Photo by Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club

Returning to the races after a nearly six month layoff, DATAMAN conquered a talented field in a one-mile allowance on the turf at Laurel Park. It was another Wertheimer & Frere/Jorge Ruiz collaboration; Jorge piloted their Delayed to a win at Laurel yesterday.

Track announcer Dave Rodman dropped some interesting statistics before the race. In the last 30 days, Graham had been 8/30 with turf runners, four of them winning at Laurel Park. When Dataman found a way out and kicked clear in the stretch to run down early leader Sports Editor, Rodman called “Dataman is out of traffic and into the winner’s circle!”

Dataman likes Laurel Park. He won the Henry S. Clark Stakes there on April 20, 2024 and the Bald Eagle Derby on August 13, 2023. Now 5, the gray gelding is by Tapit out of Soldata, by Maria’s Mon. It’s a been a good weekend for these connections!