BALTIMORE – L. William & Corinne Heiligbrodt’s Mitole found the off track to his liking Saturday, extending his win streak to three races with an eye-opening 6 ¼-length romp in the $200,000 ClearSpan Chick Lang at legendary Pimlico Race Course.

 

The 43rd running of the six-furlong Chick Lang for 3-year-olds was among seven undercard stakes, three graded, on a 14-race program that supported the 143rd renewal of the Preakness Stakes (G1).

 

It was the second stakes win of the day for jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, following their triumph together in $100,000 James W. Murphy with Tap Daddy. They will team up again with Tenfold in the Preakness.

 

The final time of 1:09.29 over a sloppy and sealed main track was the fastest since Lantana Mob’s 1:09.10 in 2008. Lantana Mob was one of two previous Chick Lang winners for Asmussen, along with Holy Boss in 2015.

 

Mitole ($2.80), favored at 2-5 off successive victories by 16 combined lengths including the Bachelor Stakes last time out, was in command throughout the race. He sailed through a quarter-mile in 21.67 seconds and a half in 45.93 with Curly’s Rocket and Old Time Revival attempting to apply pressure.

 

After going five furlongs in 57.63, Mitole bid his rivals goodbye and cruised to the finish under a hand ride for his fourth win from seven career starts, all at six furlongs. Multiple-stakes winner Still Having Fun came with a late run to be second, 2 ¼ lengths ahead of Clouded Judgement.

 

Run as the Hirsch Jacobs Stakes, the Chick Lang was renamed in 2010 in honor of the Baltimore native and racing industry legend known as “Mr. Preakness,” who served as a trainer, jockey’s agent and racing official as well as director of racing and vice president and general manager of Pimlico, retiring in 1987. He continued to promote racing until his death in 2010 at age 83.

 

$200,000 ClearSpan Chick Lang Stakes Quotes

 

Steve Asmussen (Winning Trainer, Mitole) – “He's fast. Wow. He's a special horse, he really is. His confidence level has gotten better, just the way he comes into a race, and acts during it, has been spectacular the past two or three races. He was solid and nice and ran some good races, but he was a horse that carried quite a bit of weight and ran solid, and got better.”

 

“We thought the off-track caused him his trouble away from the gates. We really worked on him in the gates and being a little quieter in there. Ricardo has done a wonderful job with him away from the gate. He was in hand and traveling well today. That's made the difference. Going fast easily, but still being within himself. I am hoping for the Woody Stephens [G2, June 9, Belmont Park] off this. I felt he's a horse that does not work that impressively; we needed this race today to get to the seven-eighths of the Woody Stephens."

 

Ricardo Santana Jr. (Winning Jockey, Mitole) – “He's one of my favorite horses. He's very special. We were a little worried about the track, but he broke really well. And he broke so good I just sat and waited and on the turn for home he just ran away from them."