The pre-race buzz at Gulfstream included Brittany Russell's Post Time...at Laurel! That speaks volumes. The horse is ridden by a jockey who gallops in the mornings and is 3-for-3 this year.
Russell won the opener today with her husband returning from injury and riding L Street Lady who looks like another star for her stable.
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And now the DRF has an article:
Post Time remained unbeaten from three starts after a dazzling last-to-first victory on Saturday in Laurel Park’s Maryland Juvenile.
www.drf.com
LAUREL, MD. - Post Time remained unbeaten from three starts after a dazzling last-to-first victory on Saturday in Laurel Park’s Maryland Juvenile.
The Maryland Juvenile was co-featured along with the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship. Both stakes were restricted to Maryland-bred or -sired 2-year-olds and run at seven furlongs over a sloppy main track.
Trained by Brittany Russell for octogenarian Ellen Charles’ Hillwood Stable, Post Time broke a bit slow from the inside post and settled in last as Maryland Million Nursery winner Johnyz From Albany set fractions of 22.76 and 45.81 while lightly pushed from the outside by Coffeewithchris.
Johnyz From Albany dispatched Coffeewithchris late on the turn and opened a two-length advantage, but Post Time was in full flight on the outside under jockey Eric Camacho.
Post Time swept past Johnyz From Albany inside the three-sixteenths pole and jaunted home under a mere hands-and-heels urging to win by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:23.98 seconds.
Johnyz From Albany was second by the same margin over Coffeewithchris. Tiz No Clown was fourth followed by Feeling Woozy, California Ghost and Tidewater.
Post Time, a son of Frosted out of stakes-winner Vielsalm, returned $4.00 as the betting favorite.
“That was a wow,” Russell said. “I was watching the move on the turn and wondering if he could keep going. He cruises. He just does things so easy. It’s amazing.”
Earlier this week, Russell told
Daily Racing Form that the immature Post Time “has a little bit of a funny brain,” but the gray colt was far more professional on Saturday than in his prior two starts.
Russell is looking forward to stretching Post Time out in distance and mentioned the early 3-year-old series of stakes races in Maryland and New York as potential options.
Post Time’s story wouldn’t be complete without discussing Camacho, who won 785 races between 2004 and 2016, including graded stakes at Gulfstream Park and Churchill Downs. Camacho now works as an exercise rider for Russell. Post Time is the only horse he has ridden in 2022.
“Life throws you curveballs,” Camacho said. “I was getting a little sour with it in 2016 towards the end. Opportunities were becoming less and less, so I had to figure out what to do with the rest of my life.”
Camacho worked as an assistant to trainers Tom Morley, John Robb, and Jeremiah O’Dwyer before becoming Russell’s main breeze rider.
“I think becoming an exercise rider really made me learn a lot about these horses,” Camacho said. “I wish I rode a little bit more because I’d be a little more polished, but when you have a horse like this, you don’t need to be polished.”
When asked whether a full-time return to the saddle is in the works, Camacho replied, “Right now, I’m obligated to Brittany. I work for her. I’m lucky they’ve given me this chance and had all the confidence in me to get the job done. This is big-time.”
