Swayin to and Fro Looks to Rebound in Barbara Fritchie (G3)
$100,000 Miracle Wood Marks Return to Stakes for Feeling Woozy

BALTIMORE – Euro Stable’s John the Bear, a winner of back-to-back sprints to open the year, will put his streak to the test when he makes his stakes debut in Saturday’s $250,000 General George (G3) at Laurel Park.

The General George for 4-year-olds and up and $250,000 Barbara Fritchie (G3) for fillies and mares 4 and older, both sprinting seven furlongs, co-headline a 10-race Winter Carnival program that features six stakes worth $900,000 in purses.

Post time is 12:25 p.m.

Sent off as the favorite in four of his last five races, John the Bear is the second-longest shot in the General George at morning-line odds of 15-1. The 5-year-old gelding has won five of eight starts with one second and one third since being claimed by trainer Claudio Gonzalez for $25,000 in November 2021.

“He came back from the last race really good,” Gonzalez said. “You can see the races he’s running, and we had to give him the opportunity in the stake. I believe it’s the right time for it. He’s doing good. I know the race is tough, but we have to try one time to see how much he’s improved.”

John the Bear, by multiple Grade 1-winning sprinter The Factor, returns just two weeks after registering a 2 ¼-length optional claiming allowance sprinting 5 ½ furlongs, a race where 2022 General George runner-up War Tocsin ran third.

He was a front-running winner of his season debut Jan. 16, also at Laurel, to improve his record at seven furlongs to two wins and a second from three tries. Jevian Toledo, who has ridden John the Bear seven times for Gonzalez, gets the return call.

“Toledo knows the horse and he does a really good job with him. That’s why we talked to the owner and made the decision to give him the chance,” Gonzalez said. “I believe he can handle the distance. There’s some really good horses in there. It’s a Grade 3, so you know there’s going to be tough horses.”

Factor It In, winner of the six-furlong Dave’s Friend and 6 ½-furlong Fire Plug in successive starts at Laurel, is the narrow 5-2 program favorite for the General George. The race is carded ninth with a post time of 4:29 p.m. EST.

Gonzalez, Maryland’s annual leading trainer six consecutive years, was pleased to give jockey Jorge F. Hernandez his first win in the U.S. Feb. 12 at Laurel with MCA Racing Stable’s Queen Cadence. The 33-year-old was a multiple group stakes winner in his native Chile, which is also Gonzalez’s home country.

“I was happy for him,” Gonzalez said. “He tries hard. He had a bunch of seconds and that day he got it done. He came here and he needed some help. He’s from my country, so I try to help him. Here, if they see you win, they’re going to try to ride you. He’s very hard-working.”

Swayin to and Fro Looks to Rebound in Barbara Fritchie (G3)

Baxter Racing Stable’s claimer-turned-multiple stakes winner Swayin to and Fro will face the biggest challenge of her career Saturday as she steps up to graded company for the first time in the $250,000 Barbara Fritchie (G3).

The Fritchie (Race 8, 3:58 p.m. EST) will be the 16th start for Swayin to and Fro, who went 8-for-12 in 2022 and finished in a seven-way tie for the third-most wins among all North American horses.

“We have a really big test this weekend,” trainer Mario Serey Jr. said. “She’s pretty good. She’s ready. We’ll see what happens Saturday.”

Sharing Barn 32 at Laurel with Carlos Mancilla, who trains General George (G3) program favorite Factor It In, Serey claimed Swayin to and Fro for $16,000 last May at historic Pimlico Race Course out of an 8 ¼-length maiden triumph.

“She’s always been a nice filly. The day I claimed her, she had the talent,” Serey said. “She’s easy to work with. When you have a good horse, it’s the trainer, the groom, everybody. I feel so proud for her because every time she runs she shows me the talent.”

Swayin to and Fro won the seven-furlong Safely Kept and 6 ½-furlong Willa On the Move to cap 2022, beating such horses as Fritchie rivals Fille d’Esprit – favored at 5-2 on the morning line – and Liscolvin. The 4-year-old Straight Talking filly was second by 5 ¼ lengths to Fille d’Esprit in the six-furlong What a Summer Jan. 21.

Richard Monterrey will climb aboard for the first time in the Fritchie, where she is rated third choice at 5-1. Graded-stakes placed shippers Pass the Champagne and Union Lake are the 3-1 co-second choice.

“It’s a similar group. I’m not scared of anybody. I know the filly’s got talent and she’s doing pretty good. She’s training really well, and I think the seven furlongs is going to be OK,” Serey said. “You need a good break and good luck. When I talked to Monterrey I said, ‘Warm him up, break him good, get your spot and the rest is in the hands of the filly.’ But I feel really good. She’s ready. There’s no excuse.”

$100,000 Miracle Wood Marks Return to Stakes for Feeling Woozy

Coming off a season-opening victory, Hamilton Smith-owned and trained Feeling Woozy returns to stakes company in Saturday’s $100,000 Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds at Laurel Park.

The one-mile Miracle Wood (Race 4, 1:54 p.m. EST) is the next step in Laurel’s series of stakes for sophomores, preceded by the Jan. 21 Spectacular Bid and followed by the $100,000 Private Terms March 18 and $125,000 Federico Tesio April 15, a ‘Win and In’ qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the 148th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 20 at historic Pimlico Race Course.

Bred in Maryland by Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds, Feeling Woozy was purchased by Smith for $16,000 as a yearling in October 2021. He graduated in his fourth career start, a front-running four-length maiden special weight triumph last November.

“I’ve liked him ever since I started with him. He’s easy to work around and he’s all professional out on the racetrack when he gallops and breezes and so forth,” Smith said. “He’s going to be a useful horse.”

Feeling Woozy made his stakes debut running fifth behind undefeated Post Time in the seven-furlong Maryland Juvenile Dec. 3, a race where subsequent Heft winner Coffeewithchris ran third, and finished second when Prince of Jericho broke his maiden last October.

Prince of Jericho, second in the Heft, won the Spectacular Bid and is the 7-5 program favorite in the Miracle Wood. Coffeewithchris is the second choice at 3-1, while Feeling Woozy is rated at 6-1.

“This race isn’t the easiest spot in the world,” Smith said. “[Coffeewithchris] is consistent and been running hard lately and running decent numbers. [Prince of Jericho] is all right. There’s three or four in there that could win it easily and it wouldn’t be a big surprise.”

Racing with blinkers for the first time last out, Feeling Woozy led from gate to wire in a 2 ¾-length optional claiming allowance score going one mile Jan. 29. Angel Cruz is named to ride for the seventh straight time, this time from the rail.

“He was impressive last time. We put the blinkers on him and that seemed to help him quite a bit. [Cruz] said he had to get the outrider to catch him because he wanted to keep on going. That part is good also. I like the route-of-ground horses. It looks like he’s going to fit that mold and if he does, he’ll do well,” Smith said.

“I keep getting stuck down on the inside with the one hole all the time but hopefully we can overcome that,” he added. “The jock’s got a lot of confidence in the horse. He likes him a lot, and that’s always in your favor when you’ve got that combination. It’s a competitive race and rightfully so. It ought to be fun to watch.”

Smith said 4-year-old filly Luna Belle is working her way back to the races at his brother Goree’s Elloree Training Center in South Carolina. Bred in Maryland by Smith, Deborah Greene and her late father, Fred Greene Jr., Luna Belle won five consecutive stakes from 2 to 3 and has gone unraced since finishing off the board in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) last May.

“She’s started back and has been galloping for about a month,” Smith said. “We’re going to get her back up here pretty shortly, but she’s staying there for the time being.”