Quincy Cafe Elevated to First in Sunday’s Maiden 2-Year-Old Sprint
Racing Returns to Laurel with Live Nine-Race Program Friday, Aug. 5
LAUREL, MD – Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Long Valley Stables’ 3-year-old filly Divine Huntress, determined winner of Saturday’s $75,000 Miss Disco, could return to her home state on Maryland’s showcase day for state-breds.
Trainer Graham Motion said the 37th Jim McKay Maryland Million Oct. 22 at Laurel Park will be part of the conversation moving forward for Divine Huntress, runner-up in the June 11 Acorn (G1) at Belmont Park before becoming a stakes winner in the Miss Disco for Maryland-bred/sired fillies.
The $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff for fillies and mares 3 and up is contested at seven furlongs, the same distance as the Miss Disco, which came after four straight starts in graded company and marked the first time Divine Huntress faced fellow Maryland-breds.
“I think we have to think about the Maryland Million,” said Motion, who won Sunday’s third race with Gary Broad’s Princess Pita ($8.20), a 3-year-old daughter of Munnings making her career debut.
“That’s something we’ll talk about. They don’t have a 3-year-old filly race anymore, so she’d have to run against older mares, but that is something we will definitely discuss,” he added. “She’s such a cool filly.”
The one-mile Maryland Million Oaks for 3-year-old fillies was run from 1986 to 2012. Motion is tied for fourth-most wins among trainers in Maryland Million history with eight, including multiple editions of the Nursery and Lassie for 2-year-olds and Ladies for fillies and mares on the grass.
Divine Huntress was bred by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Rick Buckley and Joshua Dreiband. Buckley, who races as Long Valley Stables, trained her for two starts before selling majority interest to Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbreds, who moved the daughter of 2015 Preakness (G1) show finisher Divining Rod to Motion.
The Miss Disco was the first time sprinting for Divine Huntress since graduating second time out in a seven-furlong maiden special weight last December at Parx. She won a one-mile, 70-yard allowance Jan. 19 at Parx to open her sophomore campaign, then ran ninth in the Rachel Alexandra (G2), fifth in the Gazelle (G3) and fourth in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at historic Pimlico Race Course before a distant but decisive second behind Matareya in the Acorn.
Quincy Cafe Elevated to First in Sunday’s Maiden 2-Year-Old Sprint
K E M Racing Stable’s 2-year-old colt Quincy Cafe earned his first career win Sunday, promoted to the victory after longshot first-place finisher Alottahope was disqualified and placed third for interference down the backstretch.
Alottahope and jockey Denis Araujo, sent off at 23-1, were racing in second tracking pacesetter Tall Order through a quarter-mile in 24.08 seconds. General J R, who had been running fourth, began to move up and looked for a spot between Completed Storm on the outside and Alottahope. Jockey C Olmo then dropped General J R to the inside.
Araujo set his sights on the leader midway around the far turn and Alottacents overtook Tall Order as they straightened for home. Meanwhile, Quincy Cafe was rolling under Johan Rosado on the outside and moved up to engage Alottacents in mid-stretch while General J R battled along the inside. Quincy Cafe dug in but came up a nose short of Alottacents, with General J R third. The final time was 1:26.58 for seven furlongs over a fast main track.
A lengthy inquiry followed Olmo’s objection, and Alottacents was judged to have bothered General J R on the backstretch and placed behind him in the order of finish.
Quincy Cafe ($7.60), the narrow 5-2 favorite trained by Lacey Gaudet, had run third in each of his first two starts, maiden special weights sprinting five furlongs June 25 and six furlongs July 9, both at Laurel with the latter over a sloppy track. The chestnut son of Mendelssohn was purchased for $140,000 in March at the OBS sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Sunday’s other maiden special weight, a 5 ½-furlong sprint over a firm Fort Marcy turf course for fillies and mares age 3, 4 and 5, saw Gary Broad’s Princess Pita ($8.20) unleash a powerful closing kick in the final sixteenth of a mile to surge past leader Winked and draw off for a 3 ¼-length triumph in her career debut. The winning time for the sophomore daughter of Munnings was 1:03.72.
Notes: Each of Laurel’s summer meet leaders picked up wins on Sunday’s card. Jockey Jevian Toledo captured the opener aboard 3-year-old Animal Kingdom gelding Auction Kingdom ($24.40), his 26th victory, while trainer Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon earned win No. 15 with 3-year-old Palace filly No More Mask ($25.40) in Race 6 … Laurel Park returns with a live nine-race card Friday, Aug 5. B Determined and Mint Game, separated by a head when respectively 1-2 in the 2021 Maryland Million Turf Starter Handicap winner, meet again in Race 5, a one-mile allowance for Maryland-bred/sired horses, while stakes winners Karan’s Notion, Eastern Bay and Alwaysinahurry and 11-time career winner Yodel E.A. Who hook up in featured Race 8, an optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on the main track. First race post time is 12:40 p.m.