G3-Placed Cooke Creek, Based at Laurel, Pointed to Dec. 4 Remsen (G2)
Stakes-Quality Allowance Highlights Thursday’s Return of Live Racing

BALTIMORE – Coming off the first graded-stakes win for himself and his trainer, Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, Madaket Stables and Michael Caruso’s Wondrwherecraigis is enjoying some down time while the connections mull his next race.

The 4-year-old Munnings gelding was a front-running winner of the seven-furlong Bold Ruler (G3) Oct. 31 at Belmont Park, his second career stakes victory and first in graded company from 10 starts.

Based at Laurel Park with trainer Brittany Russell, Wondrwherecraigis’ triumph came seven weeks following his disqualification to second after finishing first in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) over his home track. It was also one day before Russell gave birth to a son, Rye, her second child with husband and jockey Sheldon Russell. They are also parents to 2-year-old daughter, Edy.

“I was disappointed not to be there, but, hey, we had another big thing going on,” Brittany Russell joked. “It was huge. It was so disappointing for him and the ownership group and everyone to see him disqualified that day. But, he came back and he showed that he is a graded-stakes winner.

“‘Craig’ is doing awesome. He hasn’t missed a beat,” she added. “He thinks he’s King Kong.”

Russell said they have yet to settle on a target race for Wondrwherecraigis. Among the options are $100,000 Dave’s Friend, part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series, Dec. 26 at Laurel and the Toboggan (G3) Jan. 29 at Aqueduct. Both races are contested at seven furlongs.

“We’re just sort of trying to give him some time now. I wouldn’t say we’re set on anything. There’s a race in New York in January. There’s the MATCH Series race at the end of December. Nothing’s really set in stone,” Russell said.

“He’ll get this next month. I just sort of backed off of him since he ran and we’ll kind of start gearing him back up and let him tell us,” she added. “You have some ideas and goals in the back of your mind, but he doesn’t owe us anything. If we keep him home, great. If we decide to take him somewhere else, that’s cool, too.”

Russell credited her New York-based assistant, Amanda Olds, with playing a large part in Wondrwherecraigis’ success. In addition to the Bold Ruler, his other stakes win came in mid-August in the Tale of the Cat at Saratoga.

“It’s nice for us to be able to send him up and not worry about anything. There’s no worry shipping him when you have someone like that to travel with,” Russell said. “When he was up at Saratoga, after he won he stayed with her for a while up there and, obviously, it was the right move. She did a great job with him. It’s all the moving parts. We’re lucky to have the team we have.”

Wondrwherecraigis owns six wins, one second and one third with $347,640 in purse earnings from 10 starts, making a successful debut last March at Laurel just before racing was paused amid the coronavirus pandemic. He has finished first in all five of his races in Maryland, four of them wins prior to the De Francis.

“He’s cool. He’s one of the original bunch from when we first started along with Hello Beautiful,” Russell said. “‘Craig’ was, at the end of that year, he was one of the horses that kind of came in and saved me. He just kind of keeps saving me. He got me that graded win, and he’s just special. He’ll always be special to us.”

G3-Placed Cooke Creek, Based at Laurel, Pointed to Dec. 4 Remsen (G2)

Cheyenne Stable’s 2-year-old stakes winner Cooke Creek, who suffered his first career loss earlier this month in the Nashua (G3) at Belmont Park, is expected to return to New York for his next start.

Based at Laurel Park with trainer Jerry O’Dwyer, Cooke Creek ran second to Rockefeller in the one-mile Nashua Nov. 7, beaten 2 ¾ lengths at 9-1, the second-longest odds in the field of six.

“He came out of the race very well and is feeling good, looking great,” O’Dwyer said. “If he continues moving forward, I still think we might plan on running in the Remsen next month.”

The 1 1/8-mile Remsen (G2) for 2-year-olds, one of the last graded-stakes of the year in New York, is scheduled for Dec. 4 at Aqueduct.

Cooke Creek is a son and grandson of champions. He is by Uncle Mo, the top 2-year-old male of 2010, out of the Bernardini mare Genre. Bernardini won the 2006 Preakness Stakes (G1) en route to leading 3-year-old male honors.

