Laurel Futurity odds and analysis
Undulated looks for a second straight win. Photo by The Racing Biz.
From a Maryland Jockey Club release
Kathleen Willier’s stakes winner Greatbullsoffire, unbeaten through his first two starts, will likely be favored to keep his perfect record intact in Saturday’s $75,000 Laurel Futurity at Laurel Park.
The 90th running of the Laurel Futurity for 2-year-olds going 5 ½ furlongs on the Fort Marcy Turf Course, is one of six stakes worth $575,000 on the 11-race Turf Festival program that includes the $75,000 Selima for 2-year-old fillies and the $75,000 Shine Again for females 3 and up at seven furlongs on the main track.
- Galaxy Express (20-1) — James Vail/Carla Morgan — Difficult spot despite eight-length maiden win
- Lime House Louie (20-1) — J.D. Acosta/Flint Stites — Broke maiden at first asking at CT
- Caribou Club (3-1) — Ashley Castrenze/Tom Proctor — First time blinks after troubled third at Saratoga make him live here
- White Tights (10-1) — Luis Garcia/Ben Colebrook — Filly likely to choose Selima
- El Gato Felix B (20-1) — Horacio Karamanos/Alejandro Gomez — Karamanos in the irons the bright spot here
- Undulated (5-1) — Trevor McCarthy/Cal Lynch — Sparkling debut win after disastrous trip? Or beneficiary of slow race? Your call on $625,000 auction purchase
- Greatbullsoffire (3-1) — Jevian Toledo/Ham Smith — No flaws in this spotless resume to date; Toledo aboard for Carrasco
- Hembree (2-1) — Alex Cintron/Joe Sharp — Debut winner at the Spa
A graded event from 1973 to 2004 won by such stars as Citation, Riva Ridge, Secretariat, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Tapit and Barbaro, the Futurity has been run on the grass since 2005.
Unraced at two, Greatbullsoffire broke his maiden by a neck in front-running fashion July 17 at Laurel going 5 ½ furlongs on the turf, then came from a stalking spot to win the Strike Your Colors Stakes Aug. 4 at Delaware Park by 2 ½ lengths, run at the same distance on dirt.
Bred in Maryland by Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds, he is a son of Bullsbay, whose graded stakes wins include the 2009 Whitney (G1) at Saratoga for trainer Graham Motion.
“His first start was carded on the dirt but it didn’t fill so they wrote an extra on the grass and I brought him back in there and he won that particular race. I brought him up to the stake at Delaware Park and he won that pretty easy. This will be a pretty good chance to see what he’s made of,” trainer Hamilton Smith said. “I’m hopeful he can carry himself a little further. Being by that stud, he should. Some of his horses can go a route of ground and I had a filly by him that won a stakes going long. He’s been good so far.”
Greatbullsoffire has had two works since his stakes win and figures to be forwardly placed again under jockey Jevian Toledo from post 7 in a field of eight at 120 pounds.
“The first time he ran he broke awfully sharp and got out there his own way. The second time he was just right off the lead and almost on the lead and when the kid asked him to finish up he went on about his business,” Smith said. “The race at Delaware wasn’t a tough race but he’ll get tested here pretty good I think. We’ll find out what we’ve got then.”
Among the challengers is M M G Stables’ Undulated, a gutsy winner of his lone start Aug. 7 at Laurel where he overcame traffic early and late and split horses near the wire to prevail by a half-length.
“We didn’t think he’d have that much trouble but he overcame quite a bit there and showed he’s game,” trainer Cal Lynch said. “He came out of it well. I know that Greatbullsoffire won the stake at Delaware and he’ll be tough. He’s trained well and run well. He’s got some experience on us.”
Undulated will carry jockey Trevor McCarthy and 120 pounds from post 6.
Caribou Club; El Gato Felix B; recent eight-length Delaware maiden winner Galaxy Express; Hembree, a neck winner of his debut Aug. 24 at Saratoga; Lime House Louie and filly White Tights are also entered.
