Mopo notches first stakes victory in Jameela

LAUREL, MD—The popular Witty became racing's latest millionaire after rallying from behind a slow pace to win the $100,000 Ben’s Cat Stakes for 3-year-olds and upward at six furlongs on the Fort Marcy Turf Course.

The Ben’s Cat was the co-featured event on Saturday’s Laurel Park program, alongside the $100,000 Jameela Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs over the Fort Marcy. Both the Ben’s Cat and the Jameela Stakes are restricted to registered Maryland-bred or -sired and Virginia-bred or -sired runners.

Ridden by Jeiron Barbosa for breeder-trainer Elizabeth Merryman, Witty broke well and settled behind the leaders in the second flight as Had to Have Him set a glacial opening quarter in 23.56 seconds while racing outside Whenigettoheaven.

Barbosa inched Witty closer to Had to Have Him once that foe cleared Whenigettoheaven on the turn, and the field sprinted for home down the long stretch to a second-wire finish.

Had to Have Him was a stubborn rival, but Witty had his number, scoring by a half-length. Whenigettoheaven rallied for third, a head behind the runner-up. Tidewater and Thataway followed.

Witty, the odds-on favorite, returned $3.80 to win after covering the distance in 1:08.77 on firm going. Wickedivine and Brightshininglight were scratched.

“Liz told me before the race not to rush him,” Barbosa said. “He’s just a nice horse. He broke well this time, and I eased back a little. I tried to wait and be patient. At the three-eighths, I thought it was time to go. I asked my horse, and he did everything. He gave me a nice kick. When he passed them, he was just waiting for them a little bit. I switched my whip to the right to get him to lugging in a little bit. When he felt the other one, he kept going.”

Barbosa secured two wins on Saturday, with the last being aboard World On Fire.

Merryman, who also co-owns Witty with Marc Detampel, was rightly proud of her 7-year-old gelding.

“Absolutely amazing,” Merryman said. “He’s such a fun horse. He’s so cool. He makes all of us smile every day. We have a great team, and we all love him.”

Merryman credited Witty's downtime from early September through the end of last year’s turf season, caused by a wrenched ankle, as a major reason the gelding has returned so sharp.

“He’s just been stronger and better all over, and it’s showing in that he doesn’t seem to need to spot them 20 lengths now,” she said of the gelding’s prior tendency to break poorly.

Witty’s story begins with Zeezee Zoomzoom, a broodmare Merryman acquired for free.

“A girl who used to ride for me, a lady named Kim Brette, was an awesome horseperson. It was like riding with your best friend every day,” Merryman said after Witty won his 2026 debut, a high-level off-the-turf allowance at Laurel on May 29. “She was in Florida working for a vet, and she had a friend who owned the mare. The mare had bowed a tendon, and they were looking for her to have a home, either as a broodmare or as a riding horse.”

Brette believed that Zeezee Zoomzoom would fit into Merryman’s breeding program.

“I ran the pedigree and thought I’d take a shot sight unseen,” she said. “We sent her to Kentucky and bred her to Mizzen Mast, so she came home to me carrying Caravel.”

Caravel was a revelation, winning 15 of 26 starts and earning $1,983,327. Merryman sold her for $500,000 in 2021. She later beat males in two Grade 1 turf sprints, the Jaipur Stakes at Belmont and the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland.

Witty, a son of Great Notion, was foaled two years later. He was a stakes-winner on dirt at ages two and three and gradually shifted to turf racing about a year after nearly losing an eye to dirt kickback at Parx.

Witty captured the Ben’s Cat Stakes in 2023, when the race was run over five furlongs at Pimlico, then grabbed the Maryland Million Turf Sprint in his next start. He has now won stakes at Parx, Laurel, Delaware, Pimlico, and Colonial Downs.

Another of Zeezee Zoomzoom’s foals, the 4-year-old filly Somnium, won an allowance race at Laurel on June 12 and appears to be on the path to stakes.

