Laurel: Change My World rallies to graduate
Jockey Jaime Rodriguez was impressed by Change My World’s tenacity after the colt rallied to win Sunday’s featured sixth race at Laurel Park, a $47,000 maiden special weight for 3-year-olds at six furlongs.
“He loved the dirt in his face,” said Rodriguez, Maryland’s leading jockey by wins for the past two seasons. “The more the dirt hit him, he got more aggressive on the bridle. Once I put him in the clear, he just exploded.”
Change My World saved ground in midpack as odds-on favorite Alias battled for the early lead with 32-1 longshot Suremeanttobe through fractions of 22.61 and 46.08 seconds over the fast track.
Rodriguez eased outside at the three-eighths to split rivals, peeked behind to see if any closers were looming, and then maneuvered Change My World for a final three-wide bid. They forged past the pacesetters to score by 3 ½ lengths in 1:12.05. Summerinthecountry rallied inside for second, 2 ½ lengths ahead of Alias.
Trained by Mary Eppler, Change My World returned $19.80 to win as the fourth betting choice.

“He broke pretty good,” said Rodriguez, who won three races on the program. “They put blinkers on today. [Mary] told me to let the speed go and just sit off them. I had a lot of horse at the three-eighths pole.”
A World of Trouble half-brother to Grade 3-winning synthetic sprinter Purely Hot and stakes-placed dirt sprinter Steamy Hot, Change My World was bred in Maryland by Dr. and Mrs. Leonard Pineau and is owned by the Mary Eppler Racing Stable and Triple Tree Stable. His second dam, Wood So, won the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie Handicap..
Change My World finished a troubled third in his career debut on Nov. 16, then placed behind Alias when fifth in a maiden special weight on Dec. 15. Eppler added Lasix and blinkers for the first time on Sunday.
“We thought he was going to be alright, and he’s starting to prove it,” said winning assistant trainer Troy Robb. “We added the blinkers. He’s a colt. He pays attention to everything but what he’s doing. Today, [the blinkers] helped him out.”
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