Spectacular Bid Preview: Shackqueenking Aims for Second Straight W

LAUREL, MD – After ending 2020 with his first stakes score, Pocket 3s Racing’s Shackqueenking aims to capture his second straight win Saturday in the $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes at Laurel Park.

The Spectacular Bid is a 7-furlong dirt sprint restricted to 3-year-olds. This year’s edition is the penultimate event on a 9-race card and has a local post time of 4:00 PM.

Here’s a look at the full field for the Spectacular Bid:

1. Wicked Prankster 20/1 – He earned his first victory last time out in his sixth try, defeating $35k maiden claimers by 1 length in a 6-furlong muddy (sealed) local sprint. He only hit the board once in 4 tries at the maiden special weight level, but owner/trainer Samuel Davis showed faith running him protected after claiming him sight unseen for $25k out of his debut.

2. Golden Gulley 20/1 – It’s not often that a colt celebrates his maiden-breaking effort by getting gelded, but that’s what happened to this son of Goldencents after he necked out that score going 5 1/5 furlongs locally. Trainer Gary Capuano can keep a winning horse in form, succeeding at 19% with last-out victors, and the circuit’s leading apprentice Alexander Crispin stays aboard.

3. Nobody Knew 4/1 – He steps up to the stakes ranks for the first time after compiling a 6-2-1-1 record since he debuted at Delaware Park last July. Trainer Claudio Gonzalez claimed him for $25k out of his second victory (his first also came when risked for $25k) and saddled him to a runner-up effort behind Maythehorsebwithu last time out, his best since the claim.

4. Tiz Mandate 12/1 – He rallied wide from well off the pace to neck out victory on debut in a 6-furlong local sprint but failed to back that up last time out in the Heft Stakes, finishing fifth. In his defense, the Heft saw him spend the far turn stuck on the rail; inside horses have not fared well at Laurel Park in a long time. Expect him to come running late – and wide – again here.

5. Scotch Rock’s 15/1 – He broke his maiden by a neck last time out as the 7/5 favorite in a 6 1/2-furlong muddy (sealed) sprint at Parx, rallying late along the outside and getting up just in time. This longer distance should be of no consequence, and though he was just a $4k purchase as a yearling, trainer Harold Wyner is no stranger to succeeding with “bargain bin” horses.

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6. Kenny Had a Notion 7/2 – Capuano’s second entry nearly upset the Heft last time out, missing by a neck despite setting the tempo along the rail from start to (almost) finish. He owns more wins (3) than anyone else in the field, including a pair of local stakes (the Jamestown on turf and the Nursery on dirt), and has raced exclusively in stakes since his maiden-breaking debut.

7. Shackqueenking 7/2 – Capuano’s third runner cuts back to the shortest distance he’s attempted since his debut, when he finished second while going 6 furlongs over a sloppy (sealed) local main track. Both wins (including the Howard County Stakes last time out) came routing at 1 1/16 miles and Capuano is on an 0-for-14 slide, so he’s no slam dunk on paper.

8. Maythehorsebwithu 3/1 – He exits a 6-furlong gate-to-wire score over this course against optional claimers that earned him a career-best 73 Beyer Speed Figure, putting him right there with this race’s favorites. He’s completed the exacta in 4 of 5 career starts and has top local connections in trainer Brittany Russell and her husband Sheldon, who retains the mount.

9. Erawan 6/1 – He cuts back to run the shortest distance of his career, having broken his maiden on debut locally going a one-turn mile before routing in his next 3 starts, including the Howard County last time out. He wasn’t close to Shackqueenking that day, but don’t ignore him: trainer Jose Corrales and new jockey Horacio Karamanos win 28% together with a $4.30 ROI.

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