Magic Weisner, a foal of 1999 bred, owned, and trained by Nancy Alberts, ran down Invent in deep stretch to score a $26.20 surprise over state-bred rivals in the $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Championship Stakes at Laurel on Monday. Invent, with a three-length advantage at the eighth pole, looked well on his way to his own upset at odds of 11-1 for owner-breeder Robert Meyerhoff and trainer Buddy Delp, but he was unable to withstand the winner's strong closing charge and was beaten a half-length. War Native, the 1-2 favorite, finished third, another 3 3/4 lengths back.
Phillip A. Teator guided Magic Weisner to the win, accomplished in 1:54.10 for nine furlongs on a fast track. The winner (listed by Equibase and The Jockey Club Information Systems as a colt but by the Laurel publicity department as a gelding) is by the Carnivalay stallion Ameri Valay and is out of the Bold Forbes mare, Jazema, whose only previous foal is Magic Weisner's stakes-placed full brother, Deliver Hope.
Move Those Chains set a moderate early pace, but favored War Native moved toward the lead the around the far turn. War Native, a Cherokee Run colt who had never raced farther than the seven furlongs of the Rollicking Staked he won in November, was unable to get a clear advantage. Invent, meanwhile, was circling the field from last under Mark Johnston, and among those he passed on the turn for home was Magic Weisner, who steadied while awaiting room. Once Invent cleared him, Teator put Magic Weisner into a full drive and he was up in time for the win, his third in six starts. This was his stakes debut. Magic Weisner was coming off an allowance win at 1 1/16 miles in the slop at Laurel.
Teator said, "We were breaking from the outside and I wanted to save as much ground as I could around the first turn. I had to angle out a little farther than what I wanted to do, but at the top of the lane I was where I wanted to be, bearing down on the horse on the lead...He really kicked in from the eighth pole home." (Chart,
href="http://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbChartResultsDisplay
.cfm?TRK=LRL&CY=USA&DATE=12/31/2001&STYLE=EQB"target=
_blank">Equibase)
