Stakes Winner Re Markably Takes Aim at $100,000 Nursery
No Need to Ask Goes for Second Straight in $100,000 Lassie

BALTIMORE – While the primary focus of her business is managing Marlyn Meadow, the Wilmington, Del. farm where young horses are broken, given their early training and state-certified, Lynn Ashby has found plenty of success on the racetrack, as well.

Given her background, it’s no surprise to find Ashby with major contenders in both the $100,000 Nursery and $100,000 Lassie on Saturday’s 39th Jim McKay Maryland Million program at Laurel Park.

The Nursery for 2-year-olds and Lassie for 2-year-old fillies, both sprinting six furlongs, are among eight stakes and four starter stakes worth $1.08 million in purses on ‘Maryland’s Day at the Races’ celebrating the progeny of stallions standing in the state.

Highlighted by the $150,000 Classic for 3-year-olds and up, first race post time is 11:30 a.m.

Over more than three decades of training, Ashby is a multiple graded-stakes winner with both the Thoroughbred and Arabian breeds, the latter comprising the majority of her starters until its races were phased out at her home track of Delaware Park in 2021 after nearly 40 years.

Since 1991 Ashby has won 128 races and $5.121 million in purses with Thoroughbreds, her best being Tricky Escape, winner of the 2017 Cardinal (G3) and Violet (G3) and 2018 Robert G. Dick Memorial (G3). Over the same span she has 601 wins and $8.248 million in purses earned with Arabians, including 11 Grade 1 winners.

Ashby has also run frequently in Maryland, and is chasing her first Maryland Million victory. According to Equibase statistics she has had 14 starters and finished third three times, with Nickyrocksforpops in the 2017 Ladies, Worstbestideaever in the 2019 Lassie and Mosalah in the 2020 Ladies.

“I’m really looking forward to joining the fray and participating,” Ashby said. “I support Maryland and have a lot of Maryland-breds myself, and it’s kind of an honor to get to run there on Maryland Million day. There’s so much great history.”

In the Nursery Ashby will send out Re Markably, a colt she bred and owns with William Gotwals. By two-time Grade 1 winner and multimillionaire Hoppertunity, the Mid-Atlantic’s leading 2-year-old sire of 2023 by wins and purse earnings, Re Markably debuted with a front-running 1 ¼-length waiver maiden claiming win sprinting 5 ½ furlongs July 3 at Delaware.

A month later he jumped into stakes company in the 5 ½-furlong Hickory Tree at Colonial Downs, finishing third after pressing the pace. Sent off as the favorite in his next start, the Aug. 14 Dover at Delaware, he again tracked the early lead before taking over at the top of the stretch and drawing away to win by 5 ½ lengths.

“That was a good run,” Ashby said. “He stalked just a little and kind of kicked on and I was real impressed with the way he ran. He had a little bit of a lung infection coming back for his last race. He still was sick, so I kind of think that he’s going to jump up a couple notches in this one.”

Despite the illness, Re Markably was second in the six-furlong First State Dash Sept. 11 in his Nursery prep. Rated at 9-2 on the morning line, he will break from Post 8 under jockey Carol Cedeno Saturday.

“I like his post. I like that he’s outside because he has speed, but he also has an ability to sit off them. We’re really happy with that,” Ashby said. “He’s learning. I think he is definitely stepping forward and he’s really been great so far. He breezes well in the morning, so I look for something really good from him.”

The 5-2 program favorite is Eric Rizer’s Say Me True, a homebred son of Golden Lad that was a 1 ¾-length winner of his lone start, a six-furlong maiden special weight Sept. 15 at Laurel. No Guts No Glory Farm homebred Do It For Michael has won two of his three starts and was second in the Hickory Tree, three-quarters of a length ahead of Re Markably.

John Hazard’s Sacred Thunder has been first or second in all five of his starts, including back-to-back wins. Morris Kernan and Jagger Inc.’s Kerness K is twice stakes-placed, running third in the Dover and First State Dash.

“There’s some nice other boys in the race, too. A few of them I actually started here on the farm and they probably all galloped together at one time or another, so it’s kind of neat to see,” Ashby said. “Anybody I’d be really afraid of in there just on the numbers and as professional as he’s looked is Do It For Michael. And I love Sacred Thunder. He was a cool horse to break and start. We’re in the mix. It’s going to be a great race.”

Great Quality, Barbadian Runner and All the Hardways complete the field. Maryland-bred Lil Sebastian is the lone also-eligible, only able to run if the field falls below eight Maryland Million-eligible runners.

In the Lassie Ashby will send out Bill Shook’s No Need to Ask, a homebred daughter of Uncle Lino that was beaten a neck when second in her unveiling, a 5 ½-furlong waiver maiden claimer Aug. 22 at Delaware where she led into deep stretch before yielding late under Cedeno.

“I was actually impressed with her first run because she was down on the rail,” Ashby said. “When they go around the turn they’ll engage and she kind of drew off from that. But she was so inside and the rider was smart. She took her outside to [be closer to] the winner because she said this filly, she wants to fight.”

No Need to Ask ran fifth in the six-furlong Small Wonder Sept. 11 at Delaware to Caprice, a two-time stakes winner and Maryland Million-eligible filly that lost for the first time in four starts in Wednesday’s White Clay Creek. Just 10 days following her stakes debut, No Need to Ask graduated by 7 ½ lengths in another 5 ½-furlong waiver maiden claimer.

“The last race was really good because I had her in the stake before and she just couldn’t breathe. She [ate] a bunch of dirt, so we treated her up and she went back in and ran well. It was an easier field, also, but I was really impressed with the way she did it.”

Cedeno will ride No Need to Ask (8-1) back from Post 5 in a field of 13 that includes Maryland-bred also-eligible Great Andrei.

“I think it’ll be an impressive run that she’ll run against this group. Numbers-wise she looks good in there,” Ashby said. “I think her experience will help her a lot. I like the draw and I think she’ll be right there. There’s some good horses in there but I’m happy with her. At least she’s on the upswing. She’s doing really good.”

Favored at 9-2 on the morning line is Frank Sample’s homebred Onyx Ten, second in the Aug. 14 Blue Hen and fourth in the Small Wonder in her last two starts. Three other horses are rated at 6-1: Biscuitwiththeboss, a debut maiden special weight winner sprinting 4 ½ furlongs May 4 at Laurel; Malibu Hooch, winner of her Aug. 23 unveiling at Timonium in a four-furlong maiden special weight; and Divine Works, runner-up as the favorite in a 6 ½-furlong maiden special weight Aug. 30 at Saratoga.

Shkhara Fire, Eccentric, Hiya Love, Safe Trust, Rapido Rosa, Itsamonstamash and Persian round out the field.