Copper Tax remained unbeaten from four starts at Laurel Park after rallying from just off the pace to capture the Richard W. Small Stakes for 3-year-olds and upward at 1 1/8 miles. The Small was one of two $100,000 stakes on the Saturday card. Both were originally scheduled for last Saturday, but racing at Laurel was abandoned due to concerns about the condition of the dirt track. Piloted by J. G. Torrealba, Copper Tax broke well from the rail draw and settled into the pocket as Ain’t Da Beer Cold set fractions of 24.41, 48.19, and 1:12.66 while pressed from the outside by Mosler Time. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Elephants Ear, making his first start for trainer Bruno Tessore after being purchased for $95,000 at public auction last month, joined the fray with a three-wide bid on the second turn, but Torrealba maneuvered Copper Tax to the far outside swinging into the stretch. Favored Copper Tax rode the momentum, surged to a short lead over a game Elephants Ear and maintained the advantage under the wire to score by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:52.12. Cataleya Strike finished 5 1/2 lengths back in third. Then came Mosler Time, Armando R, Magic Michael, and Ain’t Da Beer Cold. Copper Tax returned $2.80 to win. It was the fourth riding victory on the program for Torrealba, who booted home three winners on Thanksgiving Day. Trained by Gary Capuano for Rose Petal Stable, 3-year-old Copper Tax faced older horses for the first time in the Small. A multiple stakes-winner last year, Copper Tax swept through Laurel’s Private Terms and Federico Tesio this spring before finishing third in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby on June 22 and the Grade 3 Discovery in New York on Nov. 3. “He’s done everything we’ve wanted him to do,” said assistant trainer Tori Capuano. “He got out of the gate good. I was a little bit worried on the backside. He didn’t have anyplace to go, but I knew once he [got] clear, he’d give a slowly-but-surely run.” Copper Tax was bred in Kentucky by Lance Sullenberger and purchased by Gary Capuano for $45,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October yearling auction. He is by Copper Bullet out of Wilhelmina, a stakes-placed daughter of Majestic Warrior. A winner in 8 of 13 starts with lifetime earnings of $514,500, Copper Tax notched his fifth stakes victory and is expected to return to the races in 2025. Ms. Bucchero wins first stakes in Willa On the Move Horses moving from turf to dirt did very well over the wet Laurel track this week, and Ms. Bucchero benefited from that angle, notching her first stakes victory in the Willa On the Move for fillies and mares by a length over a rallying Bourbon Bon Bay. Ms. Bucchero, now 2 for 2 over wet going, displayed her usual early speed under jockey Xavier Perez. They prompted rail-drawn Silver State from the outside through an opening quarter of 22.23 seconds, took command following a half-mile split of 45.30, opened up a clear advantage in upper stretch, then just had enough in the tank to withstand Bourbon Bon Bay’s flurry. Ms. Bucchero, trained by Diane Morici, completed the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:18.53 and returned $6 to win as the second choice in the betting. Favored Malibu Beauty finished four lengths behind Bourbon Bon Bay in third. Then came Simply Stated and Mattitude. Winkiwinki scratched. Morici’s assistant, Colton Moore, admitted that there was some trepidation about this race for Ms. Bucchero as her morning training was interrupted due to the Laurel track being closed last week due to maintenance issues. “Six furlongs is at her best, so we were a little nervous for the six-and-a-half,” Moore said. “She’s a game horse. She brought her all like she usually does.” A 4-year-old filly by Bucchero, Ms. Bucchero was bred in Florida by Pamela Edel. A half-sister to stakes-winning dirt router Red Crescent, Ms. Bucchero was bought back for $45,000 as an OBS April juvenile. Ms. Bucchero made her first two starts for trainer John Vinson at Tampa Bay before being privately purchased and sent to Morici. A winner in half of her 14 starts with lifetime earnings of $264,950, Ms. Bucchero earned a stakes-placing on July 28 when second in the Alma North, also racing 6 1/2 furlongs at Laurel.  She is owned by Morici Racing Stable. The Willa On the Move was Morici’s second training win on the Friday program. Since Nov. 29, the stable connected with 7 of 19 runners. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.