Genre, who like Uncle Mo was trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, won five of 15 career starts including the 2016 Molly Pitcher (G3) at Monmouth Park.

“We’ve always liked him since we got him. He’s still a horse that’s going to get a little better with time,” O’Dwyer said. “We’re very grateful for the owners sending him to us. He’s a homebred and he’s only the second foal out of that mare, so it’s great for their broodmare program, as well, that their second foal is already graded-stakes placed.”

Cooke Creek had his first published workout June 2 at Delaware Park, where he successfully came off the pace to win in debut in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight Sept. 8. He has been working at Laurel Park since late August, returning to Delaware to spring a 13-1 upset in the one-mile Rocky Run Oct. 16 by a half-length over favored Affable Monarch.

“[Cheyenne Stable] breeds good stock and we’re just lucky to get a horse like him into our barn. They’ve been great to let us take our time with him,” O’Dwyer said. “He won over 5 ½ furlongs, but he wants no part of that. He’s a big, two-turn horse and I don’t think we’ll see the best of him until he’s a 3-year-old. He’s progressing, so we’ll keep going forward with him until he tells us that we need to back off.”

Cooke Creek has yet to return to the work tab since the Nashua, where he was bumped at the start and trailed all but one horse for a half-mile before moving within a length and a half of the lead through six furlongs. He finished 2 ¾ lengths clear of Judge Davis in third.

“I’m very pleased with how he performed. He stepped up in class. He was two-for-two going in there,” O’Dwyer said. “We were originally planning on waiting for the Remsen, but he was doing so well and I felt he could do with a bit more race experience, so we decided to run him in there. It was three weeks back off his win at Delaware, so I thought it was a very big performance from him.”

Stakes-Quality Allowance Highlights Thursday’s Return of Live Racing

Stakes winners Don’t Call Me Mary, Madam Meena and Malibu Beauty, multiple stakes-placed Coconut Cake and six-time winner Fille d’Espirit are entered in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance that highlights Laurel Park’s return of live racing Thursday.

The $56,000 third-level event for fillies and mares 3 and up is carded eighth on Thursday’s nine-race program. First-race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Madaket Stables, Mathis Stable and Brian Martin’s Don’t Call Me Mary is the even-money program favorite. The 4-year-old El Padrino filly, based in New York and trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, exits three consecutive stakes attempts. In between off-the-board finishes in the July 28 Honorable Miss (G2) and Sept. 26 Gallant Bloom (G2) she won the Dr. Teresa Garafolo Memorial Aug. 23 at Parx.

Michael Cox’s homebred Madam Meena (6-1) scored her most recent victory in a six-furlong optional claiming allowance Feb. 26 at Laurel, her only previous try at the track. Trained by Jamie Ness, the 4-year-old daughter of Include won the 2020 Tax Free District last fall at Delaware Park and was fifth in defense of her title Sept. 25 to Laurel-based Street Lute.

ZWP Stable and Non-Stop Stable’s Malibu Beauty (3-1) was second in the Tax Free District and followed up with a runner-up finish to Hello Beautiful in the Maryland Million Distaff Oct. 23 at Laurel, where she is based. Prior to those two races, the 3-year-old Buffum filly won the six-furlong Miss Disco Aug. 21 at historic Pimlico Race Course.

NRS Stable, James Chambers and Avalon Farm’s Coconut Cake was fourth in the Distaff and second in the Sept. 18 Weather Vane after beginning the year running third in the Jan. 16 Geisha, all at Laurel. CJI Phoenix Group and NO Guts No Glory Farm’s Fille d’Espirit ended 2020 with four straight wins and made her 2021 debut in the Distaff, finishing sixth.

Hillwood Stable’s Bunting rounds out the field. The race is part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence (Races 4-9), which begins with a carryover of $5,526.65 from the last live card Sunday.

Laurel will play host to nine races again Friday. The feature comes in Race 6, a 5 ½-furlong allowance for 3-year-olds and up scheduled for the Dahlia turf course. The race attracted 16 entries, three for main track only, and includes Godlovesasinner, respectively third and fifth in the 2020 and 2021 Maryland Million Turf Sprint; and Justwaveandsmile, a winner of two straight, both at the distance on the Laurel turf, for trainer Dale Capuano.