smoke was just gathering momentum on the far outside under Gaffalione, who set the 4-year-old gelding down for a drive.
With Faust on the inside and Haileysfirstnotion between horses, Bring the Smoke emerged from a three-way photo a neck in front for his second win in his stakes debut. Faust held second by another neck over Haileysfirstnotion, with 5-2 favorite Celtic Contender, S S Sinatra, Slam Notion and Faster Gator completing the order of finish. Floodlites and Hymn were scratched.
Bring the Smoke made his first two starts at Laurel for owner-trainer Lacey Gaudet, running third in a Dec. 26 maiden special weight before graduating in a similar spot over a muddy track Feb. 21. Purchased privately following the win, Bring the Smoke entered the Maryland Sprint having run second in a six-furlong allowance April 12 at Keeneland.
$150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3) Quotes
Winning trainer Whit Beckman (Bring the Smoke): “Blinkers off for that reason right there. We wanted him to settle back behind the speed and not be part of the speed. It worked. It was perfect. Tyler broke evenly with them all but just didn’t really hustle him up into that spot. Just kind of let him go out. And as the race developed, he did get a little keen going into the turn, and he had to kind of back him off a little bit. I didn’t know if that little length was going to cost him. But turning for home, they had done enough on the front end to even things out.”
Winning jockey Tyler Gaffalione (Bring the Smoke): “All credit goes to Whit and his team. They brought him over here ready. He fired big for us, and I think taking off the blinkers really helped him relax today. The last time he broke a step slow and he just kind of got a little ahead of himself that day. He wanted to do a little too much early, but today, completely different. He relaxed beautifully behind those horses, and when we found room, he really responded well.”
Trainer Steve Asmussen. (Faust, 2nd): ‘He ran really hard coming out of a ‘non-three life’ [allowance] up to a graded stakes. I’m very proud of the progression he’s made. [Son] Erik Asmussen] got him in the winner’s circle by being considerably more aggressive with him early, kind of played with what his style was, as big of a horse as he is. We passed that along, and I thought Jose [Ortiz] put him in the race, he’s a big horse, got him going and he fought on beautifully.”
Jockey Jose Ortiz (Faust, 2nd): “We broke really good and I was able to get a good spot in to the turn but the horse outside of me moved way too early and pressed the pace which cost me at the end.”
Trainer Gary Capuano (Halleysfirstnotion, 3rd): “He ran a monster race. He grinded it out and couldn’t hang there the last 40 yards or so. The horse came up late on the outside to go by him. He dug in and ran a great race. Just got outrun. He ran his race; he tried and got a good trip. He moved on. He had the lead inside the eighth pole and could not hang in there. He gave us a thrill, though. I was rooting hard.”
Jockey Jorge Vargas (Halleysfirstnotion, 3rd): “We broke really well. The plan was to lay off the speed in second or third position and make one move. When we came turning for home and at the top of the stretch, we made the move, but he got tired at the end.”
