After a picture-perfect debut win, Pascaline was just as smooth moving into stakes company on Saturday, prevailing by two lengths in the $150,000 Laurel Futurity.
A West Virginia-bred who changed hands twice in Kentucky and again in England, Pascaline has had a lot thrown at him for a 2-year-old colt and has been absolutely unfazed, launching his career in ideal fashion with two impressive wins for trainer Arnaud Delacour and jockey Victor Carrasco. Story on his debut win at Colonial
A delighted Carrasco referred to Pascaline as a “monster” in the winner’s circle.
Arnaud pulled the strings precisely with an assist from remnants of Hurricane Helene: he entered the colt for main-track only, which is exactly what played out as Laurel was off the turf all day Saturday. Delacour is based at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland.
The colt found a good, forward position in third early and took command coming into the stretch.
Delacour said, “Obviously a one-turn mile is a bit of a testing distance for just his second race, but I thought he handled everything well. He just sat quietly there and came with a run at the right time.”
While scheduled for turf, the Laurel Futurity has a storied history on the road to the Kentucky Derby, producing Triple Crown heroes Citation, Affirmed and Secretariat, along with Derby winners Morvich, Riva Ridge, Spectacular Bid and Barbaro.
Laurel recap with comments from West Point’s Tom Bellhouse