Peach Tie a comfortable Wide Country winner

LAUREL, MD—Earlier this week, trainer Brittany Russell was asked about running impressive debut winner Taj Mahal back in only 15 days for Saturday’s $100,000 Miracle Wood Stakes, a one-turn mile race for 3-year-olds at Laurel Park.

“It’s definitely not a move for me to run one back this quickly off a maiden run,” she said. “I haven’t had a chance to breeze him, but he’s been training right along. He came out of the race great. He came by me this morning with his head between his legs, bucking and playing. He’s obviously happy, and his energy is good. They were bred to be stakes horses, so I’m trying to step up and see what he’s made of.”

Apparently, Taj Mahal is as solid as his namesake, one of the wonders of the world.

Unlike in his debut race, Taj Mahal broke smartly and soon found himself on the lead under jockey Sheldon Russell.

Taj Mahal rated kindly through an uncontested opening quarter in 24.31 seconds, shrugged off Higher Sense after a half-mile clocking of 48.15 seconds, and then braced for a prolonged challenge from the favored Let’s Go Lando.

Let’s Go Lando loomed outside for the final three-eighths of a mile, and he battled tooth-and-nail with Taj Mahal through the long stretch to a second-wire finish.

Let’s Go Lando tried hard, but Taj Mahal remained unwavering despite drifting a few paths outward in the final sixteenth.

Under the wire, it was Taj Mahal by a neck in 1:39.47 on the sealed, muddy track. Let’s Go Lando finished 3 ¾ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Close the Gate. No More Calls, Higher Sense, and G Q Worthy completed the order of finish.

“Just with the added distance today and the way he warmed up – he warmed up very fresh – I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to rate him going the mile today,” Sheldon Russell said. “Lucky enough, he broke good enough that I could just tap him a little bit and move him up. As soon as he cleared them, I put him in park and just tried to reserve him and save something for the end. Look, he’s a really smart horse, and he’s done everything I asked him to do today.”

Taj Mahal returned $6.60 as the public’s second choice. Balboa was scratched out.

“Two weeks ago, he won his maiden,” said Brittany Russell. “That’s a long way for him to be in front by himself. I was a little worried. Around the turn, I wondered if we were starting to go empty a little bit. But that was gutsy. That’s a nice horse. He’s still figuring some things out. I still think he’s a little bit of a baby, mentally. I’ll tell you what, this race will really tighten him up.”

Taj Mahal, a son of Nyquist, was bred in Florida by Vegso Racing Stable and purchased for $525,000 as a yearling. He is owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan.

Taj Mahal’s dam, Oola Gal, by Quality Road, was stakes-placed at one mile on dirt. His fourth dam, Strategic Maneuver, was a multiple Grade 1 winner at age 2.

Before being transferred to Russell’s care last fall, Taj Mahal began his training in Southern California with Bob Baffert.

"He worked well out there in California, but I think when he got to Maryland, he started working really well,” said Corbin Blumberg, Director of Racing and Bloodstock for Starlight Racing, earlier this week. “I know Brittany was excited to run him first-time out.”

Taj Mahal’s next destination is unknown, but one thing is certain.

“I won’t be running him back in two weeks,” Brittany Russell said with a laugh.

*Peach Tie a comfortable Wide Country winner

Twenty-eight minutes before she won the Miracle Wood and a little more than an hour after she received a trophy honoring her as Maryland’s winningest trainer for the third consecutive season, Brittany Russell saddled Peach Tie to a comfortable victory in the $100,000 Wide Country Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs.

Also ridden by Sheldon Russell, Peach Tie remained unbeaten in five dirt starts, with the only blemish in her career coming when she finished third over the Tapeta surface in the Presque Isle Debutante Stakes.

There were only four fillies in the Wide Country, but all of them wanted to be forwardly placed. Longshot Velocity Girl set the pace from the two path, but was surrounded by rail-skimming Momaxie, a three-wide Law School, and a wider Peach Tie.

The quartet skipped the opening quarter in 24.08 seconds, then Russell made a decisive sweeping move into the turn. Soon, Peach Tie was two lengths clear after a half-mile in 48.26 seconds, with the others in chase mode.

Law School made a brief outside bid in the upper stretch, but Peach Tie was too strong. She drove home three lengths clear of Law School in 1:27.80.

Momaxie finished another five lengths behind in third place. Velocity Girl trailed.

Favored Peach Tie paid $3.20. Strike a Rose withdrew.

“There’s something about this filly that gives me a lot of confidence,” Brittany Russell said. “I knew Sheldon would have her in a good spot. She does whatever it takes. This filly has flown under the radar, done everything right, and shows up on race day. She’s an absolute dream to have in the barn.”

Sheldon Russell agreed. “She seems pretty versatile. She was just tugging on me. I had to decide whether to sit four abreast, and then we go slow and they quicken. I just nudged her a little to cross slowly. I didn’t want to get put in a jackpot because we were all sort of uncertain about who was going to go. We all broke in a straight line.”

Foaled in Kentucky, Peach Tie is a homebred daughter of Preservationist, owned by the Estate of Brereton C. Jones. A $19,000 buyback as a yearling, she is out of a half-sister to the stakes-winning miler Fact Finding. Her second dam, the Deputy Commander mare Sweet Belle, was a stakes-winning miler on turf.

Peach Tie completed her juvenile campaign with an eight-length victory in the Gin Talking Stakes at Laurel on December 27.

Brittany Russell mentioned the $100,000 Beyond the Wire Stakes, a one-mile race on March 21, as a potential next spot for Peach Tie.

“As long as she’s doing well,” she said. “I skipped the last one [Xtra Heat Stakes on February 4] on purpose. We just let her take some time to see if she would grow a bit.”

*Around the track:

Leading rider Yedsit Hazlewood rode two winners on Saturday’s program. Hazlewood guided Joe the Jet ($5.40) to a tracking victory in the third race for trainer Hugh McMahon, then completed a natural double aboard Intrepid’s Legacy ($3) for trainer Gary Capuano.

Live racing resumes Sunday. The first post for the nine-race program is at 12:00 pm ET, with two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout.

The FREE “Laurel Park Handicapping Guide” is available every racing day. Get picks, analysis, trainer stats, trip notes, horses to watch, track bias information, and more from The Maryland Jockey Club’s team of handicappers. Sunday’s guide is now available. Click here to view it.

Reserve your spot for our weekly “Bubbly Brunch Sundays.” Kick back with friends over delicious brunch favorites and bottomless mimosas at our vibrant Stone Bar Restaurant and Bar. Sunday Brunch starts at 11:00 am ET.

Celebrate the Lunar New Year at Laurel Park on Saturday, February 28. It’s the “Year of the Fire Horse,” and we’ll celebrate the day’s spirit and festivity with special food and drink offerings, including Prosperity Dumplings, Longevity Noodles, and Fire Horse-Inspired Cocktails. There will be giveaways and fun for the whole family. Learn more here.

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