LAUREL, Md. – Larry Pratt and Dave Alden’s multiple graded-stakes winner Doctor Mounty continued to show his affinity for Laurel Park, snapping a five-race losing streak with an atypical front-running 1 ¾-length triumph in the 20th running of the $100,000 Henry S. Clark.
With Forest Boyce aboard for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, Doctor Mounty ($6) completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.98 over a Bowl Game turf course rated good. It was the 7-year-old’s fourth win from five career tries over Laurel’s world-class turf course, and first anywhere since taking last summer’s Prince George’s County over the same course and distance.
Doctor Mounty has won six races overall at Laurel, two on the dirt, and four of them with Boyce in the irons including previous stakes triumphs in the Prince George’s County and 2018 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3). Doctor Mounty and Boyce also finished second in that year’s Clark.
The normally late-running Doctor Mounty found himself in front breaking from Post 1 and loped along an easy lead, going in splits of 25.18 seconds, 50.41 and 1:14.49 tracked by Taxable Goods. Boyce said her mount felt strong as the group approached the stretch and they powered through the lane unchallenged.
“Shug always has them ready so I’m always pretty confident they’ll run from wherever they place themselves. He wanted to go today, which is not normally his style, but rather than fight him I just went on and went with it and it worked out really well,” Boyce said. “I felt pretty good because he was relaxed and happy as a clam. The other horses weren’t really pressing him. I thought they were going to go and I’d be sitting three or four off [the lead]. I had plenty of horse so I knew I had a good shot.”
Ninety One Assault got up to be second, a half-length ahead of 3-2 favorite Serve the King. O Dionysus was fourth.
2020 Henry S. Clark Replay
Press Release
Photo: Doctor Mounty. Credit: Jerry Dzierwinski/Maryland Jockey Club
