LRL: Cruise the Nile answers questions in Henry S. Clark
Rallies from mid-pack for first stakes win
The Biz
April 19, 2026
Cruise the Nile answered a key question in the $100,000 Henry S. Clark Stakes at Laurel Park: he didn’t need the lead to win.
Rating off a hot early pace set by longshot Bartlett, the 4-year-old rallied outside under Jorge Ruiz and surged late to edge Horsepower by a neck in 1:33.85 for his fourth straight victory.
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“There was a lot of speed in the race,” Ruiz said. “My horse is getting better and better.”
The Clark was one of a trio of turf stakes Saturday at Laurel on a card topped by the Weber City Miss and Federico Tesio Stakes, both on the main track.
Trainer Graham Motion said Cruise the Nile’s ability to relax made the difference. “He needed to settle today, and he stepped up and handled everything really well,” Motion said in a Maryland Jockey Club release, adding that the mile distance remains the immediate target.
That capped a s strong day on the turf for Ruiz, who earlier had guided Outlaw Kid to victory in the $100,000 King T. Leatherbury Stakes. The 7-year-old saved ground behind a blistering pace, slipped through along the rail, and outfinished Chasing Liberty by a neck.
“I broke well and waited for the room,” Ruiz said. “Once I asked him for a finish, he responded very well.”
Trainer George Weaver credited Ruiz’s preparation: “He watched the horse’s replays and had a good feel for how this horse needed to be ridden. I thought he did a great job.”
In the $100,000 Dahlia Stakes, Summerintahoe made a successful return from more than seven months away, wiring the field under Jaime Torres and holding off Mahra’s Love by a nose in 1:34.60. Rather than fight the mare early, Torres let her roll on the lead.
“The filly is very hungry—she wants only to go, go, go,” Torres said, adding, “I just let her be her.”
The approach proved just enough, as Summerintahoe held firm late to earn her first stakes victory for trainer Michael Ann Ewing.
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