Md. Million: Onyx Ten and the Plan That Worked * The Racing Biz

In racing, some plans come together, and many others don’t.

Gary Capuano’s plan for Onyx Ten was one that did just that.

The three-year-old Onyx Ten missed several months of action over the summer before returning to action on September 14 with a win at Delaware Park. That led to today’s Maryland Million Distaff.

“The first goal was the race in Delaware. We were hoping to get her ready for that because she was training so well,” said the veteran trainer. “If she ran well there, this was the next step. The timing was right. Everything was exactly right, which doesn’t always happen with these horses.”

Under another good ride from apprentice rider Yedsit Hazlewood – the Distaff was his third win in the first seven races of the day – Onyx Ten rallied from seventh, tapping three wide down the stretch to win by 1 ¾ lengths in 1:24.34 over seven furlongs on a fast main track.

“You know me and the bug [apprentice rider]Capuano said. ‘I love the insect. I ride the bug all the time. He’s a really good rider, and he’s getting better and better. He has a bright future, so I have confidence in him, and that’s what I need.”

Green Eyed Monster, who led the entire time under Xavier Perez, came in second. Foxy Junior, the defending champion and 4-5 favorite after time, was a threat down the stretch but had to settle for third.

It was Onyx Ten’s third stakes win and fifth win overall in 13 career starts, pushing her career bankroll to nearly $310,000.

Onyx Ten paid $15.20 to win as third choice, and with 7-1 Green Eyed Monster second, he topped an exacta that paid $74.10 for a one dollar bet.

Onyx Ten debuted in July of her freshman season and won a second-place exemption maiden before struggling a bit for the remainder of the season. In last fall’s Maryland Million Lassie, she finished a well-beaten fifth behind Shkhara Fire.

But when the calendar turned to 2025, Onyx Ten turned a corner. She won the Xtra Heat Stakes by almost two lengths and followed that with a length victory in the seven-furlong Wide Country, both at Laurel Park. But she then ran a well-beaten fifth in the mile-and-a-half Beyond the Wire.

“When I had her run in the mile race, she backed up a little bit,” Capuano recalled. “We kicked her out, gave her the summer off, brought her back and she has trained great.”

She arrived at the Delaware race, a $95,000 Delaware-certified showcase event, with several recent bullet works to her credit. And with Hazlewood on top she was close throughout before taking the lead and winning by a length and a half.

That put her on a perfect trajectory for the Distaff.

“They are great people, [owner-breeder] Frank Sample and his wife are just super people,” says Capuano. “They have been supporting us for a long time, and they bred this filly and went through a lot when she was a baby – one thing after another – and now it has all paid off.”

Earlier on the card, the Capuano-trained Doc’s Miracle fell just a neck short of defeat to favorite Slewperstitus in the Lassie, for two-year-old fillies.

“It never gets old [winning Maryland Million races]” said Capuano, who started the day with five million wins. “I just got beat by a good horse earlier in the day. My horse ran her eyes out and just got hit, and then this horse comes back. We have three more. We have two in the baby race, and one in the last one. We’re going to see if we can’t keep knocking on the door.”