JUS LIVELY (Paddy O’Prado) won the DIXIE POKER ACE S. at the Fair Grounds racing a mile on the turf. Recently he won his 5th race in allowance company at the Fair Ground. Before that he had added his third stakes placing, running 3rd in the $150,000 LOUISIANA CHAMPIONS DAY CLASSIC S. He also just missed the win by a head in the B-Connected Stakes run a 7 furlongs at Delta Downs. Last year he ran 2nd in the Cresent City Derby at the Fair Grounds. The newly turned 5 year old colt is a homebred for Pine Knoll Farm and is trained by Steven M. Asmussen. He has won 50% percent of his starts !
MSW KENNY HAD A NOTION, winner of the Spectacular Bid Stakes at Laurel last out, followed that up with a third in the Miracle Wood Stakes also at Laurel. He ow owned by Louis J. Ulman & Neil H. Glasserand is trained by Dale Capuano. The Great Notion gelding has bankrolled $221,125.
JUDGE BERN(Laoban) slipped up the rail to graduate in a MSW going a mile at Aqueduct. He is part owned by his trainer Charlton Baker with additional owners Steven Simon and Rosenfeld. He was bred by Stonegate Stables LLC.
On the same card, SCORPION DYNASTY (Dialed In) broke his maiden by 2 1/2 lenghts going 6 furlongs. He was bred by Richard Perkins and is owned by the Bing Cherry Racing Inc. SCORPION DYNASTY is trained by Clarke Dylan.
CHESS CHIEF (Into Mischief) has multiple graded stakes placings to his name including the Oklahoma Derby (Gr. 3) and the West Virginia Derby (Gr. 3). Today he added another running 3rd in the Mineshaft S G3 at the Fair Grounds. He is owned by the Estate of James J Coleman Jr and is trained by Dallas Stewart. Morgan’s Ford Farm (VA) is the breeder. He has earned $384,048.
WISHES AND DREAMS (Munnings) overcame a slow start and maneuvered from last to first to graduate at Aqueduct racing 6 furlongs on the dirt. She was claimed out of the race by owner/trainer Rudy R. Rodriguez and rewarded him with an immediate win. Racing 6 furlongs at Aqueduct, she cut the corner, found room on inside and got up for the win.
Louis Ulman and H. Neil Glasser’s Kenny Had a Notion, a juvenile stakes winner on both turf and dirt, dueled from start to finish with a stubborn Maythehorsebwithu before prevailing by a neck Jan. 16 in the $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes at Laurel Park.
The inaugural seven-furlong Spectacular Bid for 3-year-olds and return of the $100,000 Xtra Heat for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs were among six stakes worth $550,000 in purses on a Saturday program that launched Maryland’s 2021 stakes calendar.
Ridden by Jorge Ruiz for trainer Dale Capuano, Kenny Had a Notion ($8) led all the way to snap a two-race losing streak with his third career stakes win. The winning time was 1:23.98 over a fast main track.
“He’s been showing a lot more speed the last few races. I think a lot has to do with him maturing and getting himself together,” Capuano said. “We’re very pleased with him.”
Kenny Had a Notion was pressed by Maythehorsebwithu from the outset, the two running in tandem through a quarter-mile in :23.14 and a half in :46.47, briefly joined in the chase by Shackqueenking. The top pair began to edge away once straightened for home and set the stage for a battle through the lane with Kenny Had a Notion, racing along the rail, refusing to budge under relentless pressure.
Maythehorsebwithu, who beat Kenny Had a Notion when second in the First State Dash Stakes over a sloppy track last fall, was two lengths ahead of Shackqueenking in second. Tiz Mandate finished another length back in fourth, trailed by Erawan, Nobody Knew, Scotch Rock’s, and Wicked Prankster.
Kenny Had a Notion won the 5 1/2-furlong Jamestown Stakes on the Laurel turf in October and now has also won at six and seven furlongs on the main track. He ran sixth after displacing his palate in the Nov. 14 James F. Lewis III Stakes, underwent a procedure to correct the problem, and came back two weeks later to be second beaten a neck in the Dec. 26 Heft Stakes.
“He’s run well at six and seven (furlongs), so I think we’ll stretch him out at some point,” Capuano said. “He’s game. He seems to carry his speed at seven, so it’s exciting. We’ll see how far he takes us.”
Kenny Had a Notion was bred in Virginia by Althea Richards out of the During mare Darting, and was a $20,000 purchase by Capuano from Scott Mallory’s consignment to the 2019 Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s yearling sale in Timonium, Md. He improved his career record to four wins and a second from seven starts, with earnings of $211,125.
Mucho Gusto is invited once again by Stronach Group to run for this year’s Pegasus World Cup. He’s the current winner of the said racing game and will defend his title in the next few weeks. This colt is trained by Bob Baffert, who has already recognized a Hall of Fame Trainer producing the top racehorse talents since then.
After his win at Pegasus last year, Mucho Gusto skipped the Derby trials and missed both the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup. He took part in Saudi Cup and San Antonio Stakes, where he both landed in fourth place. Today, he is now one of the Pegasus’ favorites as he defends his title, facing another tough batch of competitors
WISHES AND DREAMS (Munnings)overcame a slow start due to tossing her head at the break, She maneuvered from last to first to graduate at Aqueduct racing 6 furlongs on the dirt. She was claimed out of the race and we wish her new connections the best of racing luck.
