Me and Mr. C Steps Up in $100,000 Howard County
Among Six Stakes Worth $600,000 Saturday, Sept. 28

LAUREL, MD – Miss J McKay, across the wire first in her only two starts, and stablemate Giggling, riding a two-race win streak, will find themselves in the starting gate together for the first time in Saturday’s $100,000 Anne Arundel County Stakes at Laurel Park.

The Anne Arundel County for 2-year-old fillies and $100,000 Howard County for 2-year-olds, both 5 ½-furlong sprints over Laurel’s world-class turf course, are among six stakes worth $600,000 in purses on Round 2 of the September to Remember Stakes Festival.

Highlighting the 12-race program are the $150,000 Fasig-Tipton All Along for fillies and mares 3 and up at 1 1/16 miles on the grass and the $100,000 Japan Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up going 1 ½ miles.

Also on the card are a pair of seven-furlong dirt sprints for non-winners of a sweepstakes, the $75,000 Challedon for 3-year-olds and up and $75,000 Shine Again for females 3 and older. First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

The Anne Arundel County attracted a field of 10 led by Cal Lynch-trained Miss J McKay and Giggling. Maxis Stable, Madaket Stables and Wonder Stables’ Miss J McKay was a runaway winner of her July 5 unveiling at Laurel, romping by 5 ½ lengths over six rivals going 5 ½ furlongs on the main track.

Lynch put her on turf for her next start, the five-furlong Colleen Stakes Aug. 4 at Monmouth Park, where she forged a short lead at the top of the stretch and went on to hit the wire three lengths in front, but in the process drifted in and bothered the next two finishers and was disqualified to third.

“She was a little green, bumped into those two fillies and came down, and rightly so,” Lynch said. “The filly’s been doing everything really well since that race. She’s worked really well on the turf a couple of times. We’re bringing her in there thinking we have her pretty close.”

Trevor McCarthy, aboard for her debut win, gets the return call after Jorge Vargas Jr. rode in the Colleen. Vargas will instead ride Queen of Shades, an impressive maiden special weight winner Aug. 23 at Monmouth, in the Anne Arundel County.

“Jorge didn’t expect her to do what she did in the Colleen,” Lynch said. “Trevor knows her a little better, although either guy is very capable. But, Trevor is my go-to guy so we’re glad to have him.”

Isabelle Haskell de Tomaso’s Giggling has made her last two starts on dirt, cruising to front-running wins going four furlongs Aug. 23 and Sept. 2 during the Maryland State Fair meet at Timonium, by a combined 8 ¾ lengths.

The Creative Cause filly made her debut on turf, fading to sixth in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight July 26 at Laurel. Xavier Perez, up for her optional claiming allowance win last out, rides back.

“She displaced pretty bad first time out, so she had a legit excuse. We did a little work on her throat and she’s come back and been very impressive for me both times,” Lynch said. “We’ve always thought she was turf with her pedigree, but she’s done nothing wrong and deserves a shot against this field, I think. We’re hoping to see how far she can go. She’s not an overly big filly, but she’s got a big heart.”

The other stakes-tested filly in the Anne Arundel County is Country Life Farm’s Bella Aurora. Second to Embolden in the Jamestown Stakes for Virginia-breds Sept. 7 at Colonial Downs, the daughter of Carpe Diem broke her maiden going 5 ½ furlongs on the Laurel turf course Aug. 16 in her second career start.

“She was impressive breaking her maiden at Laurel, so we’ll see how she does,” trainer Mike Trombetta said. “She was second in the stake last time and was beaten by what looks to be a very nice horse. This is the logical comeback spot.”

Always Something, Double Down Dare, Princess Carrigan and maidens More Or Less and Summer Kiss complete the field.

Me and Mr. C Steps Up in $100,000 Howard County

Stonehedge LLC homebred Me and Mr. C, a professional winner of his lone career start, takes the step up into stakes company for his return in Saturday’s $100,000 Howard County.

Me and Mr. C is a younger half-brother to Grade 3-placed Abiding Star, a 12-time winner including three stakes and more than $560,000 in purse earnings. Both horses are trained by Ned Allard.

In his Sept. 7 debut at Delaware Park, Me and Mr. C found himself wide on the first turn before establishing position and making a run down the stretch to upset the 7 ½-furlong turf sprint by two lengths at odds of nearly 8-1.

“He was a little bit green early, but then he figured out where he was and kind of won pretty easily, I thought. That was kind of impressive. Then, it’s a case of ‘Where do you go from here?’” Allard said. “The horse came out of his race fine. He’s been doing good, and I think he might have a future.”

Me and Mr. C cuts back to 5 ½ furlongs for the Howard County and gets the services of jockey Feargal Lynch, breaking from the rail in a field of seven. All horses will carry 124 pounds.

“Feargal Lynch is going to ride and I think that’s a plus. He’s a really good turf rider and he rides well there. I think he judges races really well, on the turf especially,” Allard said. “He’ll be cutting back a little bit, but I think I’d rather do that than go on and go a mile and a sixteenth. Even though he finished full of run, I think Laurel’s turf course kind of favors horses that come from a little off the pace where a racetrack like Delaware, speed is very dangerous. Laurel seems to be a little more forgiving.”

Troy Johnson and Charles Lo’s So Street broke his maiden on the dirt May 9 at Pimlico Race Course, capturing an open allowance three months later at Colonial Downs in his first try on turf. Last time out, the Street Magician gelding – purchased for $3,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling sale last October in Timonium – was second to Four Wheel Drive in Colonial’s Aug. 31 Rosie’s Stakes.

“We hooked a really good horse that broke the track record that day, but he ran a real good race. He just got outrun. That horse is going to the Breeders’ Cup; we’re not,” trainer Jamie Ness said. “He’s had one time, off a little bit of a layoff on the dirt, where for whatever reason he didn’t show up. We put him on the turf because I think his future is turf. He’s got the pedigree for it.”

Trainer Mike Trombetta entered the pair of Frosted Rose and Muchmorethanthis. R.D.M. Racing Stable’s Frosted Rose has made all three of his starts on turf at 5 ½ furlongs, being a popular maiden winner July 28 prior to finishing well back in the Skidmore Stakes Aug. 16, both at Saratoga.

R.D.M. also shares ownership with R. Larry Johnson in Muchmorethanthis, third in his Aug. 15 debut at Laurel before graduating with a gate-to-wire 1 ¼-length triumph Sept. 4 at Colonial.

“They’re two different types of horses. One’s got quite a bit more speed than the other,” Trombetta said. “I think I ran [Frosted Rose] back on short rest last time and it was probably a little unfair with him being a 2-year-old, but he’s had plenty of time to recover and is training good. He can walk right out of his stall and run so we’ll see how he does. [Muchmorethanthis] ran a nice race being on inside and going all the way on the lead. I’m pretty pleased with him as well.”

Also entered are Dreaming of Love, Guilty and On the Turf.