Maryland Champion Joe Returns in Private Terms Stakes

The Elkstone Group's homebred colt Joe , recently crowned the Maryland-bred champion juvenile of 2021, puts a three-race win streak on the line when he returns to action March 19 in the $100,000 Private Terms Stakes at Laurel Park.

The 33rd running of the Private Terms at about 1 1/16 miles is the next step in Laurel's series of stakes for 3-year-olds following the one-mile Miracle Wood Feb. 19 and preceding the 1 1/8-mile Federico Tesio April 16, a qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the May 21 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course. A total of five stakes worth $450,000 in purses will be offered on Saturday's 11-race program, including the $100,000 Beyond the Wire for 3-year-old fillies. First race post time is 12:40 p.m. ET.

Joe's connections opted to pass on the Miracle Wood both to give the Declaration of War  colt—named for President Joe Biden—greater spacing off a season-opening victory in a Jan. 23 allowance optional claiming race at Laurel going the Private Terms distance and to keep him around two turns.

"He's doing good," trainer Michael Trombetta said. "We skipped the Miracle Wood with him to give him a little extra time because he had run a couple times fairly close. He's trained really well and we're looking forward to running him."

Out of the Arch mare Battle Bridge, Joe ran fifth in his late October unveiling over Laurel's turf course before being moved to the dirt, where he graduated by 3 1/2 lengths in a one-mile maiden special weight Thanksgiving week. He won the seven-furlong Maryland Juvenile Championship in mid-December in his stakes debut, rallying from far back with a powerful six-wide stretch move to prevail by a length and a half.

"Quite honestly, I was getting very good feedback on him in late summer. It's been good," Trombetta said. "He's a big, good-looking guy. I still think he's bred for grass and he does the dirt. I think there's a whole lot of stuff that he can get himself into if he continues on the path that he's going."



Regular rider Victor Carrasco will be aboard from post 7 in a field of eight.

"I think there's a lot of upside yet for him," Trombetta said. "He hasn't been tested super hard—state-bred race (stakes), allowance race, maiden race. Now it's time to turn the heat up a little bit and see how he does with it."

Trombetta also entered Sonata Stable's Conclusive , a son of Nyquist   that ran sixth as the co-favorite in the Miracle Wood, his stakes debut. He graduated going 1 1/8 miles in an off-the-turf maiden special weight last Halloween and began 2022 with a front-running 5 3/4-length allowance optional claiming triumph Jan. 2 over a muddy main track.

"I thought he would run better," Trombetta said. "I don't know if going back to a one-turn mile complicated things or not. He's had better success at two-turn races than he has at a one-turn mile, and I don't have a great explanation for why that is. I'm anxious to try him back around two turns."

Laurel's winter meet leading rider Jevian Toledo gets the assignment from post 1.

Bird Mobberley's Maryland-bred Local Motive  stretched out to a mile for the first time in the Miracle Wood. He raced close to the front for a half-mile, took a commanding lead into the stretch, and went on to win by two lengths. It was the third stakes win for the Divining Rod   gelding, following the six-furlong James F. Lewis III at Laurel and five-furlong Hickory Tree over the Colonial Downs turf last summer.

Entries: Private Terms S.

Laurel Park, Saturday, March 19, 2022, Race 10

• STK
• About 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo
• 5:27 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Conclusive (KY)	Jevian Toledo	118	Michael J. Trombetta	12/1
2	2Local Motive (MD)	J. D. Acosta	124	John E. Salzman, Jr.	3/1
3	3Majestic Frontier (NY)	Xavier Perez	118	John J. Robb	6/1
4	4Eagle in Love (KY)	Angel Cruz	118	Rob Atras	3/1
5	5Maximum Impact (KY)	Johan Rosado	118	Norman L. Cash	20/1
6	6Micro Star (FL)	Jean C. Alvelo	118	Hugh I. McMahon	15/1
7	7Joe (MD)	Victor R. Carrasco	118	Michael J. Trombetta	5/2
8	8Shake Em Loose (KY)	Charlie Marquez	118	Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon	6/1