(Chart, Equibase)
King Leatherbury's pursuit to become the third trainer in history to saddle 6,000 winners will have to wait until at least Thursday as none of his three starters on Saturday's 10-race card was able to visit the winners' circle.In the opener Private Cat was second as they turned for home, but weakened to third. Two races later Kharkov Lady never threatened and finished fifth in a 12-horse field. In the finale Flo finished off the board."I'm a little disappointed," said Mark Johnston, who rode all three horses. "I thought we'd get it today and it would have been great since Leather is having a party tomorrow. It would have been nice to beat the deadline, but 5,999 wins are something to celebrate. It seems like right when you get close to milestones it gets hard to get to them. Everyone's rooting for you and there is a great deal of excitement at the track. We'll get there."The Maryland mainstay will not saddle a horse Sunday or Wednesday. His next scheduled starter will be on Thursday when he saddles Wind Kiss in the 4th race. Clark and Heyman's Crossing Point broke with the pack but quickly squirted away and was never challenged in winning Saturday's $50,000 Dave's Friend Stakes at Laurel Park. Crossing Point completed the six furlongs in 1:09.75, holding Take Achance On Me safe by three-quarters of a length. Even money favorite Deer Run finished third. Highly regarded Pioneer Boy pulled up during the race. His injury is suspected to be a pulled suspensory ligament in the left front ankle.Mario Pino rode the winner for trainer Ben Feliciano Jr, who also won a stakes this afternoon at Mountaineer Park with Baby Shark and another race here at Laurel Park. Crossing Point paid $10.80. The 2-3 exacta paid $52.
