LRL: Teachintherelease looks to carry CT form in Manfuso
Frank Vespe
December 18, 2025
West Virginia-bred Teachintherelease will try to carry his Charles Town dominance to Laurel Park on Saturday when he faces a deep, accomplished field in the $100,000 Robert T. Manfuso Stakes at 1 1/16 miles, a race that also features a compelling rematch between Barbadian Runner and Post Time.
While that rivalry figures to draw much of the attention, the spotlight could shift to Teachintherelease, an improving, five-year-old gelding whose connections believe he is peaking at the right time.
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Owned by Robert L. Cole Jr., who claimed him for $20,000 in June 2024, and trained by Stephen Murdock, Teachintherelease enters the Manfuso off a string of authoritative performances at Charles Town, including victories in the Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders’ Classic, Frank Gall Memorial, and most recently the Randy Funkhouser Memorial.
Cole said the key to the horse’s current form has been maturity and freshness following two demanding campaigns earlier in his career.
“Last year he was good, but he had run two long campaigns as a three- and a four-year-old,” Cole said after the Funkhouser. “I think giving the winter off really made him a better horse, because at five, the geldings are just as good, if not better. He’s a fresh horse, and he runs big when he’s fresh.”
Equally encouraging to Cole has been Teachintherelease’s developing versatility. Long regarded as a speed-dependent runner, the gelding has recently shown he can settle and pounce when challenged. In the Funkhouser, Teachintherelease, by Windsor Castle, relaxed off the pace until the final turn, when he made a quick move to seize the advantage.
“Now he’s showing the ability to rate and not have to have the lead,” Cole said. “The way he waited [in the Funkhouser Memorial] tells me he can handle a bigger track.”
That adaptability could prove crucial at Laurel, where he is likely to face early pressure from quality rivals. Others with early foot entered in the Manfuso include Kentucky shipper Not This Boy, Ballezzi Appreciation Mile winner Point Dume, and longshot Secret Zipper.
Awaiting him are Barbadian Runner, who edged Post Time in the Maryland Million Classic before capturing the Richard W. Small Stakes, and Post Time, a multiple graded stakes winner whose Laurel résumé includes 10 wins from 11 starts. Not This Boy, cross-entered in a stake at the Fair Grounds, looks for his first stakes win two races removed from a runner-up effort behind $8 million earner Hit Show.
Cole is realistic about the challenge but quietly confident.
“This horse is really good right now,” he said. “We’re going there unless something’s the matter with the horse. I think he’s going to be tough.”
If Teachintherelease can reproduce his Charles Town form while answering the class question, the Manfuso could mark a significant breakthrough against Maryland’s best older runners.
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ROBERT T. MANFUSO STAKES ENTRIES
| PostPosition | Horse | Odds | Jockey | Trainer | Owner |
| 1 | Not This Boy | 5-2 | Carmouche K | Cowans William D | Zimmer Ridge Ranch |
| 2 | Barbadian Runner | 4-1 | Boyce F | Walters Henry R | AJ Will Win Stables LLC |
| 3 | Teachintherelease | 9-2 | Lopez C E | Murdock Stephen | Robert L. Cole, Jr. |
| 4 | Post Time | 2-1 | Russell S | Russell Brittany T | Hillwood Stable LLC |
| 5 | Hittheroadjak | 15-1 | NO RIDER | Sanchez-Salomon Rodolf | J R Sanchez Racing Stable LLC |
| 6 | Secret Zipper | 20-1 | Hazlewood Y | Capuano Gary | Frank Sample |
| 7 | Pay Billy | 15-1 | Mena R E | Gorham Michael E | RKTN Racing LLC |
| 8 | Point Dume | 8-1 | Cruz A | Kreiser Timothy C | Bush Racing Stable |
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