International Traveler Caribou Club Takes Laurel Stakes
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Photo: Jim Duley/Maryland Jockey Club
Caribou Club wins the Baltimore/Washington Turf Cup at Laurel Park
Glen Hill Farm's Caribou Club stalked a fast pace and rolled to his fourth win in his past six starts Sept. 21 as he triumphed by a head in the $200,000 Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup Stakes (G3T) at Laurel Park.
The victory was somewhat fitting as the 5-year-old City Zip gelding has international experience. This year he was fifth in the Highlander Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine in Canada and 13th in the $2 million Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored by Azizi Developments (G1) at Meydan.
The well-traveled runner has raced in California, Louisiana, Maryland, Canada, Dubai, and West Virginia in the past two years.
In his previous start, he posted a 1 1/4-length score in the West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker's Cup Stakes at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort for trainer Thomas Proctor.
Caribou Club and jockey Feargal Lynch worked out a great trip, sitting behind the frontrunning Macagone and grade 1 winner Glorious Empire in the early stages through a half-mile in :46.34 and six furlongs in 1:09.52.
Sweeping three wide on the turn, Caribou Club grabbed the lead in the final furlong and held off a late bid by Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Frontier Market. Caribou Club paid $9 to win.
"He beat a nice field last time," Lynch said, "and this trip worked out perfectly."
Three Diamonds Farm's Cullum Road was a half-length back in third, a neck ahead of Castleton Lyons' Up the Ante.
Matthew Schera's Glorious Empire, an 8-year-old Holy Roman Emperor gelding making his first start since Dec. 15 when he won the Fort Lauderdale Stakes (G2T), tired in the final furlong and finished sixth in the field of seven as the 5-2 favorite.
The final time for the mile on firm turf was 1:33.35.
The win was the ninth in 21 starts for the homebred Caribou Club, who was bred in Florida and is out of the Broken Vow mare Broken Dreams.
The day's turf stakes kicked off with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway Stable's Sharing, who picked up her first stakes win the $200,000 Selima Stakes over 1 1/16 miles. Two starts later Isabelle de Tomaso's Irish Mias also earned the first stakes win of his career in the $200,000 Laurel Futurity over the same distance.
The $150,000 Bald Eagle Derby went the way of Alex Campbell Jr.'s He's No Lemon, who was promoted to first following a claim of interference against Jais's Solitude. After review by the stewards, Jais's Solitude was disqualified from first and placed sixth.
Pewter Stable's Dubini scored his first stakes win in the$100,000 Laurel Dash Stakes over 5 1/2 furlongs, one race ahead of Colts Neck Stables' Goldwood who earned her fifth consecutive stakes win on the turf in the $100,000 Sensible Lady Turf Dash Stakes at the same distance.