Takethemoneyhoney Too Good in Conniver
Trainer Annette Eubanks wins 500th race
LAUREL, MD—Although Quint’s Brew won two stakes races last year with jockey Mychel Sanchez and took the Jennings Stakes on January 17 with Yedsit Hazlewood, trainer Ned Allard said earlier this week that he believed Forest Boyce “would fit this horse to a T.”
“He’s a horse that you need to be a little patient with,” Allard explained. “He doesn’t like being spanked on his rear end with the whip. You can tap him on his neck, encourage him a little, but he’s one of the horses that is giving you everything he’s got. When you reach back and get him behind, he always ducks out a little bit, and he changes his lead. It throws him off.”
Boyce is known for her patience, and that patience paid off when Quint’s Brew defeated archrival Blue Kingdom in Saturday’s $100,000 Not For Love Stakes for 4-year-olds and older racing seven furlongs at Laurel Park.
The Not For Love was one of two stakes races limited to Maryland-bred or -sired and Virginia-bred or -sired runners on the eight-race card, along with the $100,000 Conniver for fillies and mares at seven furlongs.
The sealed, muddy track seemed to favor speed horses all afternoon, and Boyce made sure to get a good start from the inside post aboard Quint’s Brew. They took the early lead, setting fractions of 22.65 and 45.70 seconds while being pressured by Suremeanttobe and a three-wide S S Sinatra.
“Ned is so great,” Boyce said after the race. “He’s a good trainer. It’s like riding for Shug [McGaughey] or Dickie Small. He hired me to do my job. There were no instructions on where to be. I thought today the track favored speed. Nothing has made up a ton of ground. Being in the one-hole, I felt that was the place to be.”
Quint’s Brew pulled ahead of his pursuers and prepared for Blue Kingdom’s late surge. Boyce resisted the urge to whip Quint’s Brew and kept a steady hand. An appreciative Quint’s Brew responded by refusing to let Blue Kingdom pass.
Quint’s Brew won by a neck with a time of 1:11.53 and paid $3.60 as the favorite. Blue Kingdom finished 5 ½ lengths ahead of S S Sinatra, with Suremeanttobe in fourth. Twisted Ride and All the Hardways scratched.
“Knowing that you can’t hit him once, that was a little nerve-wracking,” Boyce admitted about the stretch drive. “You hate to get beat, and the public is probably watching and going ‘hit the horse’. It’s a hard thing to resist.”
Quint’s Brew and Blue Kingdom have competed against each other in their last four races. Quint’s Brew finished second in the Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial Stakes on December 20, with Blue Kingdom finishing fifth. Four weeks later, Quint’s Brew narrowly defeated Blue Kingdom in an exciting Jennings race. On Valentine’s Day, Blue Kingdom finally reversed the result, finishing second in the General George Stakes while Quint’s Brew took third.
Allard mentioned earlier this week that he believed Quint’s Brew was a short horse in the General George, because harsh winter weather caused him to miss several key workouts.
Bred in Maryland by Paul Berube, Karen Linnell, and Spinnaker Hill Farm, Quint’s Brew is a 5-year-old Mosler full brother to stakes-placed turf router Touisset. Campaigned by Berube, Linnell, and Heather Hunter, Quint’s Brew has won six of 11 starts and earned $501,240.
The Not For Love Stakes is named after the legendary Maryland stallion. Named Maryland Stallion of the Year 13 times, Not For Love sired 91 stakes winners and is the broodmare sire of Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner California Chrome.
*Takethemoneyhoney too good in Conniver
There were no surprises in the Conniver as the heavily favored Takethemoneyhoney, ridden by jockey Eliseo Ruiz, pulled away to win by five lengths in 1:24.84.
Takethemoneyhoney, trained by Michael Moore for Kasey K Racing Stable, Michael Day, and Final Turn Racing Stable, was heavily favored at 1/5 in a three-horse field. She tracked pacesetter Dwelling Legacy through splits of 22.71 and 45.87 seconds, confronted that foe turning for home, and went about her business.
She paid $2.40 to win. Dwelling Legacy finished 7¼ lengths ahead of You’re the One. Destination, Isabella’s Glory, and Grayson’s Girl scratched.
