Yaupon Breezes in Chick Lang

BALTIMORE, MD – William and Corinne Heiligbrodt’s Yaupon breezed home an easy winner of Thursday’s $200,000 Chick Lang Stakes (G3) at Pimlico.

Yaupon was the 3/5 favorite as he broke from post 9 under John Velazquez and soon bumped with Arkaan, who bore inward from his outside stall. No worse for the wear, Yaupon ranged up to take the lead and set opening fractions of :22.77 and :45.11 while Arkaan closely applied pressure.

Straightening for home with a growing advantage, Yaupon began to pull ahead at the 1/4 pole and widened his advantage in the stretch before crossing 4 lengths clear at the wire.

The Steve Asmussen trainee completed the 6-furlong fast dirt dash in 1:09.10.

“Put him on the lead and keep him on the lead, and he keeps running,” Velazquez said. “You’ve got to ride him the first part. For the first 3/16 of a mile, I had to ride him just to keep his head on the business. Even at the 3/8 pole, I am reminding him, ‘Hey, keep your mind on your business.’ Then, when he switched down the lane, then he knew. It was ‘OK, time to go.’”

Double Crown made a mild rally in the stretch to take second by 1 1/4 lengths over Relentless Dancer, while the winner’s stablemate Little Menace was another length behind them in fourth.

Dreams Untold, Captain Bombastic, Pitching Ari, Arkaan, and Lebda completed the order of finish.

Blackberry Wine was scratched.

Yaupon’s win kept his perfect record intact through 4 starts, including the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) against older runners last time out. The 3-year-old Uncle Mo colt, purchased for $255,000 as a juvenile, has now earned $288,264.

Yaupon returned $3.20 to win, $2.40 to place, and $2.10 to show. Double Crown brought back $6.60 to place and $4.40 to show, while Relentless Dancer paid $6 to show.