Chevy Man an impressive maiden graduate
Jockey Ruiz wins three turf races
LAUREL, MD – It was a magical Memorial Day Monday for trainer Tim Woolley after Magical Mondays rallied to win the opener at Laurel Park, a $45,000 maiden special weight for state-bred or -sired runners at one mile on turf.
Making his first start of the season, Magical Mondays rated near the back of the pack as Regency Tale and Silk Suit controlled fractions of 24.18 and 49.06 seconds.
Magical Mondays advanced outside exiting the backstretch, but was intimidated a bit when Radiant Tones lugged out in front of him.
Undaunted, jockey Jorge Ruiz allowed his mount to regather momentum, and they angled to the outside into the stretch. From there, the outcome was hardly in doubt as Magical Mondays kicked by the leaders to win by 1 ¼ lengths over Nothingbutbluesky.
Pietrelcina finished third, three-quarters of a length behind the runner-up. Then came Radiant Tones, Silk Suit, Regency Tale, Falcon Blue, Basic Miles, and Christmas Spirit.
Magical Mondays completed the distance in 1:37.42 over the firm course and returned $4.60 as the betting favorite.
“Jorge is a great turf rider,” said Woolley, “The fractions were a little slow, and I was afraid we were a little too far back, but I knew this horse did have a good kick. He started to make a run at the three-eighths pole, and Jorge said that [Radiant Tones] was a bit in and out. He rode him with confidence.”
Magical Monday raced with a hood for the first time.
“I train him in a hood,” Woolley added. “He gets a little bit nervous in the gate. Just some noises and stuff start setting him off. He’s not bad. He just gets a little unnerved. [The hood] was just for the gate and paddock and stuff.”
Foaled in Maryland, Magical Mondays is a homebred owned by Harry Kassap LLC. He is by First Mondays out of five-time winner Magically Discreet.
“I trained the mother, and the mother had a lot of talent,” Woolley said. “It’s nice to be able to train the siblings.”
Magical Mondays raced twice last year. He made his debut in an open maiden special weight at 1 1/16 miles on turf on October 25 and finished a good second despite swapping leads several times and drifting in during the final furlong.
“He was a little bit green that first race,” Woolley admitted.” He ran a big race that first start. He had been working well at home but was a little quirky. [Lugging in], I don’t think it was necessarily greenness. He was a little bit ignorant as well.”
Magical Mondays was the beaten favorite when racing for the waiver on dirt on December 1 after breaking poorly.
“We worked on him through the winter, and he put a few nice works together,” said Woolley. ”I gallop a lot of the horses myself, so I know what level of fitness they’re at, and how much they can take, and how much we can push forward to make sure they are fit. I match them up with other horses when I’m breezing and see how they hold up.”
Magical Mondays will likely point to a state-sired allowance.
*Chevy Man an impressive maiden graduate
Ruiz won his third turf race on the card when patiently guiding Chevy Man to a popular victory in the seventh race, a waiver maiden claimer at 1 1/16 miles on turf.
On paper, the race featured an eclectic group.
Koru, formerly trained by Chad Brown, made his first start for Laird George after competing in a point-to-point and a hurdle race earlier this spring.
Royal Renegade stretched out in distance for the first time for trainer Elizabeth Merryman.
Gladstone shipped up from Gulfstream Park and added blinkers for trainer Jane Cibelli.
Tears and Rain made his turf and route debut for trainer Rick Dutrow after a pair of dirt sprints in New York. He brought pedigree appeal as a son of three-time Grade 1 winner Balance, herself a half-sister to Hall of Famer Zenyatta.
Tate’s War Cry, Work Hard, and Grey Biggsy completed the field.
In the end, it was all Chevy Man, who sat in the pocket behind the early leaders, raced on hold in behind foes inside the quarter pole, deftly angled to the outside at the three-sixteenths marker, then blasted by the leaders to win by 2 ¾ lengths in 1:42.99.
Koru misbehaved in the paddock and post parade but nipped Grey Biggsy for the place spot. Work Hard, Tate’s War Cry, Royal Renegade, and pacesetters Gladstone and Tears in Rain completed the order of finish.
Favored Chevy Man returned $4.40 to win in his first start since a runner-up effort on Nov. 3. He was claimed for $30,000 from that race by trainer McLane Hendriks for owner Joy Slater.
“This was a horse I’d been following a little bit last year,” said Hendriks. “I used to ride jump races for Joy and said this was a horse I’d be interested in training. His breeding stood out to me. Physically, his type was right in my wheelhouse.”
Hendriks gave Chevy Man the winter off and used unconventional methods to get the gelding fit.
“We messed around with him in the ring this winter and taught him how to jump,” Hendriks said.
“He jumps alright, too,” added Slater.
Slater knows a thing or two about jumpers. In 1980, she became the first woman to ride the winner of the 4-mile Maryland Hunt Cup, arguably the world’s most demanding timber race. Slater and her mount, Cancottage, repeated the feat a year later.
“Joy has a beautiful farm out in Unionville, Pennsylvania,” Hendriks continued. “We galloped him out there a bunch. We trained him off the farm, brought him to Fair Hill, and gave him a few works.”
Hendriks was thrilled with the trip Ruiz navigated.
“I told him to use his post position to save ground going into the first turn. Just get him switched off and relaxed and put him to sleep. When he needs to call for him, just go for one run.”
Bred in Kentucky by Godolphin and J. Stuart, Chevy Man is a 4-year-old gelding by Hard Spun out of British stakes-placed turf sprinter Amabilis from the family of French Group 1 winner Mutual Trust.
Purchased for $7,000 as a weanling, Chevy Man made his first two starts for trainer Cal Lynch before being transferred to Jane Cibelli’s shedrow. In five starts for Cibelli, Chevy Man finished second three times and placed third once.
Chevy Man isn’t the only one with a strong pedigree. Hendriks is the son of trainers Merryman and Ricky Hendriks. As for Chevy Man, it’s one race at a time.
“The horse will tell us what he wants to do,” Slater said.
“We’re here to have fun,” Hendriks concluded.
*Around the track:
Live racing resumes on Saturday with a nine-race program featuring two “Value Pick 5” wagers with a low 12% takeout rate…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.
