Rare Non-Stakes Start for Veteran Whereshetoldmetogo Friday
Maryland Million Winners Part of Next Live Program Thursday

BALTIMORE – J R Sanchez Racing Stable’s claimer-turned-multiple stakes winner Shake Em Loose is likely to make his next start on the Preakness Day program May 21 at historic Pimlico Race Course, but owner-trainer Rudy Sanchez-Salomon is still sorting out which race to target.

Sanchez-Salomon said Shake Em Loose remains under consideration for the 147th Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, following his third-place finish in the April 16 Federico Tesio at Laurel Park.

Since being claimed for $16,000 out of a maiden triumph last fall, Shake Em Loose has won three of five starts including two stakes – the 2021 Heft and March 19 Private Terms, after which Sanchez-Salomon made him a late nominee to the Triple Crown.

“I’m not sure if I’m going to run him in the Preakness or on Preakness Day. It depends on how many horses go in the Preakness and who’s coming,” Sanchez-Salomon said. “He’s doing great. He went to the farm for a week, and he’s very happy out there. I wanted to give him a week off to refresh his mind and everything. He’s doing the aqua tread every day and gets turned out in the paddock for a few hours. He’s enjoying himself.”

Also in the conversation for Shake Em Loose is the $100,000 James W. Murphy for 3-year-olds going a mile on the grass. He has raced once on the turf, a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight last October at Laurel for his previous connections, when he got pinched back and bumped leaving the gate and was carried out into the first turn and was never a factor, finishing 11th.

Sanchez-Salomon said he was encouraged to think about the grass after the effort of another horse he owns and trains, 6-year-old mare Foggy Dreams, in the April 23 Dahlia going a mile on Laurel’s world-class turf course, where she wound up seventh following a troubled trip, beaten 7 ¼ lengths. Both horses share Shakin It Up as a sire.

“She loves the grass. She could have won the stakes race but she got boxed in and got in big trouble,” Sanchez-Salomon said. “I think [Shake Em Loose] will love it. I’m just going to go with the flow, day by day. I took him to the farm last Friday and he’s coming back this Friday. I’m going to breeze him on the grass and go from there.”

Sanchez-Salomon wheels Mi Patria Racing’s Click to Confirm back Friday at Laurel in a second-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles. The bay daughter of Tonalist has run third three times in stakes including her most recent start in the April 16 Weber City Miss. It is the same 13-day spacing he used to win a restricted allowance April 1 at Laurel after she ran third in the Beyond the Wire.

Maryland-bred Click to Confirm is the 3-1 third choice on the morning line in a field of seven behind 2-1 favorite She Is Wisky, runner-up at odds of 52-1 in the Feb. 19 Wide Country, and 5-2 second choice Bazinga C, a winner of her last two starts including a March 25 optional claimer sprinting seven furlongs at Laurel.

“She looks good in that spot. We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I thought she ran good last time. Her shoe was sticking out. I don’t know when that happened but it was sticking like an inch out from the heel.”

Rare Non-Stakes Start for Veteran Whereshetoldmetogo Friday

Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber and BTR Racing, Inc.’s 7-year-old gelding Wheresheoldmetogo will make a rare start outside of stakes company when he headlines a third-level optional claiming allowance Friday at Laurel Park.

The stakes-quality feature for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs is carded sixth on a nine-race program. Trained by Brittany Russell, Whereshetoldmetogo is the 7-5 program favorite in a field of seven that have combined for 60 career victories.

A winner of 14 career races including 11 stakes, Whereshetoldmetogo has made 15 consecutive stakes appearances since winning a Nov. 7, 2019 optional claiming allowance at Churchill Downs for previous trainer Brad Cox.

His two most recent wins have come in the Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial last November and March 19 Not For Love at Laurel, both restricted to Maryland-bred/sired horses. Among Friday’s race conditions is not having won a race ‘other than maiden, claiming, waiver claiming, starter or state-bred or state-sired races since Oct. 29.’

“It was kind of cool that he was eligible for it, so we thought we should try and take advantage. The idea with this horse is just to keep him winning,” Russell said. “I mean it’s racing and anything can happen but if you spot him well, and it appears it is a good spot, then you hope that he can just continue to keep winning.”

Whereshetoldmetogo made his 33rd start in the Not For Love, winning by three-quarters of a length under Jevian Toledo, who returns to ride from the far outside post. It was his first start since being beaten two lengths when fifth in defense of his 2020 Dave’s Friend victory Dec. 26.

The chestnut son of El Padrino was among 38 nominees to the April 16 Frank Y. Whiteley at Laurel, a race he also won in 2020, but Russell opted to wait and give him more time.

Also entered are Pictor, a 12-time winner based at Penn National with trainer Tim Kreiser, who captured the April 23 Primonetta with Kaylasaurus; 2020 Maryland Million Sprint winner Karan’s Notion; New York-bred stakes winner Amundson; and Eastern Bay, a multiple stakes winner beaten a nose in the 2020 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) that is in for a $50,000 tag. Pictor and Karan’s Notion were also nominated to the Whiteley.

“He came out of that last race in great shape. I thought about running him in the stake,” Russell said. “He’s nominated and you think about it, but I’m looking at the condition book and thought, ‘This horse always appreciates an extra week, an extra two weeks between [starts].’ I’m hoping that we’re playing our cards right and this works out well for him.”

Russell reported that Madaket, The Elkstone Group and Michael Dubb’s Grade 3 winner Wondrwherecraigis is due to rejoin her Laurel string this weekend. The multiple stakes winner is exiting a 10th-place finish in the $2 million Golden Shaheen (G1) March 26 in Dubai.

“Craig’s good. He’s set to come back here any day now, actually. He will be with us by the end of the week,” Russell said. “He just had a little R&R up at Fair Hill and he’s ready to get back to it.”

Maryland Million Winners Part of Next Live Program Thursday

A pair of Maryland Million winners will hook up when live racing returns to Laurel Park Thursday.

Post time for the first of nine races is 12:40 p.m.

Thursday’s feature comes in Race 6, a restricted allowance for 3-year-olds and up scheduled for one mile on the Bowl Game turf course that drew an overflow field of 16 including Visual Artist, entered for main track only, and five also-eligibles.

Buttonwood Farm’s 4-year-old gelding Artistic Endeavor, making his first start since late October for trainer Eddie Graham, is the 5-2 program favorite. Graham brought 5-year-old mare Deciding Vote off a similar layoff to capture the $100,000 Dahlia at odds of 6-1 April 23 at Laurel.

Also in the field are the B Determined (7-2) and Beltway Bob (6-1), respective winners of the Maryland Million Turf Starter Handicap in 2021 and 2020. Mint Meadows Farm and Donald Metzger’s B Determined has not raced since that triumph, while Greg Wilson owned-and-trained Beltway Bob was last seen finishing fifth in a Laurel allowance Oct. 28.

Race 8 is a wide-open allowance for 3-year-olds and up going about 1 1/16 miles where Dust Devil, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, is a lukewarm 3-1 program favorite. Dust Devil ran second, beaten a length as the favorite in a similar spot March 19, his Laurel debut.

Also among entries are Krachenwagen, a front-running 16-length claiming winner April 8 going the distance at Laurel; 2021 Miracle Wood runner-up Tiz Mandate and Royal Number, third in the 2021 Federico Tesio.

Both races are part of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence which begins in Race 4 and brings a carryover of $10,427 from Sunday’s last live program.