Dark Hollow Farm

Roman Chestnut Wins Aqueduct's Busher Stakes As 45-1 Underdog

Details: Published: 13 February 2010

roman_Chestnut_L Ellen O’Connell’s Roman Chestnut, the longest shot on the board, rallied to take the 31st running of the Busher Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack, paying $93.50 to win and giving apprentice jockey Angel Serpa his first career stakes victory.

One of two horses supplemented to the Busher along with third-place finishing favorite Speightful Affair, Roman Chestnut was exiting a runner-up finish in a $25,000 claimer on January 14 over the inner track.

The Busher for 3-year-old fillies marked the first start around two turns for the daughter of Roman Ruler.

“I’ve been wanting to run this filly long forever, but the races never filled,” winning trainer Leah Gyarmati said from Florida after race. “I’m down here in Ocala and started jumping up and down and making a scene right here in the kitchen. It was a perfect ride.”

Reserved in fifth position behind pacesetter Anchorage through a half-mile in 47.77, Roman Chestnut commenced her bid as the field entered the stretch and continued on gamely to take the lead in the shadow of the wire.

Anchorage held on to be second, a length behind Roman Chestnut. Favorite Speightful Affair finished third.

The final time for the 1 1/16th miles was 1:45.93 over the fast inner track.

“I was confident,” Serpa said. “I thought she looked good in the past performances. She gave me a good run when I asked her.”

With the win, Roman Chestnut more than doubled her earnings to $72,430. She improved her career record to 6-2-1-1.

Gyarmati says she has no immediate plans for Roman Chestnut’s next race.

“I have no idea what’s next,” she said. “She still has conditions left. Hopefully we can find another race going long for her.”

That's How I Roll Rolls To Victory In Maryland Filly Championship

Details: Published: 01 January 2010

ThatsHowIRolls Vision Racing LLC’s That’s How I Roll spurted to the lead and kept that position the rest of the way to win the $50,000 Maryland Filly Championship, the headline event on the opening day of the 2010 racing season.

The race was slated to be run Dec. 19, 2009 as the Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship, but that program was cancelled because of a blizzard. The race was renamed and redrawn for three-year-old fillies as all horses become officially one year older on the first day of the year.

Skipping over the muddy going in 1:32.37 for the 7-1/2 furlong distance, That’s How I Roll carried jockey Erick Rodriguez to a 3-1/4 length victory over 16-1 shot Star Anna. Spoken in French was third. The daughter of Speightstown paid $8.80 to win as the third betting choice and topped a $114.40 exacta and $818.80 trifecta.

“I was thinking about taking back but she wanted the lead,” Rodriguez said. “She got the lead so easily that when the other horses came at us she still had a lot left in the tank.”

The 29-year-old rider captured the 2009 fall riding title by winning 53 races, fourteen more than apprentice Joshua Navarro. A top ten rider in Maryland since 2003, Rodriguez had 15 multiple win days during the meet and won at a 27.2% rate.

“We have worked hard throughout the years and now ride for good trainers which means good horses,” added Rodriguez. “When you ride for good people, you win races.”

That’s How I Roll is trained in New York by Kiaran McLaughlin. In three previous stakes tries her best effort was a runner-up finish in the Junior Championship Stakes at Monmouth Park last summer.

STARSONHERSHOULDER Breaks Maiden With Thrilling Charge At Laurel

Details: Published: 15 October 2011

Sylvia E. Heft’s EIGHTTOFASTTOCATCH won just as an odds-on favorite should, running down the speed and bounding away to victory in the $150,000 Classic, the feature race contested under rainy conditions on Jim McKay Maryland Million day at Laurel Park.

EIGHTTOFASTTOCATCH was bred in partnership with H. Graham Motion's Herringswell Stables and is out of the currently retired mare TOO FAST TO CATCH.

The Maryland Million is the most important racing day at Laurel Park with 11 races for runners sired by Maryland-based stallions for combined purses totaling $1.05 million. The 26th annual event drew a crowd of 20,907 Saturday afternoon. Attendance figures have exceeded 20,000 on twenty-two occasions.

Jockey Sheldon Russell was at the controls as yet another Not For Love offspring captured yet another race on Maryland’s Day at the Races. It was also the second year in a row that Russell had won the Classic. Last year he guided Regal Solo to victory in the Million’s signature race.

“The key is to get him to relax,” said Russell. “Mud doesn’t bother him because he’s run well on it before. I was a little concerned because the speed horse didn’t break, but it worked out. I got him to switch off and then he came back running. I was lucky that way. Since they’ve taken the blinkers off of him he’s been very hard to beat.”

Tim Keefe trains EIGHTTOFASTTOCATCH, who has won seven times at Laurel including the Japan Racing Association Stakes in his previous start.

“This was our ‘A’ race,” said Keefe. “He’s been training like a good horse. We’ve worked hard on getting him to track the speed and today that turned out perfect. The five post didn’t hurt us either. He really finished down the lane. This horse loves Laurel Park. The older gets the better he’s become.”

Jorge Chavez sent Regal Warrior out to an uncontested lead in the 1-1/8th mile test, leading by as much as six lengths before Eighttofasttocatch began to close in on his target. Regal Warrior surrendered the lead, Eighttofasttocatch moved to the fore and drifted out before being straightened away to win by 1-3/4 lengths. Cactus Charlie finished second and Not Abroad was third.

STARSONHERSHOULDER, a two-year-old filly owned in partnership with Ellen Charles' Hillwood Stable, turned in a thrilling performance in her second start by capturing a Maiden Special Weight at Laurel Park on Saturday, October 15.

The Maryland-bred filly by Quiet American was foaled at Dark Hollow and out of the Laurel Park stakes winner DRESS GREY.

Two times even better for Eighttofasttocatch!

Details: Published: 25 March 2012

The fantastic run started one year ago, when Sylvia Heft’s EIGHTTOFASTTOCATCH got his first stakes win in Laurel Park’s Harrison E. Johnson Memorial S. Sent off as the 1-5 favorite for this year’s Harrison E. Johnson Memorial S. on March 24, EIGHTTOFASTTOCATCH got stakes win number five with a gutsy performance over a sealed track.

Laurel’s leading rider, Sheldon Russell, guided the Tim Keefe trainee to a one-length score over Cherokee Artist in the $100,000 stakes at a mile and an eighth. It was EIGHTTOFASTTOCATCH’s 10th win from 32 starts, and boosted his career earnings to $463,190. In his last 10 starts, all stakes, he has five wins.

Bred by Dark Hollow Farm and Graham Motion’s Herringswell Stable, EIGHTTOFASTTOCATCH (by Not for Love) is out of Too Fast to Catch. A daughter of Nice Catch, Too Fast to Catch produced 14 foals, including additional stakes winner and Grade 1-placed STORM PUNCH. The offspring of Too Fast to Catch have earned more than $1.3 million to date.

POSEIDON'S WARRIOR Wins Third Career Stakes

Details: Published: 15 October 2011

Favored POSEIDON'S WARRIOR, a three-year-old colt out of POISED TO POUNCE, survived after dueling through blistering fractions of 21.24 and 43.26 seconds to take Delaware Park's $75,000 New Castle by 1 3/4 lengths on October 15.

Bred by Dark Hollow Farm in partnership with William Paca Beatson, POSEIDON'S WARRIOR previously won Penn National's East Hanover Stakes in July and Monmouth's NATC Futurity as a precocious two-year-old.

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