Thursday, August 07, 2008

SMALL ENTERS FOUR RUNNERS IN TWIXT STAKES

LAUREL, MD. 08-07-08---If it’s a stakes in Maryland for fillies and mares, count on trainer Dickie Small to enter one or two or three, or in this case four starters, as he’s done in Saturday’s $50,000 Twixt Stakes at Laurel Park.

Saturday’s one mile feature on the main track is the first of two added-money races to be presented during Laurel’s ten day summer mini-meeting, which begins Friday afternoon and concludes August 21.


Small will start the entry of Hartigan, Inventive and Pissarro, owned and bred by Fitzhugh LLC, along with Higgins & Bowman Stable’s Halcyon. Laurel oddsmaker Frank Carulli has listed the entry as the 4-5 morning line favorite and Halcyon as the longest shot in the eight-horse field at 20-1.

“I’ve got ‘em all surrounded,” said Small. “All of them are doing nicely.”

Hartigan is a three-time stakes winner, having captured the Gin Talking Stakes on the turf at Laurel last fall and the Hilltop and Pearl Necklace at Pimlico Race Course this spring. She finished second in the Serena’s Song at Monmouth Park under Jozbin Santana in July and will be reunited with Santana in the Twixt. The daughter of Include has finished in the money nine times in 10 career starts.

“Hartigan is an overachiever,” added Small. “Her numbers don’t show it and the others seem to be doing better when they work, but in the afternoon she beats them all.”

Inventive raced as entry with Hartigan in the Hilltop, Pearl Necklace and Serena’s Song and finished behind her in all three. Horacio Karamanos has the mount on the daughter of Dixie Union.

Pissarro won races on both the dirt and the turf at Pimlico this spring. Her record is two wins and two seconds in four starts. This will be her stakes debut and Mario Pino has the assignment.

“Pissarro is doing good right now,” Small said.

Halcyon had a first and a second against claimers at Delaware Park in her last two starts. Josue Arce has the call.

Ned Allard will start Ask The Moon (7-5) against Small’s ‘gang of four’. Ask The Moon finished fourth behind Hartigan in the Serena’s Song but beat her in last year’s Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship at Laurel Park. Harry Vega won aboard the filly two starts back and regains the mount.

Two time winner She’s So Proud (12-1) makes her stakes debut for trainer Mike Trombetta. The Not For Love filly broke her maiden at Laurel Park under Julian Pimentel and won an allowance test at Charles Town on July 4th under Travis Dunkelberger. Pimentel will ride Saturday.

Swallow Falls (10-1), a two-time winner in fourteen starts, and All Around (15-1), who won by way of disqualification at Penn National against claiming company, complete the field.

First post for Saturday’s nine-race card is 1:10 p.m.

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