Mid-Atlantic Three Stars: November 17

Street Lute won the Smart Halo Stakes. Photo by Jerry Dzierwinski.

Plenty of racing action took place throughout the Mid-Atlantic this past week.

Here’s a look at the “three stars” of each track:

LAUREL PARK

FIRST STARS: STREET LUTE AND NO CENTS. On Saturday, Laurel hosted a pair of stakes for 2-year-olds. The Smart Halo, for fillies, went to Street Lute, who saved ground and drew off to win by 2 3/4 lengths. In the James Lewis, for the boys, the Jersey-bred No Cents got a fantastic ride from Trevor McCarthy and won by 1 1/4 lengths. Read more about their wins here and here.
SECOND STAR: MALIBU MISCHIEF. It’s one thing to win six races in a row, it’s another to win them all in gate-to-wire fashion. That’s what Malibu Mischief accomplished on Sunday afternoon. She easily cleared to the front from the outside post in the n/w3x allowance optional claiming affair, then drew off under minimal urging and won by five lengths. She covered the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.48, narrowly missing the track record. Rudy Rodriguez is the winning owner and trainer.
THIRD STAR: KIERON MAGEE. A mainstay on the Maryland circuit, Magee achieved a milestone on Friday, with his 800th career training win. Odds On held on to win race 4 by a neck, with Roimes Chirinos in the saddle. Magee was the leading trainer in Maryland from 2014 to 2016. Right now, he’s tied for ninth place in the trainer standings at Laurel, with five wins on the fall meet.

Racing at Charles Town was been suspended through November 14, after two positive COVID-19 tests in the jockey’s room. They will resume on November 19.

FIRST STAR: RUBEN SILVERA. He went on a riding tear last week, winning eight races. He pulled off riding hat tricks on back-to-back days, winning three races apiece on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday afternoon saw him win two more races. Silvera has moved into second place in the jockey standings, with 89 wins.
SECOND STAR: JAMIE NESS. Parx’s top trainer turned a hat trick on Tuesday, as part of a six-win week. He won the fifth race with Freedom Passage, with jockey Frankie Pennington, then teamed up with Silvera to win race 7 with Misdriven and race 8 with I’m Busy. Ness came close to winning four in a row, as his Starinthemaking finished second in the sixth race. Ness’s 88 wins on the year are exactly twice was many as the total of runner-up Joseph Taylor.
THIRD STAR: MYCHEL SANCHEZ. The top jockey at Parx, he not only got a hat trick on Wednesday’s card, he got a natural hat trick. He teamed up with trainer Felix Flores-Cobra on two of those wins, scoring with Dream’n Demon in race 2 and Jupi’s Lightning in the fourth race. In between, he won on Abdaa, for trainer Michael Pino, in race 3. Sanchez’s 116 wins are the most among Parx jockeys.