LRL: Left at Gate, Sun above meetings to win first and asked * the racing biz

When the first starter sun broke awkwardly above and the starting gate left in a $ 48,000 maiden special weight on Saturday in Laurel Park, trainer Madison Meyers had one thought.

“I just thought:” I can’t believe this is happening, “she said afterwards.” I love the horse, you know? When I saw him breaking, I just thought a bit: “Oh, boy, we can be cooked here.”

Despite the fact that they were aimed at a difficult field with different runners who would run well, she didn’t have to worry.

Under a patient ride of Jockey Wes Hamilton, the sun above connected its time a lot of the road and saved the ground everywhere before he turned off the widest of all. In the track, the two -year -old Optimizer gelding exploded past his rivals to win with increasing 1 ¼ lengths about post -time second choice leverage. He covered the last quarter of miles in a sharp 23 2/5 seconds.

“We are super excited,” said Meyers.

Sun above paid $ 23.20 to win and covered an Exacta that $ 41 returned for a deployment of one dollar.

Leverage ended two lengths for Vignon Manor, which was disqualified and fifth was for hindering a rival, which made Red Dawn to third place. Post Time Favorite Midas factor led early but faded to the sixth.

Sun above is outside the winning Kitten’s Joy Mare Joyful Joyful and is the first of three runners from the mare to win first. Sun above was bred in Kentucky by Robert Bonnie and Julie Gomena and is owned by their own Bonnie Rye Stable and Bonnie’s Mother’s Stonelea Stable.

Stonelea and Bonnie Rye are also the property behind the winner Desvio, who finished third in last year’s Virginia Derby.

Just like Desvio, Sun above is a horse that projects to continue. Father Optimizer was grade 1 placed in the 1 ¼-Mijl Manhattan, and Kitten’s joy was a degree 1 winner at 1 ½ miles.

“I tend to start sprinting a lot of me, regardless of the pedigree or whatever, just to get a run in it,” said Meyers. “But with the way he works, it’s always like, it’s the eighth after the thread you look a bit like:” Okay, he’s on the bridle, “and he has done some really nice works here. My husband [Kieran Norris] Type manages the laurel horses and he just gets better every week. “

It was the second victory of Meyers of the day – “my first double,” she said. She had given Hamilton a lead over Regalo Perfetto in the first race of the day, and they placed a leading score in a starter/optional claimant.

As far as the future is concerned, it will be terribly late in the grass season in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Perhaps this season there is still a start on the horizon for Sun above, but again, maybe not. Anyway, after a solid field of local girls, it seems likely that his best days are before him.

“If he comes out well here and we can get a race to go, we would like to give him a second start before we store it,” said Meyers. “But if not, especially of such a debut effort, they have a beautiful farm where he can have some time, and we will come back to him in the spring.”