West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner's Jaxon Traveler will be making the journey to Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Valley Race Course Nov. 22 to contest the $250,000 Steel Valley Sprint Stakes. The six-furlong dirt test for 3-year-olds, which drew a full field of 12, is the highlight of the Mahoning Valley meet.
Jaxon Traveler, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, is a three-time stakes winner and was twice graded stakes-placed this year. The Maryland-bred has never been out of the money in 10 trips to the post.
After speeding to a 2 3/4-length win in the April 24 Bachelor Stakes at Oaklawn Park, the son of Munnings was a solid second in the May 15 Chick Lang Stakes (G3) on Preakness Day followed by placings in the Woodstock Stakes over the Woodbine Tapeta track and third to eventual Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) hero Golden Pal in the Quick Call Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course.
Prior to the Steel Valley Sprint, Jaxon Traveler cruised to an easy victory in the Aug. 21 Star De Naskra Stakes for Maryland-bred/-sired sophomores at Pimlico Race Course before returning to the turf in his most recent effort, where he came up three quarters of a length short in the Sept. 17 Allied Forces Stakes at Belmont Park.
"We have tried him a few times on the turf and he is certainly a bit more of a dirt horse but still runs well," commented Toby Sheets, assistant to Asmussen. "He has been a very consistent horse for us and has been training good leading into this race."
The colt will have the services of Gerardo Corrales in the irons for the first time from post 3.
Boasting the highest Beyer Speed Figure of not only this field but tied for the top spot in the United States in 2021 is Bill Mott-trained Baby Yoda who earned a 114 for his effort at Saratoga Sept. 4 after crushing an allowance field by 4 1/4 lengths.
If his name wasn't enough to catch the public eye, his back-to-back dominant performances this summer at Saratoga certainly were and led him to his first start in stakes company, the Oct. 9 Vosburgh Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park. He finished third to his older counterparts, grade 1-placed Following Sea and grade 1 winner Firenze Fire.
"Baby Yoda is a nice horse, a lot of fun to be around, and we have been slowly working him up the ladder," stated Mott. "He caught a tough field last out in the Vosburgh and after the race, we made the decision to point him towards the Steel Valley Sprint. It's a good purse and we will be in our own age group."
Owned by Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, Pantofel Stable, and Jerold Zaro, Baby Yoda will be entering this race looking for the first stakes win of his young career.
The Florida-bred son of Prospective will be reunited with jockey Jose Ortiz who rode him to both of his victories at Saratoga.
Scheduled to run just before the Steel Valley Sprint is the $75,000 Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Distaff Stakes headlined by Todd Beattie-trained multiple grade 3 winner Victim of Love who will find herself facing off against 12 other rivals.
Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Monday, November 22, 2021, Race 8Entries: Steel Valley Sprint S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Kiltoom (KY) T. D. Houghton 117 Crystal Richison 50/1 2 2Beren (PA) Frankie Pennington 124 Robert E. Reid, Jr. 6/1 3 3Jaxon Traveler (MD) Gerardo Corrales 124 Steven M. Asmussen 7/2 4 4Baby Yoda (FL) Jose L. Ortiz 119 William I. Mott 3/1 5 5Newbomb (KY) Jose Lezcano 121 Kelly J. Breen 5/1 6 6Mister Luigi (FL) Edgard J. Zayas 117 Antonio Sano 8/1 7 7Real Talk (FL) Paco Lopez 124 Carlos A. David 4/1 8 8Channel Fury (KY) Luis Raul Rivera 117 James R. Jackson 15/1 9 9A Few too Many (IN) Sonny Leon 117 Michelle L. Elliott 20/1 10 10Timeless Bounty (MI) Malcolm Franklin 117 David Wilson, Jr 30/1 11 11Ahimelech (FL) Jeffrey Sanchez 117 Jeffrey Skerrett 50/1 12 12Insofar (KY) Gabriel Lagunes 117 Eduardo Caramori 30/1
Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course, Monday, November 22, 2021, Race 7Entries: Hollywood Gaming Mahoning Distaff S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Blood Curdling (KY) Frank Reyes 118 Rey Hernandez 30/1 2 2Cliftons Ballerina (OH) Ashley L. Kauffman 118 Jevon D. Crumley 50/1 3 3Trickizar (KY) Edgar Morales 118 Rey Hernandez 20/1 4 4Kamar Taj (FL) Luan Machado 116 Ben Colebrook 10/1 5 5Prodigy Doll (KY) Sonny Leon 123 Ben Colebrook 6/1 6 6Ever Wonder (IN) Christian P. Pilares 120 Robert M. Gorham 12/1 7 7Sheisthehero (KY) Renzo Diaz 116 Gino Socciarelli 50/1 8 8Two Sixtyone (KY) Paco Lopez 118 Barry L. King 8/1 9 9Dark Honey (KY) Guillermo Rodriguez 116 Alexis Cordero-Lopez 30/1 10 10Victim of Love (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 125 Todd M. Beattie 9/2 11 11Call On Mischief (KY) Jose Lezcano 118 Kelly J. Breen 5/1 12 12Mundaye Call (KY) Florent Geroux 125 Brad H. Cox 7/2 13 13Palace Avenger (KY) Gerardo Corrales 118 Wesley A. Ward 4/1
