Eighttofasttocatch was the easy winner of Saturday's $125,000 Jennings Handicap at Laurel Park, the final start of his storied career. In doing so, Eighttofasttocatch retires a millionaire.
Forest Boyce (Garrison Forest) returned from riding at Fair Grounds to hold the reins aboard the Tim Keefe trainee, who won the Jennings for the fourth time. With the win, the 8-year old moves into 19th place on the list of Maryland-bred millionaires, ending his career with $1,072,970 in earnings.
This was his 17th lifetime win, 15 of which have come at Laurel. Among his many victories are three wins in the Maryland Million Classic. He has won 12 stakes overall.
On Saturday, Eighttofasttocatch broke well from the two post and within several strides had raced to the lead. He extended his advantage gradually and at the wire was 103/4 lengths in front of Larry Le Roi, with Concealed Identity taking third. His winning time for the mile distance was 1 minute, 36.70 seconds over the sloppy main track.
"He got off just a little slow," Boyce said. "It's a different situation when you have a horse like this under you. I asked him a little early, which isn't the usual, but he was very settled and we stayed close to the top of the lane. I just chirped to him and he took off. This is such a great feeling for me today. He's been such a cool horse. The most important thing for me today was that he goes out with a win. You don't get to be with one horse all the time with so many tracks running at the same time, but we have stayed together, and he is my true teammate. It's going to be really hard to not have him to ride anymore. I want to thank Tim and his whole staff. They all do such hard work to make this happen."
Eighttofasttocatch will return for a winner's circle retirement ceremony at Laurel on Saturday. He will then move on to Keefe's Montgomery County farm and start a new career as an event horse.
"It's bittersweet," Keefe said. "I won't see him here, but I'll see him at my farm. I will miss the great owners of mine, that connection, and the horse training in the morning. He ran the way I hoped and thought. This is a horse that will run on anything. She didn't rush him out of the gate. Once I saw him around the three-eighths pole, she was just perched up there and the others were backing up. I was pretty confident."
Eighttofasttocatch was a popular winner, returning just $2.60.
In other races:
•Lady Sabelia, the 6-5 post-time favorite, earned a front-running victory in the $100,000 Willa On The Move Stakes for fillies and mares.
Horacio Karamanos kept after the daughter of Majestic Warrior to remain in front at every pole. She completed the 6-furlong distance in 1:10.42 and won by 73/4 lengths. Disco Barbie was second, while Disco Chick finished third.
Golden Years made a mockery of the $100,000 Marylander Stakes for 2-year olds, tracking the front-runner until given the signal to go, then powering away to a 71/4-length score.
Victor Carrasco was at the controls for trainer Rodney Jenkins as the son of Not For Love completed the 7-furlong distance in 1:24.82. Sizzling Quatorze rallied to take second. The pacesetter, Hear The Chatter, checked in third.
•Lake Sebago splashed through the muck en route to victory in the $100,000 Gin Talking Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
Sent to post as the 4-5 favorite under leading jockey Trevor McCarthy, the daughter of Munnings tracked the speed down the back side, split rivals through the turn and swept five wide into the stretch. The John Robb trainee reached the finish line two lengths ahead of Darling Sky, while Pistolina finished third. Lake Sebago completed the 7-furlong distance in 1:25.98.