Laobanonaprayer makes it two straight in Fifth Avenue division of New York Stallion Series Sunday at Aqueduct. NYRA Photo.
By Tom Law
Trainer Daniel Velazquez showed up at Belmont Park for Empire Showcase Day confident with two live runners, but freely admitted some doubt whether he’d walk away with two stakes victories.
Laobanonaprayer and Brooklyn Strong delivered for the Mid-Atlantic-based horseman, winning the Maid of the Mist and Sleepy Hollow, respectively. Velazquez returned to New York the first weekend of December with the same pair, confident again but surely not feeling history would repeat. Right? Well, maybe not so fast.
“I knew we came prepared,” Velazquez said after Laobanonaprayer completed the back half of a weekend stakes double on the NYRA circuit in Sunday’s Fifth Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series.
Brooklyn Strong came equally prepared by Velazquez out of his Delaware Park string Saturday, winning the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at 7-1. Laobanonaprayer was a bit more expected and she won the $250,000 Fifth Avenue at even-money over 10 other 2-year-old fillies sired by New York-based nominated stallions.
Laobanonaprayer gave her sire, the former New York-based Laoban, a 1-2 sweep as she defeated Jill’s a Hot Mess by 8 lengths. Ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, Laobanonaprayer ran the 7 furlongs in 1:24.95 to improve to 2-1-1 from four starts and boosted her earnings to $232,400.
“I was questioning the distance but I knew she could handle it,” said Velazquez, who also owns the filly bred in New York by Christina Deronda. “She can actually go a mile and an eighth.”
Carmouche, who clinched the Aqueduct fall meet riding title with the victory a day after winning his first Grade 1 stakes in the Cigar Mile aboard True Timber, felt confident every step of the 7 furlongs.
“I got the best position,” he said. “The best thing to do was to just watch everything go on to the inside of me and go from there. Everything set up perfect. I just had to be patient and let my horse run on.”
Foaled at Deronda’s Moonstar Farm in Hopewell Junction and sold as a weanling for $17,000 through the Moonstar consignment at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale, Laobanonaprayer caught her future trainer’s eye at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale in late June.
Velazquez landed the filly for $15,000, admittedly after “she kind of fell into our lap.” She runs in her trainer’s name and colors but he’s partners on the filly with Larry Rush and Mark Schwartz, who also owns Brooklyn Strong.
Next the trio figure to aim even higher with the filly out of the Raffie’s Majesty mare Raffie’s Chance.
“It’s fun to compete in these stakes, but we’ve got to test her against open company,” he said. “I want her to come home healthy and I’ll talk to the partners and really just see. Kendrick said she felt loaded and ready.”
Laobanonaprayer is the fourth foal out of the New York-bred Raffie’s Majesty mare Raffie’s Chance. Her first two foals – Devilry (by Into Mischief) and C U in the Circle (by Freud) – are winners and she’s the dam of a yearling filly by Algorithms and a weanling colt born May 2 by Central Banker. Deronda is the breeder of the weanling and yearling, along with Raffie’s Chance’s 3-year-old gelding by Normandy Invasion named K P Day currently in training in Southern California.
