Laugh Track earned his first stakes score with a determined rally to reel in champion sprinter Essence Hit Man in Sunday’s $156,000 Grade 3 Vigil Stakes, at Woodbine.
Laugh Track, trained by Mark Casse for owners Gary Barber and WinStar Farm LLC, was pinned to Essence Hit Man’s flank throughout the seven furlong ‘Poly’ stake and edged away in the shadow of the wire for a half-length score in a swift 1:21.85.
Essence Hit Man, piloted by Jesse Campbell, led the compact four-horse field out of the chute setting splits of :23.17 and :45.02 with Luis Contreras and Laugh Track stalking comfortably to the outside of Burnum.
Canada’s champion sprinter took the field through the turn and opened up at the quarter pole under urging from Campbell, but a persistent Laugh Track stayed on strong to earn the black type. Burnum held on for third.
Contreras, riding Laugh Track for the first time, was pleased with the trip he engineered for the four-year-old bay son of Distorted Humor.
“I just wanted to stay where the horse wants to be and be patient,” said Contreras. “He (Essence Hit Man) moved a little early at the quarter pole and that gave me the opportunity to close at the end.”
Laugh Track, now a four-time winner on synthetic surfaces, arrived at Woodbine off a fifth-place finish when routing in the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes, at Churchill Downs.
“We got him from Norman Casse (Mark’s son and assistant trainer) at Churchill and he said the horse had been training really well down there,” offered assistant trainer David Adams. “We targeted this race all along and thought he had a good shot.”
Laugh Track banked $94,500 in victory, while improving his record to 4-2-1 from eight career starts.
He returned $4.90 pairing with Essence Hit Man for a $6.50 (4-3) exactor. No place or show wagering was offered.
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