Apple Picker gave jockey Sheldon Russell his double of the day. (Anika Miskars/Past The Wire)
By Maribeth Kalinich
It would be a three-grey win day at Pimlico with jockeys doubling and Preakness progeny scoring victories.
The day started with a juvenile maiden won by Irish Heartbeat for trainer Mike Maker with Luis Saez getting the leg up.
Owned by Paradise Farms Corp., David Staudacher, Nice Guys Stables, Maxis Stable and Steve Hornstock, the Mendelssohn colt is out of Irish mare Soresca but was foaled in Kentucky.
Stonelea Stable LLC and Bonnie Rye Stable’s Desvio, a 3-year-old grey son of Yoshida (JPN) out of Uncle Mo mare Fitzrovia scored the race 2 turf opener for Madison Meyers piloted by Yomar Ortiz.
Jockey Sheldon Russell followed up an allowance win in Race 3 for Anthony Farrior aboard Richard Burnsworth’s Nasty Habit with a score in the Skipat aboard Michael Dubb’s popular Apple Picker for trainer Brittany Russell.
The bay daughter of 2019 Preakness champion Cloud Computing, Conceptualize, scored her maiden victory in lucky start number seven.
Expertly piloted by Jaime Rodriguez, she set the pace and handily won driving all the way gate-to-wire by an emphatic 4-3/4 lengths.
A Maryland-bred from Flying H Stables, LLC the 4-year-old is out of Can the Man mare Imagine Star.
The filly is campaigned by Commonwealth New Era Racing and conditioned by Todd M. Beattie.
Our second grey on the day was Keene Thoroughbreds LLC’s Frost Free by—you guessed it—Frosted was the victor in the Grade 3, Chick Lang under Irad Ortiz, Jr.
Conditioned by Brett Creighton, the 3-year-old went resolutely gate-to-wire.
One of my all-time favorite mares, Head of Plains Partners LLC’s Fluffy Socks, won the Grade 3, Gallorette in lightning fashion besting the field by 7-3/4 lengths and earning an Equibase Speed Figure of 108 for trainer Chad Brown.
One irony of her name as so eloquently pointed out on social media—Fluffy Socks literally has … no socks. She could buy them aplenty as this fastidious mare has earned $1.26 million in her 26 starts.
Multiple graded stakes winner Lea Farms, LLC’s Super Chow was back on the prowl in the Grade 3, Maryland Sprint for trainer Jorge Delgado.
Coming off back-to-back G3 wins and a third in the Carter, Super Chow gobbled up the track setting the pace with an opening quarter of 23.23 under reigning Belmont champ Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano.
The Kentucky-bred son of Lord Nelson bagged his ninth victory in 19 career starts. The stalwart 4-year-old dark bay out of Warrior’s Rewards mare Bonita Mia has also hit the board second four times and earned five third place finishes. That’s some nice math there!
More math—Super Chow earned an ESF of 107 for his effort.
The chestnut son of Bolt d’Oro Fulmineo won the James W. Murphy coming wide from seventh to drive by 2-3/4 lengths.
Under Flavien Prat the 3-year-old colt is campaigned by Starlight Racing and Mark Grier was rewarded it an ESF of 105 for the one-mile turf contest.
Shug McGauhey took the Sir Barton with Courtland Farms’ Corporate Power, the son of 2007 Preakness champ Curlin.
The 3 yo colt won with the bob of a nose capturing a 105 ESF and gave jockey Javier Castellano his second win on the day.
This race also benefitted the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
Rallying from behind, Jorge Ruiz took Colts Neck Stables LLC’s Grooms All Bizness to the wire first in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint for trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. scoring a whopping 112 ESF and causing an upset over popular Witty.
Notorious Italian jockey Frankie Dettori grabbed his first win at historic Pimlico in the Dinner Party Stakes aboard Irish-bred Balnikov.
The stalwart colt, who started his carrier at Saint Cloud, broke his maiden at Angers and last won in Europe at Chantilly, was racing on the east coast for the first time having won stakes and graded stakes at Del Mar, Golden Gate Fields and Keeneland.
Owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables LLC and Old Bones Racing Stable, LLC, the son of Irish sire Adaay came from behind through a grindingly slow opening quarter of 26.42 over Crabs N Beer with Castellano up.
Seize the Grey would make it three greys on the day scoring an historic victory for legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas who was winning the Preakness for the seventh time giving jockey Jaime Torres his first Preakness.
Lukas’ previous victories in the Middle Jewel came in 1980 with Codex, 1985 Tank’s Prospect, back-to-back wins in 1994 and 1995 with Tabasco Cat and Timber Country, both with Pat Day up (who won the following year aboard Nick Zito’s Louis Quatorze). In 1999 Charismatic was the winner for Lukas and Oxbow would score the win in 2013 with Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens who had just returned to racing from knee surgery.
The day was not over after the Preakness Stakes. PepeStable and J L M Jacona Stable’s Union Fleet took the card allowance closer for Jose Magana under Andres Chavez in a three-way photo finish where all three top finishers cleared by a nose.
