LAUREL, MD –  Alwaysmining had an impressive 11 1/2 length win in Saturday’s $125,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park. This victory marked the sixth consecutive win for the three-year-old son of Stay Thirsty and guaranteed him a spot in next months Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico.

The 1-9 post-time favorite Alwaysmining broke well on the inside but was quickly joined by Trifor Gold on the outside and Bozzini on the rail and conceded the early lead as they made their way into the first turn. Alwaysmining sat just behind the leaders  while Dixie Drawl and Tybalt brought up the rear. Into the backstretch, Bozinni has a slight lead over Trifor Gold and set a comfortable early pace of :25.00 and :48. 87.

Into the second turn, jockey Daniel Centeno gave a small shake of the reigns and Alwaysmining exploded into the lead like the other horses were standing still. By the top of the stretch, it was clear that the race was already over as Alwaysmining cruised to an easy 11 1/2 length victory. Trifor Gold got up to finish second and Bozzini was third

“You just hate to get overconfident, but this is what I had expected to happen so I’m really glad it came true,” said trainer Kelly Rubley. “We’re all very excited. It’s a fabulous day.”

“The plan was to try to make the lead, but I didn’t want to chase them, so I let them go. I decided to take him back and put him behind them. He was comfortable, nice and relaxed. I put him on the outside on the backstretch and when it was time to go, he took off,” jockey Daniel Centeno said. “[The Preakness] will be a completely different game. I told Kelly, he’ll be completely relaxed. We don’t need to put him on the lead. We can do whatever we want with him.”

Alwaysmining returned $2.10 to win, $2.10 to place, and $2.10 to show. Trifor Gold brought back $14.40 to place and $8.00 to show, while Bozzini paid $3.80 to show.

Scratched: Majid (trainer)