“I wanted to start nice and easy with her because I didn’t fight with the speed today,” Ruiz explained. “She was really professional. She gave me a nice spot in the race. She’s a really nice filly. I could’ve gotten the lead today, but I didn’t need to.”
Moore was somewhat worried about repeating last month’s Barbara Fritchie Stakes, where an odds-on Takethemoneyhoney won a pace duel with Dry Powder but then lost by a nose to Passage East.
“She got the job done,” Moore said. “She’s just a nice mare. She tries every time. We missed some training time coming into this race because [Parx] was closed for a week [due to winter weather]. As a trainer, even though you know you probably have the best horse, in your mind you [realize] that it didn’t go exactly as you wanted it coming into the race. So, you hope you overcome it, and she did.”
Takethemoneyhoney is a homebred 4-year-old filly by Golden Lad out of stakes-winner Goodonehoney, a Great Notion full sister to Twisted Ride, a four-time stakes winner also conditioned by Moore.
She has won 7 of 10 races, earning $411,770. The Conniver was her fourth stakes victory. In her three losses, she finished second each time, narrowly losing by a nose, a head, and a nose.
Moore mentioned that Takethemoneyhoney might need a short break after four consecutive taxing stakes efforts.
The Conniver Stakes is named after Conniver, the Champion Older Female of 1948. Inducted into the Maryland Thoroughbred Hall of Fame in 2021, Conniver won 15 races, including major stakes such as the Beldame, Brooklyn Handicap, Comely, and Vagrancy Handicap.
*Trainer Annette Eubanks wins 500th race
Trainer Annette Eubanks reached a career milestone in Saturday’s third race when Majorca ($5.20) led wire-to-wire to secure his maiden victory with jockey Jevian Toledo.
The 82-year-old Eubanks, a longtime fixture on the Maryland circuit, secured her 500th victory.
Eubanks started her career in 1987. She achieved her seasonal bests with 28 wins in 2000 and earnings of $731,973 in 2024.
Eubanks trained two stakes winners. Jim Thirds Bolero won the 2005 Native Dancer Stakes, and Brilliant Ice took the Maryland Million Classic in 2024.
Eubanks unfortunately missed the Maryland Million Classic due to health issues after a knee replacement. Her son, Daniel, was understandably emotional in the winner’s circle that day.
“Mom wasn’t doing too well today,” Daniel Eubanks said. “This is the biggest day of her career, and she couldn’t be there for it. My mom is 80 years old and having her best year yet. These horses can break your heart. Sometimes, they can make it.”
Daniel Eubanks filled in for his mother again this afternoon.
“I talk to her every day to keep her updated,” he said. “Until a couple of months ago, she was still coming in the mornings whenever she could. She’s on top of everything.”
Majorca, a 4-year-old gelding sired by Volatile, has an interesting background. He was purchased for $135,000 as a yearling and ran his first six races for trainer Todd Pletcher before being sold for $52,000 at a public auction last summer.
“I received a call from Keri Brion, one of my trainers,” Daniel Eubanks said. “Someone bought him at the sale and sent him to Joe Sharp in Saratoga. He worked once for Sharp and cracked a sesamoid. It was a miscommunication between Sharp and the owner. The owner wanted to retire him, and Sharp sent him for surgery and gelding as well. After the surgery, I got a call from Keri saying the owner didn’t want to keep the horse and would basically pay the bill if you want to take the time to work with him. So, I took on the challenge.”
For now, Annette Eubanks has no plans to retire.
We had an agreement that she would retire at 500, but a few weeks ago, she changed her mind,” Daniel Eubanks said. “As soon as we hit 499, she said, ‘You know, I don’t think I want to retire yet.’”
*Around the track:
Leading rider Yedsit Hazlewood won three more races on Saturday. Hazlewood, 17, last year’s runner-up for the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Rider, captured the second race with pace-presser More Ransom ($6.80) for trainer Jamie Ness, took the fourth with Juniper’s Jubilee ($3.60) for Gary Capuano, and guided Old Bay ($6.20) to a front-running victory in the fifth.
Toledo had a successful day with two wins. Two races before Majorca scored for Eubanks, the veteran rider reached the winner’s circle with Robert’s Moon ($4.60).
Live racing resumes Sunday with an eight-race card. The first post is at 12:00 pm ET. Additionally, Laurel Park offers two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout rate.
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