Mopo produced the sharpest result of her career at Laurel Park, digging in under Forest Boyce to land the $100,000 Jameela Stakes and give Mopo Racing a first stakes success.
The Maryland-bred daughter of Great Notion came into Saturday’s six-furlong turf contest with the look of a filly beginning to understand her job, and she backed that up when it mattered. Sent off odds-on, she was not handed the race, but she had enough class and resolve to repel Gift of Gab in the closing stages.
It was another useful result on a productive Laurel card, coming two races before Witty became a millionaire in the Ben’s Cat Stakes and giving Maryland’s restricted turf-sprint programme a second strong storyline on the afternoon.
Mopo Finds More In The Final Furlong
Malibu Hooch and Big Earn helped force the pace through the early stages, with Mopo settled just behind the first wave before Boyce angled her into contention. Gift of Gab briefly looked a serious threat in upper stretch, but Mopo came again when the pressure arrived and edged clear late.
She completed the six furlongs on firm turf in 1:08.50, beating Gift of Gab by half a length. Big Earn finished another two and a half lengths away in third, with Boujee Bubblez, Sporting Lady, Malibu Hooch and Gold Digging Broad behind them. Conquerthosewecan was scratched.
The result continued a stronger recent pattern for Mopo, who had won a restricted allowance at Laurel in May before finishing second in open allowance company earlier this month. The Jameela was her third win from 12 starts, and her first at stakes level.
Capuano Filly Rewards Patient Handling
Trainer Phil Capuano has seen enough from Mopo this season to believe her game is still broadening rather than narrowing. Her latest win came sprinting on turf, but the way she has finished her races leaves the door open for another try over further when the right spot appears.
That matters because this was not merely a case of a filly finding a soft restricted race. Mopo had to travel, quicken, meet a rival, and then find again. For a horse who spent much of the early part of her career filling the runner-up spot, the manner of the victory was as encouraging as the bare margin.
Capuano’s family has deep roots in Maryland racing, and this win sits neatly alongside a local circuit that has had plenty to discuss in recent weeks, from Isivunguvungu’s Laurel Park comeback to the wider future of the state’s racing programme.
Maryland Turf Sprint Form Gets Another Marker
The Jameela is restricted to Maryland- and Virginia-bred or -sired fillies and mares, but it still carried proper competitive value. Laurel’s turf sprints have been producing hardened, seasoned runners, and Mopo now has a stakes win to sit beside her improving recent profile.
The obvious next step, according to the post-race reports, is a possible move toward the Peach Blossom, a Delaware-restricted allowance over seven and a half furlongs at Delaware Park on July 25. That would ask a different question, but Mopo’s closing effort at Laurel gave her connections reason to think stamina will not be the immediate problem.
For Mopo Racing, the result was a landmark. For Boyce and Capuano, it was a well-judged local stakes win. And for Laurel Park, still central to the Maryland season after a spring in which the Preakness Stakes put the track under a national spotlight, it was another reminder that the circuit’s own horses can still provide the day’s best theatre.
Sources: Paulick Report / Maryland Jockey Club; The Racing Biz.
