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Photo Credit: Jim McCue/MJC
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BALTIMORE, 05-17-08---Winning Move Stable’s Starforaday was up in the final jumps to win the $100,000 Maryland Sprint Handicap (G III) for 3-year-olds and up.
Away from the gate at odds of 3-1 under jockey Edgar Prado, Starforaday raced in last place down the backstretch and through the far turn. He rallied four wide in the stretch and did not enter the picture until the final furlong, when he caught Suave Jazz and favored Cognac Kisses approaching the finish to win by a neck.
The son of Five Star Day, who is trained by Gary Contessa, was clocked in 1:09.56 for the six-furlong distance over the fast main track.
Starforaday paid $8.20.
Trainer and Jockey Quotes
Gary Contessa (trainer, Starforaday, winner) – “That’s another walking advertisement for (glue-on) shoes. The same shoes Big Brown uses. He has terrible feet. The shoes have saved his career. The finish he has is amazing. When I saw the 23-(second) opening quarter, I didn’t think he could close into that. That made this race all the more amazing.”
Edgar Prado (jockey, Starforaday, winner) – “There was a lot of speed and it seemed like everybody went. I was behind it. I was hoping they would come back to me and they did. It worked out beautiful.”
Anthony Dutrow (trainer, Suave Jazz, 2nd) – “He ran really well, especially off the layoff. These kind of races are not easy to win. We were where we wanted to be early. The winner ran big today. I’m happy with Suave Jazz.”
Ramon Dominguez (jockey, Suave Jazz, 2nd) – “I thought he was in a great spot. They were battling in front of me early. The winner was just outside of me. We had a great shot at running down the leader, which we did. We just got outrun late.”
Scott Lake (trainer, Cognac Kisses, 3rd) – “Turning for home, I thought he had a good shot to win it. He ran great, I can’t complain.”
Jeremy Rose (jockey, Cognac Kisses, 3rd) – “I thought he was going to win and then all of a sudden two went passing by me. He ran great.”
-MJC-