8YO Fan Favorite Returns Friday in Stakes-Level Allowance Test

BALTIMORE – Hillwood Stable’s 8-year-old millionaire Cordmaker, a Grade 3 winner that has established a large fan following over six seasons of racing, is set to launch his long-awaited comeback in Friday’s stakes-level feature at Laurel Park.

A gelded son of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin, Cordmaker is among seven horses entered in the open allowance for 3-year-olds and up going about 1 1/16 miles on the main track in Race 8 on the nine-race program. First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Cordmaker will break from Post 5 in his 39th career start and first in 224 days since running third by 1 ½ lengths in the 1 1/8-mile Richard W. Small over Thanksgiving weekend at Laurel, where he is based with trainer Rodney Jenkins.

“He’s really sound, and everything so far is going so good,” Jenkins said. “I kind of let him call the shots. He seems like he wants to do it. His works have been just fine, not overly fast but good enough. He looks good and feels good, so we’re excited.”

Following his annual winter vacation, Cordmaker returned to the work tab May 28 and shows a steady string of six works including a bullet five furlongs in 59.60 seconds June 18. Most recently he went a maintenance half-mile in 50.40 seconds July 1.

“We went slow at first with him, but we’ve had some pretty tight works on him and he came back really good,” Jenkins said. “Knock on wood, he’s really sound. He’s doing well.”

Cordmaker owns 14 career wins, 11 in stakes, with four seconds and eight thirds and surpassed the $1 million mark in purse earnings with the biggest victory of his career, the 2022 General George (G3) at Laurel. He was given a break and went nearly nine months between starts before returning in a one-mile optional claimer last November, finishing sixth.

After being ridden by Richard Monterrey in each of his last two races, Cordmaker will be reunited Friday with Victor Carrasco, the 2013 Eclipse Award winner as champion apprentice that has been his most frequent partner. Carrasco has been on Cordmaker 25 times with 11 wins, 10 of them stakes, including the General George.

“He’s been doing good. I’ve worked him three or four times and he’s been awesome. He seems like he’s still willing to do it,” Carrasco said. “I know we’re coming from a long layoff and we’re going two turns, but we are really hoping he does well and we’re going to take it from there. We were looking for seven-eighths or a flat mile, but this was all that came up. I think he’s pretty fit and he’s doing awesome, and we are looking very forward to it.”

Cordmaker has done well at the distance, with four wins, two seconds and a third in seven previous tries. He has been third or better of 20 of 29 lifetime races at Laurel with 11 wins, among them stakes victories in the 2018 and 2022 Jennings, 2019 and 2021 Harrison E. Johnson Memorial, 2019 Polynesian and 2021 Richard Small and Robert Manfuso.

Before his breakthrough win in the General George, Cordmaker had run third back-to-back editions of the historic Pimlico Special, beaten two heads by Tenfold in 2019 and 2 ½ lengths by Harpers First Ride in 2020.

“He’s very much on his toes and he looks good and, as I say, knock on wood he’s real sound. I don’t have a lot of answers to a lot of questions right now. After he runs, we’ll know more.”

Cordmaker is rated at 3-1 on the morning line. Favored at 8-5 is the Jamie Ness-trained entry of Yodel E.A. Who, six times stakes-placed including second in the 2023 General George, and 2022 Maryland Million Classic winner Ournationonparade, racing for the first time since an open allowance win at the distance April 14 at Laurel. Yodel E.A. Who is cross-entered in a third-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up at about 1 1/16 miles Saturday at Laurel.

Also entered are 2022 Bald Eagle Derby winner Vance Scholars; Zabracadabra, exiting a 6 ½-length open allowance win going one mile June 9 at Laurel; Everett’s Song, winner of the 2021 Harrods Creek at Churchill Downs; and American d’Oro, runner-up behind multiple stakes winner Nimitz Class in the 1 1/8-mile Native Dancer at Laurel.

“It’s a strong race to come back in, so we’ll see,” Jenkins said. “It’s good to see a horse that you like so much run.”

Notes: Before the balance of Thursday’s program was canceled due to lingering lightning in the area, jockey Horacio Karamanos visited the winner’s circle twice, aboard Beyond the Pale ($12.60) in Race 1 and Circle Home ($6) in Race 3 … Dark Hollow Farm’s Circle Home, a 4-year-old daughter of Bodemeister adding blinkers in her eighth start and second for trainer Miguel Vera after 11 months away, rallied down the center of the track to reel in Nineteenamendment and capture the maiden special weight for fillies and mares ages 3, 4 and 5 in 1:02.73 over a firm Dahlia turf course.