3YO Joined by Fellow Graded Winners Main Event, Wow Whata Summer
Stakes-Winning Stablemates Sparkle Blue, Vergara Among $100,000 Searching Noms
LAUREL, Md. – Magdalena Racing’s millionaire Tiz the Bomb, a graded-stakes winner on turf and synthetics, and fellow graded winners Main Event and Wow Whata Summer top 23 3-year-olds nominated to the $100,000 Bald Eagle Derby Saturday, Aug. 6 at Laurel Park.
The 1 3/16-mile Derby and $100,000 Searching for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles, both scheduled for the grass, are the last two of 16 stakes worth $1.5 million in purses during Laurel’s 37-day summer meet that runs through Sunday, Aug. 21.
Tiz the Bomb, trained by Kenny McPeek, exits a ninth in the 1 ¼-mile Belmont Derby (G1) July 9 which represented a return to the grass for the first time since his runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) last fall. Winner of the 2021 Bourbon (G2) on grass and April 2 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) on synthetics, he also ran ninth following a belated start in the Kentucky Derby (G1) May 7.
Harrell Ventures’ Main Event has won three of seven starts in 2022 after going winless in two tries as a 2-year-old for trainer George Weaver. The son of champion Bernardini became a stakes winner in the 1 1/16-mile Cutler Bay April 2 at Gulfstream Park, and last out captured the 1 1/8-mile Kent (G3) July 2 over the Delaware Park turf.
Jeremy Brooks’ homebred Wow Whata Summer was fifth in the Kent following his 1 ¼-length upset of the June 3 Penn Mile (G3) over a soft Penn National course at odds of 83-1. Last year he was third by less than a length in the five-furlong Hickory Tree at Colonial Downs and fourth in the 1 1/16-mile Laurel Futurity.
Donegal Racing’s Ready to Purrform, trained by Brad Cox, was a 3 ¼-length winner of the Laurel Futurity in just his second career start and was entered to run back in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf but did not draw into the body of the field. The Kitten’s Joy colt has placed in each of his starts this year, beaten a neck as the favorite by Joe in the James W. Murphy May 21 at historic Pimlico Race Course and finishing third in the July 4 Manila at Belmont Park.
Also among the 23 nominees are May 29 Jersey Derby winner Fuerteventura and June 27 Crowd Pleaser winner Undercover Kitty; Tommy Bee and Speaking Scout, respectively third and fourth in the Kent; and stakes-placed Affable Monarch, Bob Marco, Grooms All Bizness, Majestic Frontier and Shad Nation.
The Searching attracted 25 nominations s including Sparkle Blue, bred and co-owned by Catherine Parke along with Augustin Stable and a half-length winner over fellow nominee Tsweya in the 1 1/16-mile Christiana July 2 at Delaware in her season debut. She ran fourth to Consumer Spending in the 2021 Selima, her only prior start at Laurel.
Also nominated are Ocean Safari, last-out winner of the one-mile Honey Ryder May 7 at Gulfstream Park; Schlofmitz, winner of the June 22 Curtis Sampson Oaks at Canterbury Downs for trainer Mike Maker; and Sparkle Blue’s Graham Motion-trained stablemate Vergara, winner of the 2021 Tepin at Aqueduct most recently fourth behind Consumer Spending after setting the pace in Belmont’s Wonder Again (G3) June 9.
Other prominent Searching nominees include 2021 Ainsworth winner Koala Princess, third behind stablemates Dolce Zel and Eminent Victor in the July 22 Lake George (G3) at Saratoga, her season debut; Candy Light, second in the March 19 Beyond the Wire over Laurel’s main track; 2021 Maryland Million Lassie runner-up My Thoughts; 2021 Selima runner-up She’s Like Thunder; and McPeek-trained Silverleaf, third in the July 9 Indiana Oaks (G3) yet to race on turf.
Live racing returns to Laurel Park Thursday, July 28. The $100,000 Deputed Testamony for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles and four $75,000 stakes for Maryland-bred/sired horses, the Star de Naskra and Miss Disco on dirt and Ben’s Cat and Jameela scheduled for the turf, are on tap Saturday, July 30.
David Joseph/Maryland Jockey Club
Photo of Tiz the Bomb winning the Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park on April 2, 2022. (Coady Photography)
