Vote No says yes in Cape Henlopen

Saturday’s card at Delaware Park featured the first-ever Delaware Derby, along with the 74th running of the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks. Those two big races were supported by three undercard stakes, the Cape Henlopen on the grass, along with the Alapocas Run and the Obeah.

Here are how those races went down.

CAPE HENLOPEN STAKES

Vote No continued his impressive turnaround with a determined late rally to win Saturday’s $200,000 Cape Henlopen Stakes at Delaware Park. It was the second consecutive victory for the 4-year-old gelding since being claimed for $40,000 on March 14 by trainer Kelsey Danner and the current ownership group of Crown’s Way Racing LLC, NBS Stable, Kevin Marko, and Eli Diamant.

Vote No rallied late to win the Cape Henlopen Stakes. Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

Ridden by Paco Lopez, who earned his fourth win of the afternoon, Vote No settled well off the early pace in the 1 1/2-mile turf marathon before swinging wide in the stretch and surging past rivals to prevail by three-quarters of a length. The final time over firm turf was 2:27.61.

“She gave me run, the horse today,” Lopez said.

Harrow and Starting Over rounded out the top three, while early leader Dripping Gold faded to fourth late. Vote No now has five wins and more than $600,000 in earnings from 15 career starts.

Vote No, the post time favorite, paid $6.40 to win.

ALAPOCAS RUN STAKES

Full Moon Madness added another stakes score to his resume with a late-running victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Alapocas Run Stakes at Delaware Park. The 5-year-old gelding, who won the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap at Aqueduct in March, sat off the pace before launching a well-timed rally under Irad Ortiz Jr. to collar Buccherino in the final strides and win by a neck.

“The horse break good out of there,” Ortiz said. “I let him find his stride. I was running behind the speed. I think we have a great, great trip. The horse deserves a lot of credit. I don’t do too much. I just sit on and let it relax and make him finish.”

Trained by Michelle Nevin for Jay Em Ess Stable, Full Moon Madness improved his record to five wins from 15 starts and pushed his career earnings past the $400,000 mark. He completed the six furlongs over a fast track in 1:11.02.

Buccherino, who had dueled for the lead and briefly took command in the stretch, settled for second, while Damon’s Mound rallied from last to finish third. Full Moon Madness, off as the favorite, paid $5.80 to win.

OBEAH STAKES

Veteran mare Malibu Beauty made the most of a favorable pace setup in Saturday’s $150,000 Obeah Stakes at Delaware Park, cruising to a front-running victory to notch her 14th career win and push her earnings past $900,000. With the scratch of likely pace rival Into Amore, the 7-year-old was left alone on the lead and never looked back under jockey Paco Lopez.

“She’s unbelievable, that filly,” said winning rider Paco Lopez.

Trained by Gary Capuano for ZWP Stable and Non Stop Stable, Malibu Beauty dictated terms through moderate fractions, kicked clear turning for home, and was never seriously threatened while finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.61 over a fast track.

This win marked her sixth career victory at Delaware Park, where she continues to shine. Favored Gun Song chased in vain and settled for second, three lengths behind the winner, while Ragtime Belle rallied for third. Favored Sidamara was never a threat and finished fifth.

Malibu Beauty paid $22.00 to win.

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