Trainer Graham Motion, who collected his first victory at Laurel Park in 1993, earned win number 1,000 Thursday at the Maryland track as well when Lucky Bachelor ($3.80) captured the eighth race. Two races earlier the Fair Hill based conditioner saddled career winner 999 when Everyman ($5.20) reached the finish line first.The 42-year-old conditioner met Lucky Bachelor, a 3-year-old son of Private Vow, jockey Ramon Dominguez and assistant Adrian Rolls back at the paddock where the winner photos were taken because of inclement weather after the seven-furlong test.
"It was nice to have it happen here," said Motion, who won his first race at Laurel with Bounding Daisy. "It is pretty nostalgic because this is where I started. I was actually driving around the backside earlier on and went by my old barn. It was nice to do it here with Adrian who has been with me since the start. It is not something you aim for but it is neat to do it. I have had backing of some tremendous owners throughout the years and the owners that got me started were right here in Maryland." Motion finished in the top 10 in the Maryland standings for seven straight years (1995-2001). He is now among the elite trainers in the nation, winning grade I races with Film Maker and Better Talk Now.(Chart, Equibase)
