Second Win from Four Starts for Triple Crown-Nominated 3YO
Apprentice Luis Rivera Jr. Registers First Domestic Victory

BALTIMORE – Sycamore Hall’s 3-year-old Maryland homebred gelding Circling the Drain, nominated to the Triple Crown, took the next step in his promising career with a professional two-length victory during Monday’s Presidents Day holiday program at Laurel Park.

Ridden by Jevian Toledo for trainer Brittany Russell, Circling the Drain ($2.60) circled the field after trailing in the early going and went on to cover about 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.87 over a fast main track to capture the entry-level optional claiming allowance for sophomores.

Termsofengagement took the early initiative and led through fractions of 23.69 and 47.83 seconds, tracked by Lamarvelous and Byk with Coronova saving ground along the rail and Circling the Drain settled in the clear three wide. Toledo made his move midway around the turn and Circling the Drain moved up to even terms approaching the stretch, was set down for a drive once straightened for home and steadily edged clear.

Staying up for second was Termsofengagement followed by Byk and Coronova, while Upstate and Back was scratched. Winter meet-leading rider Jeiron Barbosa was unseated when Lamarvelous appeared to clip heels with Termsofengagement leaving the backstretch and went down. Both horse and rider escaped injury.

“It got a little eventful there on the turn, but the horse ran good,” Russell said. “We thought he would run well. He ran second to Feeling Woozy last time, and he came back and ran third in the [$100,000 Miracle Wood Feb. 18]. We’ve always liked this horse, so it was a good effort.”

It was the second win from four starts for Circling the Drain, a bay son of two-time Grade 1-winning multi-millionaire West Coast out of the Cozzene mare Who’s Cozy. Second in his Nov. 20 unveiling, he came back with a front-running seven-length waiver maiden claiming triumph going 1 1/16 miles Dec. 9.

Circling the Drain overcame some early trouble to run second in his 3-year-old debut, a Jan. 29 optional claiming allownace going one mile. In each of his two losses, both to Feeling Woozy, he finished more than five lengths ahead the next-closest horse.

“He’s just a big, good-doing horse. He travels well. He’s always worked well,” Russell said. “We’ve put him up beside some good horses in the mornings and he hangs [with them]. He shows that he should have run in him.”

Siblings Mike Golden and Lisa Hoffstetter, who have run Sycamore Hall since their father, noted owner-breeder Richard Golden, passed away in 2021, and Russell nominated but opted to skip the Miracle Wood with Circling the Drain. Laurel’s next stakes for 3-year-olds is the $100,000 Private Terms, also at about 1 1/16 miles, March 18.

Following the Private Terms is the $125,000 Federico Tesio April 15. The 1 1/8-mile Tesio is a ‘Win and In’ qualifier for Triple Crown nominated horses to the 148th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 20 at historic Pimlico Race Course. Circling the Drain was among 369 3-year-olds made Triple Crown eligible by the early Jan. 28 deadline.

“I’ll get with Mike Golden and see. We’ve been a little conservative,” Russell said. “We probably could have tried something bigger with him, looking at the group of horses he’s been running with. But, we wanted to get this race out of the way and then make a decision.”

Russell also has Michael Dubb and Morris Bailey’s Prince of Jericho nominated to the Triple Crown. Prince of Jericho won the seven-furlong Spectacular Bid Jan. 21 and was second to Coffeewithchris in both the one-mile Miracle Wood and 2022 Heft, also at seven furlongs.

A recent addition to the Russell barn is SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan’s Fort Warren. A 3-year-old son of Hall of Famer Curlin, he won his Oct. 30 debut and was third in the Jan. 29 San Vicente (G3) at Santa Anita for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and is also Triple Crown-nominated.

“They’ve been sending us some horses that they just thought would fit better out this way,” Russell said. “We’ve nominated him around a bit. I have not had a chance to work him quite yet. He seems to be doing well now so maybe we’ll get him worked this week and kind of get a better gauge on where we’re going to go with him.”

