In which we revisit some of last week’s top stories…
- It was a Virginia-centric kind of week last week on The Racing Biz, with our extensive coverage of all things Colonial Turf Cup. The G2 Turf Cup proved to be anything but an anticlimax, as London Lane — the longest shot on the board and the longest-ever Turf Cup winner — rallied on the outside to catch ’em all. The Maryland-bred son of Langfuhr paid $102.60, with off odds of 50-1. Jockey Horacio Karamanos, the all-time leading winner at Colonial, piloted the Sondra and Howard Bender homebred; trainer Larry Murray “told me, ‘Don’t look at the price, he is OK,’” said Karamanos (here).
- It was a forgettable visit to Virginia for Shug McGaughey, on the other hand (here). The Kentucky Derby-winning trainer sent down two logical contenders, Adjacent in the G3 Edward P. Evans All Along and Air Support in the G2 Colonial Turf Cup, but came away empty-handed. Adjacent, 9-2 at post time, emptied out to finish sixth, while Air Support, second in this race a year ago and the 5-2 second choice at post time, also ended up sixth.
- Other stake winners at Colonial were Channel Lady in the All Along, favored Saintly Love in the Old Nelson, and odds-on Hudson Steele in the Da Hoss. Local favorite Action Andy was a late scratch from the Da Hoss, reportedly a minor physical problem.
- We’d flagged the wide open field, which we characterized as “rock solid,” in the Levine Memorial at Parx (here) — and boy, were we right. The post time favorite — the coupled entry of Brujo de Olleros and Mezzano — went off at the not-even-lukewarm price of 4.30-1. Brujo came in second to 10.30-1 Traffic Light, while a.m. favorite Travelin Man struggled home last. All of that led to a $150 exacta and a $919 triple.
- We covered last Tuesday’s Maryland Racing Commission meeting (here), at which the Commission voted to adopt regulations to effectuate a program to promote breeding in the Free State. That has prompted concerns among some horsemen’s representatives about both the legality of the manner in which the program has been implemented and the scope of the program itself. Rumors are flying around the backside as to what response, if any, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association will offer, with fevered, back-channel discussions reportedly taking place. Curious horsemen may learn more at this evening’s annual all-members meeting of the MTHA, at 5:00 p.m. at Laurel.
(The featured photograph is Channel Lady narrowly winning the G3 Edward P. Evans All Along. Photo by Coady Photography.)
