MSW for 2-Year-Olds Highlights Return of Live Racing at Pimlico
BALTIMORE, Md.— Crowns Way Racing, NBS Stable, Eduard Dalava and Eli Diamant’s Otago, a son of champion sprinter Speightstown making his second career start, splashed to a front-running 4 ¼-length victory in Race 3 Sunday at Pimlico, the first of three maiden special weight events for 2-year-olds on the 11-race program.
Rained off the turf to a sloppy and sealed main track, Otago ($3.40) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:48.44 under New York-based jockey Dylan Davis, who remained in town after riding in Saturday’s stakes-filled program for the mount on the Kelsey Danner-trained colt.
Favored at 3-5, Otago had run third in his debut Aug. 22 going one mile on the grass at Colonial Downs. Bred in Florida, he was fetched $375,000 out of Fasig-Tipton’s March 2-year-old in training sale, more than twice his $150,000 price as a yearling last summer.
Davis added a second victory in Race 6 with Happy Face Racing Stable’s juvenile filly Malibu Moonshine ($4.40), a first-time starter bred in Maryland by Dr. Ronald Harris Parker and based in New York with trainer Charlton Baker. After racing near the back of the pack, the daughter of Bourbon Courage swept to the lead on the far outside and pulled clear through the stretch to win in 1:12.49 for six furlongs.
Gracie Mae Stables and Great Lake Stable’s Lady Serenity ($9) went gate to wire to graduate by two lengths in her fifth career start in Race 5, a five-furlong sprint originally carded for the grass. Second as the favorite in her prior start going four furlongs Sept. 2 at Timonium, the McCraken filly completed the distance in 59.19 seconds under jockey Charlie Marquez.
Notes: Seven-pound apprentice Walter Rodriguez doubled Sunday aboard Sean Gardner and MIH Affiliates’ Virginia Fulla ($9) in Race 4 and Stronach Stables homebred Rock Rose ($24.60) in Race 7 … Rock Rose is trained by Jose Corrales, who also sent out Race 10 winner Backnthewoods ($43.20) for Barak Farm … Live action returns to Pimlico with a nine-race program Friday, Sept. 16. The feature comes in Race 5, a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds sprinting six furlongs that drew a field of nine, five of them first-time starters including Roan Burgundy, a $70,000 son of The Factor trained by Brittany Russell, who connects at 23 percent with juveniles … There will be a $1 Super Hi-5 carryover of $1,157.67 in Friday’s opener.
David Joseph/Maryland Jockey Club
Photo by Jim McCue/MJC
