Heaven’s Runway goes after first Maryland victory in Dave's Friend

 

Fresh off a 32-1 upset of multiple stakes winner Stallwalkin’ Dude in the Fall Highweight (G3) Nov. 24 at Aqueduct, Michael Dubb’s Heaven’s Runway goes after his first Maryland victory in the $100,000 Dave’s Friend.

 

A 6-year-old son of  Run Away and Hide, Heaven’s Runway is winless in three previous trips to Laurel, including a fourth-place effort as the favorite in last year’s Dave’s Friend. This year’s race will be his third start since being claimed for $62,500 out of a runner-up finish in a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint Aug. 28 at Saratoga.

 

Prior to the Fall Highweight, Heaven’s Runway had won only two of 21 starts since an August 2014 allowance victory at Saratoga.

 

“The pace was pretty good for us that day and the horse was training very, very good. We were able to take advantage of the weight and he ran a very good race. We were very, very happy. We were pointing him for that kind of race and it worked out good for us,” trainer Rudy Rodriguez said. “I know he could get in very light because he hadn’t won a race for like two years. I thought it was going to be OK. Winning that kind of race is very special for us. To beat a horse like Stallwalkin’ Dude was going to be hard, but we got lucky and we did it.”

 

Multiple stakes winner Never Gone South will make his second start off the bench for trainer Cal Lynch in the Dave’s Friend. The 3-year-old Munnings colt ran fifth by 11 lengths behind subsequent Malibu (G1) runner-up Sharp Azteca in the seven-furlong City of Laurel Nov. 19, his first race since the May 21 Chick Lang where he finished fifth but was placed fourth following a troubled trip.

 

“We expected he might need a race off the layoff but he ran very well. He ran into a horse that ran second in the Grade 1 the other day,” Lynch said. “That was a tough spot to come back in. It came up a lot tougher than we anticipated but he’s doing really well and he’s breezed well since the race. We expect him to move forward for the race. He likes it around here, so fingers crossed.”

 

Multiple stakes winners Bodhisattva, Chublicious, Sonny Inspired; Grade 2-placed Chief Lion; Measured, second by a neck in the Fabulous Strike Nov. 23 at Penn National; De Francis Dash (G3) runner-up Rockinn On Bye; and stakes placed Day of Fury and Sir Rockport complete the field.

 

 

Todd and Lori Quast’s Alpine Sky, winless in six starts in South Florida before heading north, is set to make try stakes company for the first time in the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go.

 

The 4-year-old daughter of Indian Charlie finished second in three straight starts at Gulfstream Park between April and July of 2015, losing a head bob near the wire second time out. It wasn’t until joining Cal Lynch in Maryland this fall where she broke her maiden going about 1 1/16 miles Oct. 1, then returned 14 days later to win an entry-level optional claiming allowance by a head at Delaware Park.

 

Last time out, Alpine Sky rallied from far back on the extreme outside to finish second by 1 ¾ lengths in a second-level optional claiming allowance going the Thirty Eight Go Go distance of one mile Dec. 10 at Laurel.

 

“I only got her after the layoff. GoldMark Farm, Todd Quast and those guys did a great job and they had her ready for us. She came up and we breezed her once or twice and she won first time for us, broke her maiden,” Lynch said. “She did so good coming out of that race I wheeled her back in the race at Delaware and she ran well. She beat my other filly by a [head]. After that I just gave her a little bit of time.

 

“She’s a big, beautiful filly. They gave $600,000 for her as a yearling and she has a lot of pedigree to her, so we figured we’d run her back in that two-other-than and it’s three weeks back to this race,” he added. “This was the race that we’re aiming for. She’s doing really, really well so we figured we’d take our chances. If she can get a piece of it, we’d be delighted.”

 

Also entered are Grade 3 winner By the Moon, placed in three Grade 1 stakes in 2015 and 2016; Go For Wand (G3) runner-up High Ridge Road; stakes-placed Cayman Croc, Little Cyclone and Love Came to Town; recent allowance winners Ansible and Callingmissbrown;

Addibel Lightning and E Lizzy.

 

Four weeks after having his win streak snapped when third by two lengths in the Claiming Crown Jewel at Gulfstream Park, Matt Schera’s John Jones is back in more familiar surroundings in the $75,000 Jennings for Maryland-bred/sired horses.

 

John Jones reeled off four consecutive wins since being claimed for $25,000 by trainer Lacey Gaudet in mid-July, including an upset of Ben’s Cat in the Mister Diz Stakes and a dominating victory in the Jewel Preview Nov. 6. He returns to a track where he has seven wins from 14 career starts at a one-turn mile distance where he has won five of seven tries.

 

“Out of the three that traveled [to Florida] he definitely bounced back the quickest and the best out of all of them. It’s asking a lot to do all that shipping and run the race that he did and then come back,” Gaudet said. “You don’t see many stakes horses who run once a month, nonetheless twice in a month. We tried to talk ourselves [into] giving him like a month and change before we ran him back, but with it being a mile and being a restricted Maryland-bred race, we said we’ll just put him in and see how it goes.”

 

“He loves his job, and the horse has always told us when he’s ready and when he’s not,” she added. “We’ll just continue on the same track of letting him tell us when he’s good. I guess it’s just hard to believe he’s that good.”

 

Rounding out the field are two-time defending Maryland Million Classic champion Admirals War Chest; Howard Bender Memorial winner Just Jack; Stakes-placed Charmed Victory, making his first start since the Sir Barton May 21; Final Prospect, most recently second in the Howard Bender; and Jeezum Jim; Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller’s 2015 Maryland Juvenile Futurity winner Ravenheart; Kaitain and cross-entered Rockinn On Bye and Sonny Inspired.

 
Source: Maryland Jockey Club