Laurelin rides to victory under Kendrick Carmouche, NYRA Photo
Keith McCalmont
Newstead Stable’ Laureline looks to launch a new winning streak in Saturday’s Grade 3, $350,000 Jockey Club Oaks, an 11-furlong indoor turf test for sophomore fillies, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The Irish-bred Zarak Chestnut, trained by Graham Motion, won her first five career starts, including three wins at the Big A, before her first taste of defeat when she won a second by 1 1/4 lengths Luscious lips in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Oct. 11 at Keeneland.
There, with regular pilot Kendrick Carmouche, Laurelin saved ground in fourth place as Lush Lips followed the pace. Sumptuous restraint through an opening quarter mile in 23.23 seconds over the good grass. Carmouche sent Laurelin a path back and improved to third place as Opulent Restraint reached the half mile in 47.70 and three quarters in 1:12.08. The game’s pacesetter turned the field in the stretch run with Lush Lips taking the dead end and Laurelin following her run, but Laurelin could not reel in her rival, who hit the front and stopped the clock in a final time of 1:48.01.
“I thought she ran great. The winner ran a big race, and I thought we ran our race – she ran really well. It’s always hard when you’re undefeated, but I thought she ran great,” Motion said.
Laureline [post 7, Kendrick Carmouche, 122 pounds] began her career with a trio of starts at Aqueduct, debuting successfully in October 2024 and following up a month later with a half-length win in the Tepin over Five G, who went on to win the Cash Run at Gulfstream Park.
The $169,488 purchase from Book 1 of the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale returned to action in April and won on her second debut, beating Opulent Restraint by a neck in the Listed Memories of Silver over over a mile of good performance. During a productive summer, Laurelin continued her ground-gain victories in the one-mile Penn Oaks on June 27, when 1 1/4 lengths best of Candy questwho left that attempt to win the Grade 3 Ontario Colleen.
New York beckoned again as Laurelin took her win streak to five with a score of 1 3/4 lengths over the returning rival Evershed in the 1 3/16-mile Grade 2 Saratoga Oaks Invitational – the second leg of NYRA’s lucrative turf series for sophomore fillies – on August 9 at Saratoga Race Course.
Now Laurelin will test her mettle with the longest race yet in her promising career by stretching to 11 furlongs. Motion said Laurelin, out of the winning Cape Cross mare Bari, should appreciate the extra ground as a daughter of Zarak, who won the Group 1 Grand Prix of Saint-Cloud in 2017 in his first attempt at 1 1/2 miles.
“I think that’s what she wants to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what she likes, she’s kind of bred for it,” Motion said.
Laurelin has worked back twice on the Fair Hill plastic, including a five-eighths breeze in 1:01.80 Saturday.
“She is very straight in the morning. I don’t think she has to do as much now as she did at the beginning of the year, she is very fit,” said Motion.
George Messina and Michael Lee Fion [post 4, Flavien Prat, 122 pounds, blinkers OFF] won the first leg of NYRA’s grass series for sophomore fillies by a nose score over prized dual-surface star Nitrogen in the Class 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational.
Trained by two-time Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox, the Twirling Candy dark bay has won 6 of 9 starts, including stakes scores in the Allen Black Cat LaCombe Memorial in March at Fair Grounds, and the nine-furlong Grade 3 Regret in May at Churchill Downs, ahead of her course record in the nine-furlong Belmont Oaks on July 5 at Saratoga.
Opulent Restraint showed the way in the Belmont Oaks, going three-quarters in 1:10.10 over the firm grass and heading stubbornly up the track before Nitrogen pushed past in three-sixteenths. Fionn, however, loomed large on the outside and although Nitrogen drifted out to meet her foe, she could not parry the gathering Fionn, who scored with a nose. Fionn’s final time of 1:44.84 lowered the previous Mellon turf record of 1:45.06 set by In Italian in the 2022 Grade 1 Diana.
