Tony Eclipse gave Not This Time his 16th stakes winner of the year with an authoritative victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Maryland Juvenile S. at Laurel Park.
The last month of 2024 has started off fantastic for Not This Time, with Sacred Wish winning the Matriarch S. (G1) and Clock Tower taking the Cecil B. DeMille S. (G3), two of their sire’s nine graded winners this year, both last weekend at Del Mar.
Already twice stakes-placed, Tony Eclipse did himself one better with an excellent performance in the seven-furlong race for 2-year-olds. He was in a three-way battle for the lead on the backstretch. After securing command midway on the turn, Tony Eclipse pulled away powerfully in the stretch to give the Brittney Russell trainee her first stakes win by nearly four lengths.
“The horse broke sharp and he put me in a great spot early, and he took me basically to the wire. When I asked him in the stretch it was like he broke again from the gate. He picked it up quickly,” said winning rider Jevian Toledo. “Brittany is doing a really good job with the horse. He looks like he’s getting better every race. He galloped out after the race pretty good so he wants to go farther, for sure.”
Tony Eclipse is owned by his breeder, Stuart Grant’s The Elkstone Group LLC. The chestnut colt is now 2-1-1 in five starts and has earned $136,430.
