Anna's Bandit to Open 2020 Season in Geisha Stakes

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Anna's Bandit to Open 2020 Season in Geisha Stakes
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Photo: Jeffrey Snyder/Maryland Jockey Club
Anna's Bandit will try the one-turn mile in the Geisha Stakes at Laurel Park

After closing 2019 with six consecutive wins, Anna's Bandit will look to extend that streak when she makes her 6-year-old debut in the $75,000 Geisha Stakes Jan. 18 at Laurel Park.

The Geisha is one of four stakes on the Laurel card, which also will feature the season debut of Alwaysmining, who last season punched his ticket to the Preakness Stakes (G1) with an 11 1/2-length victory in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel.

In the Geisha, a one-turn mile for Maryland-bred or Maryland-sired older fillies and mares, No Guts No Glory Farm's Anna's Bandit will try to secure a victory in a race of one mile or longer for the first time. She closed 2019 with back-to-back stakes wins at Laurel in the seven-furlong Maryland Million Distaff Handicap and six-furlong Politely Stakes, her fifth straight stakes win overall.

Video: Politely S. (BT)



Anna's Bandit, who won nine of 11 starts last year, will try the mile distance for just the second time in her career. Her previous effort came in the 2018 Geisha when she finished fourth. Trainer John Robb said the daughter of Great Notion  is something special.

"I'm very proud of the year she had. We're going to try to do a better one this year," he said. "We'll look at all but one or two of the same races. I'll stay away from the turf. We're looking forward to a good year."

Anna's Bandit Steals Show as Winningest Horse of 2019

After closing 2019 with a runner-up finish in the open Native Dancer Stakes Dec. 28 at Laurel, Runnymoore Racing's Alwaysmining will try the one-turn mile in the $75,000 Jennings Stakes for Maryland-bred or Maryland-sired older horses. 

Alwaysmining carried a six-race win streak into the Preakness, where the son of Stay Thirsty  finished off the board. The Native Dancer marked his fifth straight loss, but he ran better in that 1 1/8-mile race, earning a career-best 117 Equibase Speed Figure.

Also Saturday, the $100,000 What A Summer Stakes is an open test for older filly and mare sprinters that will feature a rematch of the Nov. 30 Imagining Safely Kept Stakes at Laurel, where Needs Supervision rallied to victory over runner-up Hey Mamaluke and Victim of Love. Those three rivals will start from the three inside posts in the expected field of six.

The day's stakes will conclude with the $100,000 Fire Plug Stakes, an open 6 1/2-furlong sprint for older horses. In that test, grade 1-placed Still Having Fun will compete with in-form sprinters Brother Chub and Arch Cat, who each boast two wins in their past three starts.


Entries: What A Summer S.

Laurel Park, Saturday, January 18, 2020, Race 3

  • STK
  • 6 1/2f
  • Dirt
  • $100,000
  • 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
  • 1:22 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Hey Mamaluke (PA) Emmanuel Esquivel 120 Patricia Farro 5/2
2 2Victim of Love (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Weston Hamilton 120 Todd M. Beattie 6/1
3 3Needs Supervision (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Feargal Lynch 124 Jeremiah O'Dwyer 8/5
4 4Wildcat Combat (PA) Dexter Haddock 122 Miguel Penaloza 7/2
5 5Angel At War (KY) Sheldon Russell 120 Michael E. Gorham 6/1
6 6Last True Love (KY) Edwin Gonzalez 120 Flint W. Stites 15/1




Entries: Geisha S.

Laurel Park, Saturday, January 18, 2020, Race 4

  • STK
  • 1m
  • Dirt
  • $75,000
  • 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
  • 1:50 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Artful Splatter (MD) Alex Cintron 120 Kieron Magee 8/1
2 2Bunting (MD) Victor R. Carrasco 120 Rodney Jenkins 12/1
3 3No Mo Lady (MD)Keeneland Sales Graduate Trevor McCarthy 120 Michael J. Trombetta 8/1
4 4Anna's Bandit (WV) Xavier Perez 120 John J. Robb 4/5
5 5Limited View (MD) Forest Boyce 120 John E. Salzman, Jr. 5/1
6 6Enchanted Ghost (MD) Sheldon Russell 122 Michael Stidham 9/2
7 7Le Weekend (MD) Weston Hamilton 120 Mark J. Reid 20/1




Entries: Jennings S.

Laurel Park, Saturday, January 18, 2020, Race 5

  • STK
  • 1m
  • Dirt
  • $75,000
  • 4 yo's & up
  • 2:18 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1John Jones (MD) Trevor McCarthy 120 Lacey Gaudet 7/2
2 2Toughest 'Ombre (MD) Horacio Karamanos 120 Damon R. Dilodovico 10/1
3 3Alwaysmining (MD)Keeneland Sales Graduate Julian Pimentel 124 Kelly Rubley 8/5
4 4Tappin Cat (MD) Alex Cintron 120 Gary Capuano 8/1
5 5Bustoff (MD) J. D. Acosta 120 Hugh I. McMahon 15/1
6 6Jeezum Jim (MD) Julio A. Hernandez 120 Dimitrios K. Synnefias 20/1
7 7Bonus Points (MD) Feargal Lynch 122 Michael J. Trombetta 6/1
8 8Pretty Good Year (MD) Sheldon Russell 120 Kelly Rubley 15/1
9 9Clubman (MD) Xavier Perez 120 Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon 6/1




Entries: Fire Plug S.

Laurel Park, Saturday, January 18, 2020, Race 6

  • STK
  • 6 1/2f
  • Dirt
  • $100,000
  • 4 yo's & up
  • 2:51 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Brother Chub (NJ) Julian Pimentel 122 Michael M. Moore 6/1
2 2Arch Cat (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Victor R. Carrasco 120 Daniel Velazquez 4/1
3 3Still Having Fun (MD) Feargal Lynch 124 Timothy L. Keefe 4/1
4 4Honor the Fleet (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Alex Cintron 120 Louis Albertrani 8/1
5 5Dupree (FL) Tyler Conner 120 Hugh I. McMahon 6/1
6 6Tiz He the One (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Trevor McCarthy 120 Linda Rice 7/2
7 7Threes Over Deuces (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate UNKNOWN 120 Gary Capuano 5/1
8 8Long May You Run (PA) Carol Cedeno 120 Joseph Taylor 15/1