Just Too Much, bred by Dr. William J. Solomon, and Spring Quality, bred by George Strawbridge, each won an allowance race on the undercards of the Black-Eyed Susan and Preakness Stakes on May 19, 20 at Pimlico Race Track in Maryland.
Union Rags’ get apparently don’t like sloppy tracks, and that affected five of them on Oaks and Derby days, and it got Chadds Ford Stable’s Dancing Rags in the G2 Black-Eyed Susan, too.
The Black-Eyed Susan was the 11th race on the card on May 19, and it was run after a earlier downpour had soaked the track.
Dancing Rags clearly hated the sloppy going and finished ninth behind long shot winner Actress, owned by Gary and Mary West, who paid $27.50 to win.
Just Too Much Photo by Patricia McQueenHelen K. Groves Confederate, trained by Michael Matz, fared better on the muddy track in the fourth race on the same day, finishing second by ¾ length in the $52,000 Allowance Optional Claiming race for 3-year-olds to Lady Sheila Stable’s Super Dude, trained by Linda Rice.
Just Too Much, a 5-year-old bay mare trained by Lynn Ashby and ridden by Travis Wales in the 12th race, also on May 19, on a turf course graded as good, won the five furlong $52,000 Allowance for Fillies and Mares by a head.
Sycamore Lane Stable’s Just Too Much was bred by Dr. William Joseph Solomon at his Pin Oak Lane Farm and is by Pin Oak’s Coastal Storm out of Solomon’s Just Not Enough, by Sultry Song.
Coastal Storm’s stud fee now is $5,000, but at the time Just Not Enough was bred, it was $2,500, and Just Too Much has earned $87,930, averaging $6,281 per start, and delivering a very good return on the stud fee.
“Since then, Coastal Storm has sired some pretty nice runners,” said Solomon.
Just Too Much has started 14 times, with five wins, one second and five thirds.
Solomon still owns Just Not Enough, who has a yearling by Corinthian and is in foal to Lord Shanakill.
AUGUSTIN STABLE’S Spring Quality, a 5-year-old bay gelding by Quality Road out of Spring Star, by Deputy Minister, bred by George Strawbridge, won the first race on Preakness day, May 20, a 1 1/16 mile $58,465 Allowance Optional Claiming race over a muddy track.
Spring Quality, trained by Graham Motion and ridden by Trevor McCarthy, won by 1 ¾ lengths to bring his record to three wins and one second from five starts.
Spring Quality broke his maiden in his first race at Keeneland on Oct, 24, 2014, and then he didn’t race again until 2016, when he ran once.
This was his third start this year.
By the 13th race, the $1.5 million G1 Preakness Stakes, the dirt course had been upgraded to fast, with Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming going off as the favorite.
Always Dreaming and second favorite Classic Empire dueled through the backside and into the stretch, where Always Dreaming weakened to finally finish eighth of 10 horses, while Classic Empire moved alone into the lead.
But Cloud Computing, owned by Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence, trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Javier Castellano, caught Classic Empire a couple of strides from the wire to win by a head.
Cloud Computing, by Maclean’s Music out of Quick Temper, by A.P. Indy, now has two wins, a second and a third from four starts,
He didn’t run as a 2-year-old but broke his maiden in his first race on Feb. 11 at Aqueduct and then ran second to J boys Echo in the G3 Gotham Stakes on March 4 and third to Irish War Cry and Battalion Runner in the G2 Wood Memorial on April 8.
