Doctor Abbie rallies for Thirty Eight Go Go shocker * The Racing Biz

Doctor Abbie rallies for Thirty Eight Go Go shocker

Rallies to win as longest shot on the board

Frank Vespe
November 14, 2026

Six-year-old Doctor Abbie had won a dozen races prior to Saturday, but not one of them had come in stakes company.

She made it a baker’s dozen’s worth of wins Saturday and, after having finished second in four different stakes races, added that elusive stakes victory to her resume. Under jockey Angel Rodriguez, Doctor Abbie rallied outside to prevail by a head in the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go at Laurel Park.

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“She just likes to relax in the beginning and then make a run with her outside in the stretch,” Rodriguez said afterwards. “She’s a filly who doesn’t like to be too close to the pace early on.”

Good thing, too: the Thirty Eight Go Go’s quick early pace took a toll on the horses involved. Amalfi Drive, who led after a quarter-mile went by in 23.47 seconds, and Late Nite Call, who had her head in front after a half in 47.16, finished ninth and eighth, respectively. And post-time favorite Waveless, who was third in the early going, faded to sixth at the end.

*Doctor Abbie (outside, gold and green silks) narrowly bested Aeolian to win the Thirty Eight Go Go. Photo by Jim McCue.*

Rodriguez, meanwhile, was able to save ground around the first turn with his mount, as she dawdled at the rear of the field alongside another late runner in Ivy Girl.

The complexion of the race changed rounding the far turn. Waveless, poised outside in third, went to the attack rounding the turn and, though she quickly dispatched the lead pair, she took immediate heat from Pink Ruby to her outside after six furlongs in 1:12.65.

Pink Ruby led the field into the stretch, while the Chad Brown-trained Aeolian was revving up a run and Especially, who, like Waveless, is trained by Brittany Russell, was looking for clear running room.

Rodriguez and his mount came off the inside rounding the turn and then slipped through between horses for clear running room late.

The race came down to Doctor Abbie on the outside, Aeolian in between runners, and Especially, who finally found a seam inside.

In the end Doctor Abbie prevailed by a head over Aeolian, who remained on her left lead in the stretch, with Especially another three quarters of a length farther back. Running time for 1 1/16 miles on a fast main track was 1:46 flat.

Doctor Abbie paid $64.80 as the longest shot on the board, and the exacta with Aeolian returned $221.80 for a one-dollar wager.

“I’m very happy and just want to say thank you to the trainer and thank you to the owner also,” Rodriguez said.

Doctor Abbie, trained at Penn National by Tim Kreiser for Bush Racing Stable, improved her record to 13 wins from 47 starts. She has earned $528,064.

Bush – the nom de course of David Bushey and his father, the late Bryan Bushey, who passed away July 13 – claimed Doctor Abbie for $25,000 in August of 2025. This marked her third win in the stable’s gold-and-green silks.

“She’s a class-act filly,” said David Bushey. “We gave her a little time off to freshen her up on the farm. She came back better than she’s ever been. This wasn’t our first choice to run in this race, but we entered her in six different allowance races and couldn’t get one to go long for the girls.”

Doctor Abbie was bred in Pennsylvania by Brian Schartz. She is by Sky Kingdom and out of the winning Crypto Star mare La Estrellita. While her siblings haven’t amounted to much, Doctor Abbie has carried on mom’s legacy; La Estrellita was a nine-time winner and stakes-placed in 58 career starts.

And even now, Doctor Abbie is finding ways to surprise.

“To be honest, she always tries, but I thought the race was pretty tough,” Rodriguez said. “But you know, you gotta run the races to know the results.”

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Frank Vespe

Frank Vespe, the founder and publisher of The Racing Biz, has owned, bought, sold, claimed, written, and talked about horses, in varying combinations, for a decade. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on twitter @TheRacingBiz.

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