A patient ride from Tyler Gaffalione and a perfectly timed late surge carried Bring the Smoke to a dramatic victory in Saturday’s $150,000 Maryland Sprint (G3) at Laurel Park, where the four-year-old gelding lunged ahead in the final stride to deny a determined group of front-runners.
The six-furlong contest formed part of Laurel Park’s high-profile Preakness Stakes day programme and produced one of the tightest finishes on a card packed with graded stakes action.
Maryland Sprint results.
Owned by Awestrike Racing, Berry Family Racing, Legion Racing, GLAM Racing and Clarke Ohrstrom, Bring the Smoke was produced late down the centre of the track by Gaffalione to edge out Faust by a neck, with Haileysfirstnotion another neck away in third after briefly taking command in upper stretch.
Trained by Whit Beckman, Bring the Smoke stopped the clock in 1:10.73 over a fast main track and rewarded his connections with a breakthrough graded stakes success in only his first attempt at stakes company.
Early pace pressure played a major role in shaping the outcome. Faster Gator and Faust went head-to-head from the outset, carving out sharp fractions of 22.08 seconds for the opening quarter-mile while Haileysfirstnotion tracked closely in third. Bring the Smoke, meanwhile, settled quietly along the rail before being angled wide approaching the stretch.
As the leaders began to feel the strain after a half-mile in 45.09, Gaffalione gradually built momentum aboard the Beckman-trained runner. Haileysfirstnotion struck the front turning for home, but Bring the Smoke continued to close relentlessly on the outside and surged ahead right on the wire.
Faust held second ahead of Haileysfirstnotion, while favourite Celtic Contender finished fourth. S S Sinatra, Slam Notion and Faster Gator completed the order of finish. Floodlites and Hymn were withdrawn before the race.
The victory marked another important step in the development of Bring the Smoke, who began his career at Laurel Park under owner-trainer Lacey Gaudet. After finishing third on debut in December, he broke his maiden in February over a muddy track before being privately purchased. He entered Saturday’s Maryland Sprint off a runner-up effort in an allowance race at Keeneland last month.
Whit Beckman said the decision to remove blinkers proved decisive.
“Blinkers off for that reason right there. We wanted him to settle back behind the speed and not be part of the speed. It worked perfectly,” Beckman said. “Turning for home, they had done enough on the front end to even things out.”
Gaffalione also credited the equipment change and the colt’s improved composure during the early stages.
“He relaxed beautifully behind those horses, and when we found room, he really responded well,” the jockey said.
Trainer Steve Asmussen was pleased with the effort of runner-up Faust, who stepped into graded company after recent success in allowance company.
“He fought on beautifully,” Asmussen said. “I’m very proud of the progression he’s made.”
Gary Capuano, trainer of third-place finisher Haileysfirstnotion, believed his runner had delivered another strong performance despite being caught late.
“He gave us a thrill,” Capuano said. “He ran his race and just got outrun late.”
The Maryland Sprint result added another memorable chapter to an already eventful afternoon at Laurel Park, where top-class sprinting action provided an ideal build-up to the Preakness Stakes feature later on the card.
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