LACIE SLEW POUNCES IN MARYLAND RACING MEDIA STAKES
LAUREL, MD. 02-15-12---John Buckley, Jr., Ralph Durante & Pennston Farm Inc.’s Lacie Slew rallied from next to last to win the $100,000 Maryland Racing Media Stakes, the feature offering this afternoon at Laurel Park.
Sent to post as the second choice in the field of five fillies and mares, Lacie Slew carried Joe Rocco, Jr. to a one length victory in 1:50.98 for the nine furlong distance contested over the fast main track. Baltimore Belle, third choice in the wagering, finished a game second and front runner Pilot Point Lady held on to finish third. Odds on favorite Acting Happy, from the powerful Rick Dutrow barn, pressed the action but gave way through the lane and finished fourth.
Rocco met trainer Peter Walder this morning at Gulfstream Park before flying up to ride here.
“I had so much horse when I wheeled her out she exploded for me,” Rocco said. “There wasn’t enough room so we had to swing her out. I wanted to stay behind Dutrow’s horse. I thought she was the one to beat but she kind of fizzled out in front of me. My horse ran really well. It didn’t matter that we had to swing out wide.”
Rocco, the son of former Maryland mainstay Joe Rocco, Sr., was a regular jockey in Maryland during much of his 13-year career but is riding at Gulfstream Park this winter. The 29-year-old ranks eighth in the current standings at Gulfstream.
“I am really happy how my career has progressed,” added Rocco, who won a career-best 138 races a year ago. “I am trying to get to the next level and it looks like it is moving in the right direction. I am excited about the opportunity to break into higher profile clientele which will help me in the future.”
Lacie Slew, who paid $5.20, has been wintering in Florida, racing one time and finishing third in December. Previously, The daughter of Mineshaft had finished third in the Lady Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park and second in the Sightseek Stakes at Saratoga last summer. The 6-year-old is now seven of 25 lifetime, with 15 on the board finishes, with earnings of $252,142.
Prior to the race, the Maryland Racing Media Association honored Eighttofasttocatch as the 2011 Maryland-based Horse of the Year. Trained by Tim Keefe at Laurel Park, the son of Not For Love won five of 10 starts as a 5-year-old, including four stakes on his home track. He is expected to make his 2012 debut in the $200,000 General George Handicap (G2) here Monday, February 20.
-mjc-
PHOTO CREDIT-Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
Mike Gathagan
Vice President-Communications
Maryland Jockey Club
410-578-4461 (Pimlico)
301-470-5461 (Laurel Park)
240-876-7403 (Mobile)
Follow us on Twitter @MDjockeyclub
This e-mail, and any documents or data attached hereto, is intended for the intended recipients only. It may contain confidential and/or privileged information and no rights have been waived by the sender. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby NOTIFIED that any dissemination, distribution, retention, archiving or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify me at the telephone number shown above or by return mail and delete this communication and any copy immediately. Stronach Group provides no assurances that this e-mail and its attachments are virus free; you are responsible for scanning all e-mails and attachments for viruses. Stronach Group disclaims all liability for damages caused by any virus which may be transmitted by this email. Thank you.