After 36 starts, Witty has a record of 13 wins, 11 seconds, and two thirds, with earnings of $1,007,882.

Witty won the Van Clief Stakes at Colonial last year, and Merryman suggested a title defense might be in the cards. The $150,000 Van Clief, run at 5 ½ furlongs on turf, is scheduled for August 1.

*Mopo notches first stakes victory

Retired television personality Maury Povich is smiling somewhere.

“I’m not sure whether he’s in California or Wisconsin,” trainer Phil Capuano said after Povich, the owner of Mopo Racing, watched Mopo, the racehorse, win her stakes debut in the Jameela. “He texted me and said, ‘Wow, that was awesome.’”

Bet down to 9-10 odds, Mopo received a vigorous warm-up from jockey Forest Boyce and worked out an outside stalking trip as Malibu Hooch and Big Earn sped through the first quarter in 22.94 seconds.

“It’s been so speed-favoring today,” said Boyce, who has compiled a record of seven winners from 19 mounts since June 10 and won two races at Laurel on Saturday. “You don’t want to give them too much work out there.”

Big Earn pulled to the lead, but Mopo appeared poised to strike from a three-wide position. They moved to the fore, but were immediately confronted by Gift of Gab, who briefly took the lead before Mopo reasserted her dominance in the final 70 yards.

“She ran great,” Boyce added. “She’s a neat horse. It’s funny because I think [Gift of Gab] got in front of me for a jump or two. I decided to just hand-ride her [at that point], and then she drew away. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Mopo raced six furlongs in 1:08.50, finishing half a length ahead of Gift of Gab. Another 2 ½ lengths back, Big Earn finished third. Boujee Bubblez, Sporting Lady, Malibu Hooch, and Gold Digging Broad completed the order of finish. Conquerthosewecan was scratched.

Mopo returned $3.80 to win.

Mopo is the second stakes winner trained by Capuano, following Alwaysinahurry's win in the Frank Y. Whiteley Stakes in 2023.

Capuano hung out his shingle in 2023 after his uncle, Dale Capuano, retired. Dale Capuano, a legendary figure in Maryland racing, won 3,662 races, led all Maryland trainers in annual wins eight times, and captured 31 meet championships at Laurel and Pimlico.

Capuano’s father, Gary Capuano, is no slouch himself. He trained Captain Bodgit to win the Grade 1 Florida Derby and the Grade 2 Wood Memorial as a 3-year-old, then finished second by a head in the Kentucky Derby and third by a head in the Preakness Stakes.

Gary Capuano has won 1,457 races in his career, with his latest coming with juvenile debut runner Seven’s Nitro, one race after the Jameela.

“She’s always been game,” Phil Capuano said about Mopo. “Even when she broke her maiden at Pimlico last year, she got passed, but she just digs in and finds another gear. She’s tough.”

Mopo has also been very consistent throughout her career, with a record of 12 starts, three wins, and seven seconds. She’s won at distances ranging from 5 ½ furlongs to a flat mile on turf. Although it appears she’s found her niche lately as a sprinter, Capuano believes she can successfully stretch back out in distance.

“The next race I have lined up for her is the Peach Blossom, a Delaware-restricted allowance on July 25 at 7 ½ furlongs. I still think she can do anything, especially after her first start this year. On the gallop-out, she kept going pretty well and was hard to pull up. She trains like that every day. She goes around there three or four times, like it’s nothing for her. I don’t think stamina is an issue. It’s just finding the right company.”

*Around the track:

Ismerio Villalobos rode two winners on Saturday’s card. He expertly rated Let’s Dance Again ($23.20) to a gate-to-wire win in the third race for trainer Jonathan Maldonado. Villalobos then returned to win the sixth aboard Chilly Girl ($5.40) for trainer Kieron Magee.

Live racing resumes Sunday with a 10-race card featuring two steeplechase races. There are THREE “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout. The first post time is 12 pm ET. The MIDDLE “Value Pick 5” (Races 3-7) includes a Mandatory Payout provision.

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