Aiming for his fourth consecutive score in the event, the Estate of R. Larry Johnson’s Determined Kingdom will face a field of nine in the $125,000 Punch Line, one of four stakes carded at Colonial Downs on Friday and Saturday for older Virginia-bred or -sired Thoroughbreds.
With a pair of turf stakes carded each day, males will take center stage on Friday beginning with the $125,000 Edward P. Evans at 1-1/16 miles as race 2 and followed by the 5½-furlong Punch Line scheduled as race 4. First post for Friday’s nine-race program is 4:00 p.m. ET.
Sister stakes will follow on Saturday beginning in race 3 with the 1-1/16 miles $125,000 Brookmeade. The 5½ -furlong $125,000 Glenn Petty is set for race 7. Post time for Saturday’s 10-race program is 12:30 p.m. ET.
Beyond a dominant performance in last year’s Punch Line, Determined Kingdom’s 2024 campaign included wins in the Meadow Stable Handicap, a fall allowance at Keeneland, and a summer allowance at Laurel. With a third in Colonial’s Van Clief Stakes and a fifth in the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Stakes filling out his resume, Determined Kingdom was named the 2024 Virginia-Bred Horse of the Year. Previously trained by Phil Schoenthal, the 6-year-old Animal Kingdom gelding was sold to Johnson for $190,000 in November’s Keeneland Association Horses of Racing Age Sale and moved to the barn of Mike Trombetta, where Determined Kingdom is winless in three starts. Mychel Sanchez returns to the irons and will start as the odds-on morning line favorite from post 6.
Here is the complete field for the Punch Line Stakes from the rail out with jockey, trainer and morning line odds: Embolden (Jorge Ruiz, Trombetta, 15-1); Stormy Flight (Daniel Centeno, Hamilton Smith, 6-1); Moon Factor (Jevian Toledo, Gerard Ochoa, 20-1); Virginia Fitz (Xavier Perez, Susan Cooney, 8-1); Showstopper Copper (Ben Curtis, Thomas Lingenfelter, 10-1); Determined Kingdom (Sanchez, Trombetta, 4-5); King Covee (Victor Carrasco, Schoenthal, 9-2); Buddy Buddy (Fredy Peltroche, Tim Collins, 20-1); and War Humor (Forest Boyce, Ollie Figgins, 30-1).
With more than $1 million in lifetime earnings, Double B Racing Stables’ Repo Rocks receives topbilling as the 6-5 morning line favorite in Friday’s Edward P. Evans. Trained by Jamie Ness, the classy Virginia-bred who boasts wins in the Grade 3 Westchester and the Grade 3 Toboggan will have to overcome his 0-for-4 record on turf, which includes a fourth-place finish in last year’s edition of this race. Drawing post five in a field of seven, Repo Rocks will receive the services of Mychel Sanchez.
Port Lairge Stables and Louisa Stevenson’s Gettin’downonit, runner up in the 2024 Edward P. Evans, looms as a major contender. Trained by Mark Beecher, the 5-year-old by Anchor Down boasts two local scores.
Here is the complete field for the Edward P. Evans Stakes from the rail out with jockey, trainer and morning line odds: Buddy Buddy (Fredy Peltroche, Tim Collins, 10-1); Street Hockey (Antonio Gallardo, Phil Schoenthal, 20-1); Reggae Man (Jorge Ruiz, James Lawrence, 15-1); Gettin’downonit (Jevian Toledo, Beecher, 12-1); Repo Rocks (Sanchez, Ness, 6-5); King Covee (Victor Carrasco, Schoenthal; 9-5); and Sendero (Emmanuel Esquivel, Juan Sanchez, 12-1).
Audley Farm Stable’s homebred Quadra will make her stakes bow on Saturday in the Brookmeade. The 3-year-old Frosted filly out of the War Front mare Quadrant broke her maiden last November at Laurel Park in impressive fashion. With one start under her belt as a sophomore, the 2-1 second choice in the morning line will take on a field of six fillies and mares, all looking for their first stakes victory. Trained by Arnaud Delacour, Quadra will be reunited with Mychel Sanchez, who was aboard for her lone win.
