Disco Ebo scoring the 2024 Pimonetta. (Screen shot)
Four $100,000 Stakes Highlight Saturday Laurel Program
Dan Illman/The Maryland Jockey Club
LAUREL, Md. – LC Racing’s Disco Ebo took them gate to wire in last year’s Primonetta, and trainer Butch Reid hopes for a repeat performance in Saturday’s renewal for fillies and mares at six furlongs.
A 12-time winner with earnings of $737,694, Pennsylvania-bred Disco Ebo enters the 2025 Primonetta following a third-place try in Aqueduct’s Correction Stakes on March 2.
Rice entered both Tipple and All Class.
Tipple, a Constitution homebred owned by Summer Wind Equine, debuted on grass last summer at Saratoga, finishing eighth of ten. After missing time due to a virus, Tipple won two of three dirt starts, including a first-level allowance at Aqueduct on February 23.
“She’s a half-sister to Hootenanny, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, so we tried her on the turf,” Rice said. “I was looking for a spot to get her started. I was not disappointed that she turned out to be a dirt horse, though. I think she’s in great shape.”
All Class hit the board in all three starts since Rice claimed her for $62,500 at Keeneland last fall. Rice admitted that she isn’t sure if she’ll run All Class in the Heavenly Cause.
Glassman Racing’s Firstlady Rosalynn makes her stakes debut after wiring three others in a second-level allowance at Colonial on March 13.
“She’s been a little bit of a funny filly,” trainer Russell said. “No major issues along the way, but we just lacked consistency with her racing. It was nice to run her back down there and see that she did what we thought she could do.”
Admiral Hopper was listed as sold at Keeneland in November for $15,000. Trainer Justin Nixon said that breeders Krista and Edward Seltzer “restructured” under the Stonebase LLC name and still own the 7-year-old, who returned from a four-month layoff to finish seventh in Tampa Bay’s Lightning City Stakes on turf on February 22.
“We’d like to get some blacktype on her before she retires to the breeding shed,” Nixon said. “She had a pretty solid race off the layoff at Tampa, so we’re going to give the Primonetta a shot.”
Admiral Hopper hasn’t raced on dirt since 2021. Nixon hopes she returns to her winning debut on dirt at Tampa.
“I think she’ll be okay,” Nixon said, mentioning that her sire, Field Commission, won on all three surfaces and that many of his progeny get better with age. “Given her pedigree and her previous positive experience, I think she’ll handle it just fine.”
Mudslide makes her stakes debut after three consecutive wins at Charles Town.
B G Warrior will scratch per trainer Brisset.
The Primonetta is the seventh race. The post time is 2:59 pm ET.
