Fair Grounds: Joe Sharp trains 2 winners in Claiming Crown
With his arsenal of six entries whittled to five after races were taken off the turf for Saturday’s Claiming Crown card, trainer Joe Sharp scored the natural double at Fair Grounds, winning the $150,000 Emerald with Runway Magic and the $200,000 Jewel with Money Supply.
“When you claim one, you always hope they develop into the kind of horse that can be competitive on this day,” Sharp said. “It is special to win back-to-back races on Claiming Crown day, especially for my team. We all work hard every day. This is a lot of fun, and it’s great to be able to share it with them. Keep him healthy, and we will target the same race next year.”
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Money Supply closes victoriously in Jewel
Jordan Wycoff’s Money Supply settled in seventh of nine older males early on and rallied to split foes late winning the Claiming Crown Jewel by 1 3/4 lengths over Luigi’s Spirit. Run at 1 1/8 miles over a sloppy, sealed track, the 4-year-old trained by Sharp stopped the clock at 1:52.05 under jockey Jareth Loveberry.
“After he won the starter for us (Sept. 27) at Churchill, Jordan reminded me that he was eligible for the Claiming Crown,” Sharp said, referring to owner Jordan Wycoff. “And at that point we started to target it. His off-track form hadn’t been the best in the past, so we were a little nervous. We went back and watched his replays, found some excuses and decided to give it a go.”
Claimed from trainer Chad Brown in August at Saratoga for $35,000, the Practical Joke colt rattled off two wins and one second-place finish in Sharp’s care. Prior to his victory in the Jewel, Money Supply never had won on an off track in five attempts. With Saturday’s tally he boasts a 14: 5-2-2 record along with a $366,532 bankroll.
Mike Diliberto’s 5-2 morning line was a bull’s eye, the bettors agreed, and the Sharp-trainee paid $7.60.
Runway Magic wins off-the-turf Emerald
Baron Racing Stables’ Runway Magic made his first run out of Sharp’s barn a winning one in the Claiming Crown Emerald. With blinkers back on in the race before the Jewel, he employed the opposite tactics of Money Supply, pressing the front-running Tatanka through the opening call off the 1 1/16-mile affair before taking over at the quarter pole and grinding down the homestretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths over 12-1 long shot Duke of Carthania.
Scheduled to be run on the turf, heavy rain that forced the cancellation of the first two races Saturday demanded the Emerald be moved to the main track. Fair Grounds newcomer Jaime Torres guided Runway Magic across the finish line with a winning time of 1:44.71.
“I just made a move, because Joe Sharp told me he doesn’t have a good kick,” Torres said. “He is just one-paced, so I made a move early and thought let’s see what happens at the end. He kept going.”
Torres has two wins for Sharp in the early going at the 2023-24 Fair Grounds meet, which marks the rider’s first year in the colony.
“We brought Jaime down here to ride first call,” Sharp said. “I usually have one guy that rides for us. He’s a good kid, good rider, and I know a lot of the guys up in New York think a lot of him.”
Claimed from trainer Tom Amoss at Delta Downs on Oct. 28 for $20,000, the 5-year-old gelded son of Runhappy had one previous grass run.
“We entered hoping it would come off,” Sharp said. “It all worked out today. Glad to see these fields hold up after coming off the turf. They did a great job having this track ready today after the rain we got. When I came out this morning, I thought there was no way we were going to be able to make these races. Hats off to track management. I have a lot of respect for what they did today.”
Paying $12.60 at the windows, Runway Magic improved his career record to 18: 4-3-3 and took home $90,000 for his connections to make it $310,342 in lifetime earnings.
Having won the 2022 Glass Slipper with Invaluable, Sharp has three Claiming Crown victories on his résumé.