By Dick Jerardi
When you drop a claim slip, you never really know how it is going to turn out. And it’s one thing to claim a horse for $5,000, quite another to see $50,000 or $55,000 disappear from your account as a new horse enters the barn.
Well, less than 2 hours apart Saturday at Laurel Park, two high-prices claims that had already been good turned out even better with stakes wins for Parx-based horses.
Jeremy Sussman, Ten Strike Racing and Cory Moelis Racing claimed Boutwell Time for $50,000 on Sept. 13, 2024. She won not long after the claim, but then was badly beaten in her next three starts. After relocating to Parx with trainer Carlos Guerrero, Boutwell Time turned a corner last fall and, after winning the $100,000 Heavenly Cause for her fourth straight win overall and second straight stakes win, that $50,000 looks like money really well spent.
“The horse had good back form and good breeding,” Marshall Gramm of Ten Strike said. “That was the logic (behind the claim). It seemed like they were giving up a little early.”
Super C Racing and Jagger Inc, claimed Wild Vine for $55,000 on Feb, 28, 2025 at Laurel. The horse has not run a bad race since and just won his first stakes when blowing away the field to win the $100,000 Native Dancer by 6 1/2 lengths. As Jagger, Inc. is Ness’s own stable, this one is extra special as the trainer owns 50 percent of the horse.
Boutwell Time won the Mrs. Claus on New Year’s Eve at Parx after two runaway wins in optional claimers. Saturday, the 4-year-old filly chased 4-5 favorite Complexity Jane for much of the 1-mile race and then blew by her in the stretch to win by a comfortable 4 lengths.
“Once they turned for home, she made up a lot of ground, finished well, galloped out well” Gramm said. “We’re excited about her.”
By star stallion Not This Time, Boutwell Time could have a future as a broodmare after her racing career ends. Meanwhile, she has earned $131,400 during her win streak. At the time, Gramm would not have been terribly disappointed if somebody had put up the $25,000 when she was in for that price on Oct. 27, 2025. Now, of course, he is thrilled that nobody did and not just because of the winning streak.
Gramm and Guerrero, who is 77 wins from 1,000, have had some great success together at Parx. Boutwell Time, a two-time stakes winner now, has reached a rare level of consistency and certainly does not look like she is finishing winning. Next out, they plan to take a big shot, likely the May 9 $200,000 Grade II Ruffian at Aqueduct to see if they can get her graded stakes placed and improve her value as a potential broodmare.
Ness has made some great claims in his career. Wild Vine would definitely qualify as one of his best.
“He’s been pretty good,” Ness understated “and the best thing is he’s kind of getting better. That’s the thing, you don’t see 7-year-olds, he ran a 97 Beyer the other day. He ran his career best back to back at 7. For whatever reason, he’s getting better, I don’t know what the deal is with that horse.”
So why put up all that money for a then 6-year-old?
“We claimed him at Laurel and he’s a Pa Bred and we run here,” Ness said. “If he would have been anything else bred other than Pa. I probably wouldn’t have looked at him.”
Ness mentioned the speed figures and the consistency. Since the claim, Wild Vine has run 10 times with 5 wins, 2 seconds and 3 thirds. Since the claim, the Beyers are: 90, 91, 93, 93, 93, 81, 88, 87, 95, and 97. With the help of Pa. bred bonus money, Wild Vine has earned $315,170 since the claim.
“Some horses after you claim really do good, some of them stay the same, some drop off,” Ness said. “For him to be 7 and getting better and better, it’s kind of an odd deal.”
It might be odd, but it is quite real, so real that Ness is strongly considering the May 15 $250,000 Grade III Pimlico Special at Laurel the day before the Preakness as the horse’s next start.
“Six weeks, that’s good timing,” Ness said. “If everything goes right, which is rarely ever does, we’d kind of like to give that a shot.”
Ness is 40 wins from becoming the ninth trainer in history with 5,000 wins. The vast majority of his wins have come in claiming races.
But he’s had a few horses (Repo Rocks, Magic Michael) in recent years good enough to win graded stakes races. Wild Vine could very well be good enough to win one, too.