The 2024 Virginia Breeder of the Year, Audley Farm Equine is well-represented in this weekend’s quartet of stakes. The breeders are also behind the 8-5 Brookmeade morning line favorite, Mila Candy, who is ahalf-sibling to Determined Kingdom. Owned and trained by Ilkay Kantarmaci, the Twirling Candy filly out of the Fastnet Rock mare Filia will be stretching out and making her turf debut after running fifth last out in the Jersey Girl at Saratoga.
Here is the complete field for the Brookmeade Stakes from the rail out with jockey, trainer and morning line odds: Quadra (Sanchez, Delacour, 2-1); Sun Cross (Ben Curtis, Brittany Russell, 6-1); Thursday Girl (Sheldon Russell, Brittany Russell, 4-1); Mila Candy (Silvestre Gonzalez, Ilkay Kantarmaci, 8-5); Buzzaway (Jevian Toledo, Horacio De Paz, 9-2); and Gold Dart (Denis Araujo, Christopher Keller, 30-1).
Tabbed as the 4-5 morning line favorite in a field of seven, Madison Avenue Racing Stable, Morris Kernan Jr., and Jagger’s Mystic Seaport aims for back-to-back wins in the $125,000 Glenn Petty. Trained by Jamie Ness, five of the Midshipman mare’s 11 lifetime wins have come on the turf. Along with a second-place finish against open company in last year’s $150,000 Camptown Handicap, Mystic Seaport boasts a 4-2-1-0 local record. Named to ride the headliner in each of this weekend’s four stakes, Mychel Sanchez will guide Mystic Seaport from post 5 in the Glenn Petty.
Here is the complete field for the Glenn Petty Stakes from the rail out with jockey, trainer and morning line odds: Chickahominy (Forest Boyce, Karen Dennehy Godsey, 7-2); Three Times (Daniel Centeno, Arnaud Delacour, 9-2); Lenamagnetta (Jean Gregor Briceno, Valora Testerman, 30-1); Splash of Jack (Angel Cruz, Mike Jones Jr., 20-1); Mystic Seaport (Mychel Sanchez, Jamie Ness, 4-5); Carolina Sun (Horacio Karamanos, Susan Cooney, 30-1); and Noquestionaboutit (Jorge Ruiz, Mike Trombetta, 4-1).
Tickets for the entire meet can be purchased online at www.colonialdowns.com.
Colonial’s races will be prominently featured on FanDuel TV all season long. Additionally, FanDuel TV will be on-site for coverage of the Festival of Racing on August 9.
Racing fans who can’t make it to Colonial can wager at any of the Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums throughout the state, The Rose Gaming Resort in Dumfries or VA-Horseplay locations in Chesapeake and Henrico. Bettors also can wager on racing from ColonialDowns via www.TwinSpires.com, the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks. TwinSpires.com boasts an improved wagering experience and mobile app combining the latest technology with the ability to wager on virtually every quarter, harness and thoroughbred horse race from venues around the globe. TwinSpires.com also offers access to unmatched insight and analysis from horse racing experts, handicappers, insiders, educators and Bloodstock Research Information Services (Brisnet).
About Colonial Downs
Colonial Downs Racetrack, in New Kent, Virginia, hosts live thoroughbred racing on two nationally renowned surfaces – the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest turf course in North America at 180 feet wide and on a 1 1/4-mile dirt track. The Colonial Downs Group, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums® throughout the commonwealth, which offer innovative historic horseracing (HHR) gaming and full card simulcasting as well as Rosie’s Game Room in Collinsville, and The Rose Gaming Resort® in Dumfries which offers 1,650 HHR gaming terminals, full-card simulcasting, eight bars and restaurants and more than 100 hotel rooms.
