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.