By Christina Bossinakis
The same trainer-jockey combination Whit Beckman and Tyler Gaffalione teaming up with GI Preakness entrant Ocelli later in Saturday's card, enjoyed a victory earlier in the day when Bring the Smoke got up just in time to take the GIII Maryland Sprint Stakes at Laurel.
The most lightly-raced 4-year-old with only three prior starts under his belt, Bring the Smoke, getting blinkers off this time, was given a 7-1 chance while stepping into black-type company for the first time in his career.
Breaking from Post 1, he was pinned back as Faster Gator (Vekoma), Faust (Volatile) and Haileysfirstnotion (Great Notion) lobbied for supremacy up front through an opening quarter in :22.08. Still biding his time as the frontrunners turned for home, Bring the Smoke was moved from the inner to an outer track by Gaffalione for the stretch run, closed on the lead with every stride and was up in time to beat Faust by a neck at the wire. Haileysfirstnotion was a neck back in third.
“Blinkers off for that reason right there,” said Beckman. “We wanted him to settle back behind the speed and not be part of the speed. It worked. It was perfect. Tyler broke evenly with them all but just didn't really hustle him up into that spot. Just kind of let him go out. And as the race developed, he did get a little keen going into the turn, and he had to kind of back him off a little bit. I didn't know if that little length was going to cost him. But turning for home, they had done enough on the front end to even things out.”
Bring the Smoke marked his belated career debut for Lacey Gaudet with a fourth over this track and trip last December before bouncing back to score by 18 1/4 lengths in the mud at this venue on Feb. 21.
Reappearing under the guidance of Beckman in a Keeneland allowance, the gelding came up 2 1/4 lengths short to Senior Officer (Into Mischief) after prompting the pace on Apr. 12.
“The last time he broke a step slow and he just kind of got a little ahead of himself that day,” explained Gaffalione. “He wanted to do a little too much early, but today, completely different. He relaxed beautifully behind those horses, and when we found room, he really responded well.”
Pedigree Notes:
Bring the Smoke is the third graded stakes winner for Preservationist, who was put down after complications from colic surgery in Korea last summer. Out of GSW Covey Tracy, Bring the Smoke has a year-younger stakes-winning brother by Beau Liam named Gambaro and an unplaced juvenile brother by Highly Motivated. The Stevie Wonderboy mare produced a filly by Happy Saver last season.
💨 #1 BRING THE SMOKE ($16.60) ran down Faust & Hailysfirstnotion in the $150,000 Maryland Sprint Stakes (G3) at @LaurelPark. @Tyler_gaff was aboard the Preservationist gelding for @DWhitBeckman.
Gaffalione & Beckman team up later today with Ocelli in the Preakness Stakes. pic.twitter.com/8W0Vo11N1G
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) May 16, 2026
Saturday, Laurel
MARYLAND SPRINT S.-GIII, $150,000, Laurel, 5-16, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:10.73, ft.
1–BRING THE SMOKE, 120, g, 4, by Preservationist
1st Dam: Covey Trace (GSW, $329,303),
by Stevie Wonderboy
2nd Dam: Anniversary, by Yankee Victor
3rd Dam: Ghazo, by Ghazi
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($37,000 Ylg
'23 KEESEP). O-Awestrike Racing, Berry Family Racing, LLC,
Legion Racing, GLAM Racing and Clarke Ohrstrom; B-Brereton
Jones (KY); T-D. Whitworth Beckman; J-Tyler Gaffalione.
$90,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-1, $146,900. Werk Nick
Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Faust, 126, c, 4, Volatile–Whistling Straits, by Scat Daddy.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($59,000 Wlg '22
KEENOV; $240,000 RNA 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-Corinne
Heiligbrodt and L. William Heiligbrodt; B-Torie Gladwell & Terri
Burns (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. $30,000.
3–Haileysfirstnotion, 120, g, 5, Great Notion–Hailey's Flip,
by Archarcharch. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Daniel C.
Crowley & Non Stop Stable (MD); T-Gary Capuano. $15,000.
Margins: NK, NK, 3 1/4. Odds: 7.30, 4.40, 3.20.
Also Ran: Celtic Contender, S S Sinatra, Slam Notion, Faster Gator. Scratched: Floodlites, Hymn. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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