Fionn defeated the lucrative 1 5/16 mile Grade 3 Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs in September, rallying from 10th and 9 3/4 lengths off the pace to post a half-length score at Candy Quest with returning rival Hereforagoodtime in third. She comes in from a fourth place of 4 3/4 lengths in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, where she was a step too slow and initially raced from the last of 8 and 10 lengths behind when she missed the board for the first time. time in nine starts.
The $75,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Gaelic Gold, a half-sister to the New York-bred, multiple stakes-winning Sea Foam. Her second dam is Grade 3 winner Strike It Rich.
Evershed by Mark Grier [post 5, Dylan Davis, 118 pounds] stretches from a prominent second place in the nine-furlong Listed Old Dominion Oaks on September 6 at Colonial Downs for trainer Arnaud Delacour. There, the Churchill Bay posted splits of 24.76 seconds, 49.86 and 1:14.30 over the soft grass. She had a one-length lead at the stretch call but was challenged by Like catching canwho slipped onto the rail in the final furlong to post a three-quarter length score in a final time of 1:51.28.
“Last time there was no pace in the race. We thought maybe we could try to take the lead. It almost worked,” Delacour said. “It was raining that day at Colonial Downs. They were about to cancel the races. The turf got very soft and maybe she did a little too much up front and got caught at the end. It was still a respectable performance, in my opinion.”
The $369,665 purchase at the 2023 Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale won at second question in a one-mile turf maiden in December at Tampa Bay Downs and was back in action at Colonial in July for the top seniors in a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance over good turf.
Evershed earned a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure for her attempt to defeat Laurelin next in the Grade 2 Saratoga Oaks Invitational in August, prior to her attempt at Old Dominion Oaks.
“She didn’t give up and kept fighting until the end. We were probably second best that day.” [against Laurelin]“But hopefully she can take a step forward in this race,” Delacour said. “We’ve had enough time since her last race at Colonial Downs, so hopefully she continues to improve.”
Delacour indicated that Evershed would appreciate stretching out at a distance.
“This won’t be an easy race, but I think the distance will help her. This is a mile and three-eighths for the first time, which should be good for her distances. I’m excited to get her running,” Delacour said.
Evershed, out of the Darshaan mare Balankiya, is a half-sister to dual group/graded stakes winner Bayrir, who captured the 10-furlong Grade 1 Secretariat at Arlington Park in 2012.
Flying Dutchman Breeding and Racing For now [post 2, John Velazquez, 118 pounds] will look to make the mark after three successive efforts in coach Brendan Walsh’s administration.
The Justify chestnut graduated prominently in sixth place on a nine-furlong off-the-turf route over good sand on April 7 at Keeneland and then doubled with a 1 1/2-length rally optional claim score over firm grass that covered 1 1/16 miles on May 8 at Churchill Downs.
For now he moved up the rankings by a third of 1 1/2 lengths behind the victorious Fionn in the Grade 3 Regret on May 31 at Churchill. She did not return to action until August 3 when she closed and finished a second from 3 3/4 lengths Golden fate in the nine furlong Grade 3 Pucker Up at Ellis Park. Finally, Hereforagoodtime moved from fifth position on his way to a 3 3/4 length third to familiar foe Fionn in the Grade 3 Dueling Grounds Oaks.
The $400,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase comes from the Speightstown mare First Hour, a half-sister to both Grade 2 winner Justwhistledixie and Grade 2 winner Chace City.
A talented field includes New York-bred dogs Scythian [post 1, Sahin Civaci, 122 pounds]winner of last year’s Grade 2 Miss Grillo for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott; a pair for trainer Miguel Clement in the stakes Don’t curse it [post 6, Jaime Rodriguez, 118 pounds] and a three-time winning New York bred National Archives [post 3, Manny Franco, 118 pounds]; and winner of the benefit Undeserved favor [post 8, Christopher Elliott, 118 pounds] for trainer Ken McPeek.
The Jockey Club Oaks is scheduled as Race 7 on Saturday’s 10-race card, which also features the listed $150,000 Knickerbocker in Race 9. The first post is 11:40 am Eastern.
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