Apprentice Luis Rivera Jr. Registers First Domestic Winner

Apprentice Luis R. Rivera Jr. celebrated his 19th birthday in style on Monday’s Presidents Day holiday program at Laurel Park, guiding Leonard Mattingly’s multiple stakes-placed 4-year-old filly Beneath the Stars to a front-running two-length victory in the co-featured eighth race.

It was the second of three wins on the nine-race card for Anthony Farrior, who leads all North American trainers in victories in 2023 with 45 from 154 starters (29 percent). Sent off at 14-1 Beneath the Stars ($31.60) ran six furlongs in 1:11.68 over a fast main track in the second-level optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares 4 and up.

A native of Puerto Rico, where he attended the famed Escuela Vocacional Hipica jockey school, Rivera is the son of Luis Rivera Sr., a winner of 2,341 career races since 1997 currently riding at Mahoning Valley in Youngstown, Ohio. Interestingly, the elder Rivera rode Beneath the Stars to a fourth-place finish in the 2022 Cheryl S. White Memorial last spring.

“We put in some hard work and thank God Farrior gave me the opportunity to ride that filly, and she did a wonderful job,” Rivera said. “My dad used to ride that filly and now I had the opportunity to ride, and I’m so happy to win.”

Rivera began riding professionally Jan. 1 in Puerto Rico, where he won six of 55 races before arriving in the U.S. Feb. 15. He rode four races on Sunday, his first day at Laurel, finishing sixth in his domestic debut aboard Hope He’s Fast. Beneath the Stars was his sixth mount.

“He’s been the first jockey at the track every single morning so far. He’s getting there early and really working hard, and it’s nice to see something pay off,” Rivera’s agent, Marty Leonard, said. “All these horses that he’s on right now he was named on without anyone seeing him ride over here, so that’s a credit to a lot of these trainers that trust him.”

Leonard also represents journeymen Sheldon Russell and Jevian Toledo, Maryland’s two-time defending champion jockey who also hails from Puerto Rico and was one of the first people to mention Rivera’s name.

“The first one that told me about him was Anthony Farrior. He used to ride Luis’ father a lot when he was out at Mountaineer, so they had a little connection through there. It was in the back of my mind,” Leonard said. “Then on Jan. 1, when all the bugs start riding their first races in Puerto Rico, Jevian called and told me to watch this kid. He said he didn’t look like a bug and he was pretty talented and a good rider. That piqued my interest a little more. Then I got a call from Steve Rushing about taking the kid. Three people that are pretty good at their jobs all suggested the kid and I decided to take the shot with him.

“He’s been good so far, hard worker in the morning, positive attitude – just everything you want to see in a kid,” he added. “He’s here to learn. It’s nice that he speaks English, too, because he can talk to people. He’s a heck of a kid. He’s happy to be over here and happy to be riding.”

Also on Monday, Rivera finished second on Wild Behavior for trainer Lacey Gaudet in Race 3 and eighth on Bosstonian for trainer Brittany Russell in the Race 9 finale. He is named on horses for Claudio Gonzalez and Charles Frock when live racing returns to Laurel Park Friday, Feb. 24.

Notes: Trainer Anthony Farrior, leading the U.S. in wins through the first part of 2023, registered a hat trick Monday with Rock Rose ($6) in Race 1, Beneath the Stars ($31.60) in Race 8 and Dysfunctional ($9.40) in Race 9 … Both Rock Rose and Dysfunctional were ridden by Arnaldo Bocachica … Jockey Jorge Hernandez also doubled aboard Rascally Rebel ($205.80) in Race 5 and Laramore ($4.60) in Race 6 … Rascally Rebel went off at nearly 102-1 and also paid $69.80 to place and $18.80 to show. A $1 exacta of Rascally Rebel with Running River (20-1) returned $5,548.20 while the $1 triple of Rascally Rebel, Running River and favored Distant Fire (7-2) was worth $26,868.10 … There will be a carryover of $2,522.76 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 Friday. Tickets with five of six winners Monday paid $139.08.