Shares March 23 Card with $100,000 Beyond the Wire for 3YO Fillies
BALTIMORE – Thirteen Triple Crown-nominated 3-year-olds including stakes winners Copper Tax, Baytown Chatterbox and Circle P, and the top four finishers from the Feb. 24 Miracle Wood are among 27 nominations to the $100,000 Private Terms Saturday, March 23 at Laurel Park.
The 1 1/16-mile Private Terms is the third of Maryland’s four stakes for sophomores leading up to the 149th Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, May 18 at historic Pimlico Race Course. Next up is the $125,000 Federico Tesio going 1 1/8 miles April 20, a ‘Win and In’ qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the Preakness.
Copper Tax has lost back-to-back starts, both in graded-stakes out of town, since putting together a five-race win streak that included stakes wins in the Rocky Run at Delaware Park and Laurel’s six-furlong James F. Lewis III last fall. Most recently he ran 10th in the 1 1/16-mile Sam F. Davis (G3) Feb. 10 at Tampa Bay Downs off a two-month layoff.
Baytown Chatterbox put together two straight wins last summer, breaking his maiden at Horseshoe Indiana and springing a 60-1 upset in the Ellis Park Juvenile. Circle P went 2 ½ months between starts from winning Laurel’s Maryland Juvenile in his 2023 finale to his third-place finish in the one-mile Miracle Wood Feb. 24.
Speedyness improved to five-for-eight lifetime at Laurel with a popular front-running 1 ½-length triumph the Miracle Wood over Point Dume, with Startswithadream fourth. It was just the second start for Triple Crown-nominated Startswithadream while Point Dume was making his stakes debut second off a $30,000 claim.
Also prominent are Triple Crown nominees Classic Joke, a winner of two straight including his 3-year-old debut March 8 at Tampa; James Lewis runner-up Inveigled, most recently fourth in the Feb. 3 Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream Park; and Lightline, third as the favorite in the Feb. 3 Withers (G3) at Aqueduct; as well as I Know Map and Malinois, each riding two-race win streaks.
Also on the March 23 program is the $100,000 Beyond the Wire for 3-year-old fillies going one mile, the latest stop on Maryland’s road to the 100th Black-Eyed Susan (G2) May 17 at Pimlico. Twenty-four horses were nominated led by multiple stakes winners Carmelina, Living Magic and Miss Harriett.
Miss Harriett exits a popular three-quarter-length victory in the seven-furlong Wide Country Feb. 24 at Laurel over Determined Driver, the 2023 Timonium Juvenile runner-up that is also nominated. Miss Harriett has won three of four starts, breaking her maiden at odds of 62-1 in the Maryland Million Lassie last fall.
Living Magic, by 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify, has made his last five starts on grass or synthetic surfaces including wins in the My Dear at Woodbine and Chelsey Flower at Aqueduct, running third last out in Turfway Park’s one-mile Cincinnati Trophy. Carmelina owns four wins, three in stakes, capping her juvenile season with a victory in Laurel’s seven-furlong Gin Talking.
Carmelina’s stablemate Jeanne Marie, winner of the March 5 Main Line at Parx; 2023 Maryland Juvenile Filly winner Kissedbyanangel; Emmy’s Honor, unbeaten in two starts this winter at Fair Grounds for trainer Joe Sharp; and Sheilahs Warcloud, second in the Lassie and Maryland Juvenile Filly that is unraced since a 1 ½-length optional claiming allowance triumph Jan. 12 at Laurel.
Laurel’s ongoing winter Heritage Meet runs through Saturday, March 30 before kicking off its 15-day spring stand Friday, April 5.