Irish G3 Winner Speirling Beag Tops Searching for 3YO Fillies
Mendelssohn’s March Takes Class Drop in Bald Eagle Derby
Summer Meet Leader Jaime Rodriguez Rides 3 Winners Saturday

BALTIMORE – The penultimate weekend of Laurel Park’s summer meet will come to a thrilling end with a nine-race program Sunday featuring a pair of $100,000 stakes scheduled for its world-class turf course.

The 1 1/16-mile Searching for 3-year-old fillies (Race 6, 3;01 p.m.) and 1 3/16-mile Bald Eagle Derby for 3-year-olds (Race 8, 4:07 p.m.) serve as co-headliners on a card that begins at 12:25 p.m.

Scheduled for the Dahlia turf course layout, the Searching attracted a field of 11 including main-track-only entrants Yesternight and Grade 3-placed Stellar Lady. The 5-2 program favorite on grass is Walmac Farm, Gainesway Stable and Haras d’Etreham’s Speirling Beag, a Group 3 winner in her native Ireland making her second North American start.

Trainer Michael Trombetta will surround the group with stablemates Livelovenlaughter in Post 1 and Naval Empire in outermost Post 11. Both exit wins – Livelovenlaughter captured an off-the-turf optional claimer July 14 at Saratoga while the same day Naval Empire was an open allowance victor over her elders at Laurel going the Searching.

Apple Picker, fourth by 1 ½ lengths sprinting 5 ½ furlongs in the June 18 Stormy Blues at Laurel, her grass debut, and Cecile, who beat older horses in a one-mile maiden special weight May 13 at Churchill Downs in her first try on grass, also figure prominently.

There will be a carryover of $2,380.91 in the $1 Jackpot Super High Five for the Searching.

Harold Lerner, Nehoc Stables, AWC Stables and Team Stallion Racing Stable’s Mendelssohn’s March will take a drop in class and distance in the Bald Eagle Derby, having run sixth at 65-1 in the 1 ¼-mile Belmont Derby (G1) July 8 in his previous start. Off the board in two other graded-stakes, including a sixth in the Blue Grass (G1) on dirt, the Ken McPeek trainee was second in the 1 1/8-mile Audubon June 3 at Churchill.

Gary Barber and Team Valor International’s Sirtaki is entered to make his North American debut for trainer Arnaud Delacour. The bay colt was bred in France, where he won the Prix Daniel Guestier May 7, one of his three victories from five tries going the Bald Eagle Derby distance.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Ari Gold has raced once at 3 after finishing his juvenile season with back-to-back wins including the 7 ½-furlong Pulpit over the Gulfstream Park turf in December. Circling the Drain, stakes-placed on both turf and dirt, was a three-length winner over fellow Maryland-bred/sired horses July 8 going 1 1/8 miles on the grass at Laurel.

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 sequence, including both stakes, will span Races 4-9 and begin with a $2,624.67 jackpot carryover from Saturday, when tickets with five of six winners each returned $252.08.

Laurel’s 33-day summer stand, which began June 9, will run through Sunday, Aug. 20. The final two stakes of the meet, the $75,000 Find and $75,000 All Brandy for Maryland-bred/sired horses, are scheduled for the turf Saturday, Aug. 19. Entries will be taken and post positions drawn Sunday for both stakes.

Also on Aug. 19, the Maryland Jockey Club will host the fall edition of its bi-annual Champions Handicapping Tournament in Laurel’s second-floor clubhouse sports bar. Deadline for entries is Aug. 16 by mail and Aug. 18 in person/by phone. For more information click here or contact Diana Harbaugh at 443-547-5953 or Diana.Harbaugh@marylandracing.com.

Notes: Summer meet leader Jaime Rodriguez rode three winners Saturday, Illusion of Hope ($7.60) in Race 2, Paradise Pride ($3.40) in Race 5 and Instinctive ($12.60) in Race 9 … Trainer Bob Klesaris sent out a pair of winners, Battalion ($7) in Race 1 and Consultant ($7) in Race 4 … Michael Schmidt’s Consultant emerged from a four-way photo a nose ahead of pacesetter Beyond the Pale in the 1 1/16-mile allowance for Maryland-bred/sired 3-year-olds and up. The winning time was 1:43.90 over a firm Exceller turf course … Kenneth Holt and Palumbo Racing Stable’s Chat Blanc ($19.80), a Maryland homebred son of Blofeld trained by Tim Keefe, notched a professional debut victory when tipped off the rail by jockey Charlie Marquez in mid-stretch and gained steadily on the outside to take Race 3, a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds, in 1:03.77 for 5 ½ furlongs over an All Along turf course rated firm.