As the temperature makes its way north of 90 degrees this weekend the barn will only have one runner in action, Dendrobia, in Saturday’s 11th race at Laurel Park.
Last week:
Emma’sdiamonddiva made her turf debut in Friday’s first at 1-mile. She raced toward the rear of the field early and never concocted a rally. Back to dirt next time.
Irish Access was the first of our three runners Saturday. She never seemed to get into the right rhythm and finished sixth.
“Very disappointed but she just didn’t look comfortable running,” Tim said. “I did tell (jockey Jorge Vargas Jr.) to keep her close and not let her drop way out of it, but I think she’s just the kind that you need to let settle and then make a run. I think that’s what happened. I still like her, I still think she’s better than this.”
A few races later, Sister Says gave us a thrill in the 5 1/2-furlong M. Tyson Gilpin Stakes. She made her usual rally from far out of it and almost got there. The field spread across the track at the top of stretch, which forced Sheldon Russell to make a decision, angle all the way to the outside or find a gap to run through? He made what ended up being the correct decision and went for a split toward the inside. Sister Says surged late but came up just short. Officially, she finished fourth beaten by a half-length.
“She ran her race,” Tim said. “Sheldon rode her perfectly. I just think she was a little hesitant the last sixteenth to run between horses. But watching the head-on, it’s not like she was in tight or anything.”
Best Way closed out our day at Laurel with a decent, even performance. He raced prominently in the early going and stayed on to only be beaten 5 lengths.
“I thought he did everything right, he just needs to run in a little easier spot. I can’t complain with him,” Tim said.
Chobee Girl made the trip to Charles Town Races to run in the seventh race Saturday night. She broke slowly and was never able to get into the race. She’ll face easier competition next time.
Dendrobia is set to go in Saturday’s 11th race, a spot where she figures to perform well. The Maryland-bred runs in the waiver maiden claiming condition and therefore can run without the claiming tag. Alex Cintron has the mount on the 3-year-old filly.
2-year-olds:
The youngsters in the barn are starting to breeze and Tim is happy with what he has seen. Those most precocious include Reds Winning Call, the Tapizar colt out of Red’s Round Table who has shown an encouraging amount of ability so far.
