BY BROCK SHERIDAN
A winner of his first career starts, Florida-bred Right Wing Runner will try to break through in his third start against stakes company Saturday in the $150,000 Fredrico Tesio at Laurel Park. Trained by Scott Lake for Richard Malouf, Right Wing Runner will face nine 3-year-old rivals in the mile-and-one-h Tesio.
Right Wing Runner comes into Saturday’s event battle-tested after finishing less than a length behind winner Baby Dukes in the $75,000 City of Brotherly Love at Parx Racing on March 4. Right Wing Runner pressed Baby Dukes throughout the mile-and-a-sixteenth contest, put a head in front at the top of the stretch and was a game second on the outside of the 6-5 favorite at odds of 7-1.
In one previous race at Laurel two starts back on Jan. 25, Right Wing Runner stumbled at the start of the $100,000 Spectacular Bid and was then rushed into second through a half mile. He eventually to tired finish fourth behind winner Barbadian Runner, who took the $100,000 Miracle Wood at Laurel in his next start.
Right Wing Runner has won two of five career starts with one second while earning $81,700. He is by Preservationist out of Silver Lantana, by Badge of Silver and was bred in Florida by Norman Dellheim and Katie Liebe.
A two-time graduate of Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company, Right Wing Runner was purchased by Malouf for $75,000 out of Rubin Sanchez’s Really and Truly Thoroughbreds consignment at last year’s March Sale of 2-year-olds in training. Sanchez got him for $10,000 at the 2023 OBS October Sale of yearlings.
(Right Wing Runner’s Under Tack Video / Yearling Video)
Frankie Pennington, who has ridden Right Wing Runner in all five starts, gets the return mount and they are 8-1 on the morning line. Right Wing Runner has drawn post two.
RKTN Racing’s Pay Billy, winner of the $99,000 Private Terms at Laurel on March 22 in his last race, is the morning line favorite at 5-2.
Pay Billy is trained by Michael Gorham and has won three of his last four starts, all at Laurel, going back to a victory in a six-furlong maiden special weight on Dec. 15. He then produced a five-length victory against first level, $62,500 optional claimers going a mile on Jan 25 before finishing second by a nose in Barbadian Runner’s Miracle Wood going a mile on Feb. 22.
Pay Billy, a son of Improbable is out of Harlington’s Rose, by Harlington and has earned $144,475 from three wins as second and a third in seven races. He too is an alumni of OBS, having sold his current owners for $60,000 out of David Scanlon’s Scanlon Training and Sales consignment at last year’s Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training. Scanlon bought him for $38,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale.
(Pay Billy’s Under Tack Video)
Pay Billy has Raul E. Mena taking the riding assignment and will break from post nine.
Rounding out the field are Surfside Moon and jockey Mychel Sanchez, Arcadian with Samuel Marin in the saddle, Tais Lyapustina will guide Bold Diversion, Kentucky Outlaw will be ridden by Silvestre Gonzalez, Studlydoright will have Xavier Perez up, Dexter Haddock is named on Happily Delusional, Paco Lopez is up on Sacred Thunder, and Just a Fair Shake has Jamie Rodriguez as his rider.
Return to the April 18 issue of Wire to Wire
