Post Time has final workout before Churchill’s Grade 3 Blame Stakes
LAUREL, MD – Jockeys are the toughest athletes on the planet.
Baseball players risk beanings when they dig in at home plate. Basketball stars are often fouled hard when driving to the hoop. Football and hockey players suffer vicious collisions on the gridiron and ice, respectively.
None are followed by an ambulance when they go to work.
On April 13, Forest Boyce suffered a scary injury when her mount, first-time starter Z Bogdan, reared up as they headed to the track for the opening race at Laurel Park.
The worst was yet to come as Z Bogdan flipped over and landed on the jockey.
Boyce lay prone on the dirt for several minutes before being stretchered off the track. She was later airlifted to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland, complaining of rib and back pain.
Miraculously, she escaped unscathed.
Incredibly, she was back in the saddle 12 days later.
The following afternoon, she returned to the winner’s circle after guiding Tuck Check to a victory on turf.
Boyce rode two winners here on Friday afternoon, and she piloted favored Belle of Rights to a last-to-first victory in Saturday’s featured seventh race, a $53,000 second-level allowance for fillies and mares at one mile on turf.
Trained by Shug McGaughey for owner-breeder Emory Hamilton, Belle of Rights raced 15 lengths off the pace as Payout Ratio blazed the way up front, setting fractions of 22.98 and 46.61 seconds.
“The early part, she was just kind of hacking along,” Boyce said. “We had a lot to make up there. You don’t want to be too far behind, and they all kind of bottled up, and you lose some ground on the turn. I felt I had a good shot at the quarter pole.”
Boyce swung Belle of Rights widest into the stretch, and the 4-year-old filly got the friendly head bob right on the wire. She completed the distance in 1:35.13 and returned $4.80 to win.
Golden Rocket placed three-quarters of a length ahead of third-finisher Strutherstuff. Then came Bay Street, Don’t Tell Kelly, Precious Avary, Next Girl, Tuck Check, Inanna’s Quest and Payout Ratio.
Boyce and Hall of Famer McGaughey are a potent combination. Together, they teamed up for 56 wins from 211 starts, a 26% win rate, and a positive return on investment for bettors.
Belle of Rights is by Constitution out of a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Verrazano and Grade 2 winner El Padrino from the family of Grade 1 winner Queena.
Belle of Rights won two of her first three starts last year, then earned a stakes-placing when second in Delaware’s Christiana on July 8.
She polished off her 2024 season with a good second in a salty second-level allowance at Keeneland before finishing fifth in Gulfstream’s $125,000 Tropical Park Oaks on December 14.
“They always have them so ready,” Boyce said of McGaughey’s team. “They’re smart guys. They know how to do the job which is why all I have to do is stay out of trouble.”
*Around the track:
Maryland-bred Horse of the Year Post Time drew post position nine for next Saturday’s Grade 3, $275,000 Blame Stakes for 4-year-olds and upward racing 1 1/8 miles at Churchill Downs. Trained by Brittany Russell for Mrs. Ellen Charles’s Hillwood Stable, Post Time has jockey Sheldon Russell named to ride. Among the stiff competition facing Post Time is 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan. Post Time completed his final preparations for the Blame with a half-mile breeze at Fair Hill this morning in 48.80 seconds…Registration remains open until June 1 for the “Charm City Challenge,” a free online handicapping contest where players make selections on the last five races of each Laurel Park card during this meet. If a player picks the winner in all five legs on any single racing program, that contestant will win or share in the $1,000 bonus. Based on the popular “Pick and Pray” handicapping tournaments, the “Charm City Challenge” offers cash prizes to the contestant with the highest cumulative bankroll for the entire Laurel Park meeting. For more information, click here.
