Both Fergal Lynch and True Valour had more in common than the fact that they were paired in Saturday’s King Leatherbury Stakes at Laurel. The 44-year-old jockey out of Derry and the 8-year-old Irish-bred horse hadn’t seen much competition lately. Lynch had taken the winter off, while trainer Graham Motion had given True Valour a year of rest and relaxation after suffering an injury in a race in Dubai.
The inactivity didn’t dull their competitive spirits as they combined to win the Leatherbury, a turf sprint, in front-running fashion by one-half length. True Valour paid $8.80 to win.
“I was surprised I was on the lead,” Lynch said. “He broke good and the way the turf’s riding, it’s hard to make up any ground. I just didn’t want to disappoint him. I didn’t want to take it away from him. It’s a sprint and he’s the best horse in the race, so just keep it simple.”
True Valour is a product of Pat and Phyllis O’Rourke’s Belmont Stud in County Wexford. They sold him as a foal and he eventually reached the races with John Murtagh, who saddled him to win the Group 3 Ballycorus Stakes at Leopardstown in June 2018.
Shortly after that, then-owner, Qatar Racing, shipped him to California, where he took up residence in the Simon Callaghan shedrow. He won a Grade 2 and a Grade 3 there under those auspices, and was later purchased by current owner Larry Johnson at a horses of racing age sale in July 2020.
“I thought Larry was crazy when he wanted to bring him back from an injury as an 8-year-old,” Motion said. “He’s just a really easy horse. He’s done everything right since he came in beginning of the year. I was very surprised to see him on the lead, quite honestly.”
Also at Laurel, Kieron Magee won consecutive races on the Thursday card. He sent out Nashvegas, a 5-year-old horse owned by Hinder Holdings LLC, now in his second tour of duty with Magee, to take the fifth race, a starter optional claiming event at seven furlongs. Nashvegas rallied under Jean Alvelo to reach the wire almost three lengths in front. He paid $19.00 to win in his third race off the Magee claim.
Half an hour later, Magee got a second straight win out of his own What Does It Take, a 4-year-old gelding that he claimed in March out of a maiden claiming race that he won. Alvelo also had the mount here in this starter optional claiming route and sent the gelding to the lead into the far turn. They opened up by four lengths straightening for home and had a three-length margin at the wire. The win mutuel came back $6.40 on the favorite.
True Valour, Fergal Lynch up, shown winning the King Leatherbury Stakes at Laurel. JIM MCCUE
HARAN OUT OF INDY GATE QUICKLY
The Indiana racetrack formerly known as Indiana Downs and Indiana Grand is doing business as Horseshoe Indianapolis this year. John Haran rang up the first winner of 2022 there when Highest Praise, a 5-year-old gelding that he owns with Mike Ryan, took the first race there on opening day last Tuesday. Jockey Joshua Morales had him always involved in this nonwinners of three lifetime claiming event at the $10,000 claiming plateau and brought him in a two-length victory. Highest Praise paid $9.60 to win.
Darren Glennon enjoyed his first victory of 2022 when Trading Bay, a 5-year-old homebred mare owned by Dr. Ronald House, won Woodbine’s first race, a main track optional claiming sprint, on Saturday. She rallied under Eswan Flores to win a head bob at the wire, good for an $11.10 win mutuel. This is the mare’s second win in a row. She captured a similar race there on closing day last December.
Mike Doyle and David Moran combined for a pair of wins on the Sunday card at Woodbine. Entry to Heaven, which Doyle owns in partnership with Dura Racing, was three lengths the best in the second race, a claiming sprint on the main track. The 5-year-old gelding paid $8.70 to win after having the winter off. Interestingly, he won his first outing of 2021 off a lengthy layoff.
Three races later, Doyle and Moran struck again with Scott Abbott’s Dixie Giant, a 5-year-old homebred gelding. Here, Moran was involved in a three-horse stretch skirmish that saw him prove best by a neck. Dixie Giant paid $11.40 to win.
Waterford’s Tom Moore and Tipperary’s David Duggan enjoyed victories on the final Saturday card of the Aqueduct spring meet. Moore’s Analogy led off in the first race, just managing to hold on by a neck after leading throughout in his second career outing. He paid $5.90 to win in this maiden special weight route on the grass. Todd Pletcher trains and Kendrick Carmouche rode.
Duggan got his victory when Snicket, a 5-year-old mare owned by Highland Yard, LLC, reported home first by a length in the fourth race, a second-level statebred allowance optional claiming sprint on the main track. Trevor McCarthy had the seat on Snicket, which paid $4.50 to win and has now won two races in a row after going just 1-for-19 to begin her career.
Perhaps of greater note from that race is that Keith O’Brien dropped $45,000 out of his own account to claim the second finisher, Letmetakethiscall. The 7-year-old mare has been hard pressed to show her best form while competing against statebred stakes competition this past winter and she might show some spark if more reasonably placed as she did against this crew. She’s a known commodity, boasting a 13-for-41 lifetime mark
Conor Murphy has a lot to do with the pick-6 carryover that Keeneland will be offering on Wednesday. He sent out Midnight Racing’s Sunny One, a 4-year-old filly, to win Sunday’s fifth race, a second-level allowance route on the lawn, in Lexington. Sunny One rallied under Vincent Cheminaud (a recent arrival from France) to score by almost two lengths. She returned $38.00 to win.
