Sheldon Russell notched his second stakes victory on the card after brilliantly nursing Woflie’s Dynaghost on the lead in the $125,000 Prince George’s County for 3-year-olds and upward at 1 1/8 miles on turf.
Woflie’s Dynaghost, a half-brother to Grade 1-winning millionaire Sadler’s Joy, went right to the front under Russell, set uncontested fractions of 24.08 and 48.02 seconds, had the chasers off the bridle after a sharp third-quarter in 23.66, then sprinted home to win by 4½ lengths in a course record time of 1:45.83 over the firm going. The previous record was 1:45.81, set by Just Howard in the 2017 Commonwealth Derby (G3) on September 30, 2017.
Crystal Quest rallied from last to place second, a length ahead of favored Trikari. Kingmax, Summer Cause, Siege of Boston, and Omni King completed the order of finish. Passioned, entered Main Track Only, scratched.
The veteran, who was foaled at Hidden Brook Farm in Paris, Kentucky has 11 wins from 28 starts for $969,647. Also on the Stakes-packed Saturday card at Laurel, Hidden Brook Florida grad St. Benedict’s Prep took home the trophy for the $125,000 Alma North.
“He broke [and] put me in a great position,” Russell said. “He’s gone around that first bend, ears pricked. He was happy. Coming around the turn at the three-eighths pole, I made sure I had him in high gear and didn’t get caught flat-footed because I knew we had gone easy. I wanted to make sure I had first run on them.”
A homebred owned by Rene and Lauren Woolcott’s Woodslane Farm, Woflie’s Dynaghost is a 7-year-old gelding by Ghostzapper and has won on dirt, synthetic, and turf. A debut winner at Aqueduct in 2020 for trainer Tom Albertrani, Wolfie’s Dynaghost transferred to Thomas’s care during the winter of 2022. His signature victory came in Woodbine’s Grade 2 Autumn Stakes at 1 1/16 miles over Tapeta in 2023.
Wolfie’s Dynaghost only ran once last year, finishing seventh in Turfway’s Kentucky Cup Classic on March 23. He returned from a 435-day layoff to finish fifth in his Prince George’s County prep, a third-level allowance over Woodbine’s inner turf course on June 1.
“He had a minor injury that required time off,” trainer Jonathan Thomas said by telephone after the race. “Then, to be a little extra careful, we gave him some more. The owners are very, very patient people. We got a race under his belt [at Woodbine], but I didn’t expect anything like that today. Sheldon gave him a really beautiful ride.”
“We’ve won some nice races with him, but I think I’m the most proud of him coming back off that much time [away]. That was a fast race, no matter where it was. He set a reasonable pace and really looked like he picked it up. Everything clicked all the way around there.”
-edited from www.PaulickReport.com
