Joe displayed tenacity and class at Laurel Park on Saturday when beating back stablemate Mr Jefferson’s strong stretch challenge in the $125,000 Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds. The 1 1/8-mile Tesio was one of four stakes, along with the Weber City Miss, for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles, the Heavenly Cause at one mile for fillies and mares, and the Frank Y. Whiteley for 3-year-olds and up at seven furlongs. Favored Joe ($4.80) prompted a reasonable but pressured pace (24.94, 49.63 seconds) under jockey Victor Carrasco while in between rail-skimming Vine Jet and a three-wide Secret Alliance. Vine Jet faded on the second turn. That left Joe and Secret Alliance to complete six furlongs in 1:14.58 with Smarten Up looming outside of them in third. Joe cut the corner turning for home, put away Secret Alliance and Smarten Up, then braced for Mr Jefferson’s late bid. Mr Jefferson had all the momentum and might have poked a head in front, but Joe wasn’t down for the count. Characteristically late to change leads, he dug in along the rail and fought on to prevail by a head in 1:52.30. Mr Jefferson was five lengths clear of Shake Em Loose in third. Then came Smarten Up, Secret Alliance, South Street, Noneedtoworry, Baltimore Bulleit and Vine Jet. Joe finished fifth in his career debut traveling 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Laurel on Oct. 24, then reeled off three consecutive victories including the Maryland Juvenile Championship.   Joe won his 3-year-old debut, a first-level allowance with a $62,500 claiming option, on Jan. 23, then finished second to Shake Em Loose in the Private Terms Stakes on March 19. The Tesio offers a guaranteed berth into the Preakness Stakes, but Joe isn’t currently nominated to the Triple Crown series. He can become eligible to compete with a supplemental nomination payment of $150,000 at entry time. Joe was bred in Maryland by his owner, Stuart Grant’s The Elkstone Group. He is by Declaration of War out of Battle Bridge (by Arch) and is a half-brother to Grade 3-placed turf router Irony of Reality. When asked in a post-race telephone interview whether Joe would be considered for the Preakness, trainer Michael Trombetta responded affirmatively. “Sure, there’s a chance. We’ll see how he comes out of this thing, and we’ll be having some conversations with Stuart next week.” Heavenly Cause Earlier in the week, trainer Michael Stidham told Daily Racing Form that “fitness-wise is no problem” for Pennybaker. Stidham was spot-on in his assessment as the 4-year-old filly overcame a 117-day layoff to easily win her North American debut in the $100,000 Heavenly Cause Stakes. A homebred owned by Godolphin, Pennybaker ($8.80) made six unsuccessful starts on turf in France before being transferred to synthetic surfaces. She won her final four races in 2021 on the All-Weather culminating with a “ridden out” victory in the Prix Miss Satamixa at Deauville on Dec. 20. Considering her pedigree – she is a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro out of a full sister to multiple Grade 1 dirt winner Frosted – it was a no-brainer to send her to America to try dirt racing and she passed the test with flying colors. Piloted by Jevian Toledo, Pennybaker broke well and settled in a comfortable three-wide pacetracking position as Shalimar Gardens and favored Fille d’Esprit pushed splits of 23.54 and 46.85 seconds. “She positioned herself with him [Toledo] not having to do much,” Stidham said in a telephone interview after the Heavenly Cause. “At the half-mile pole, I’m thinking to myself that it has to be an awfully good feeling for a rider to be getting pulled to the leaders without even asking.” Pennybaker traveled sweetly and looked a winner every step of the way. She confronted Fille d’Esprit in earnest after six furlongs in 1:11.65, soon made the front and streaked home to win by 6 3/4 lengths in 1:37.39. The Heavenly Cause was Toledo’s third winner on the card. Fille d’Esprit was second-best by 1 3/4 lengths over Moma Tiger. It was a nose back to Shalimar Gardens in fourth. Rounding out the field were Primacy, Flight to Shanghai, Artful Splatter, Miss Leslie, Sharp Starr, Sweet Willemina, Finding Fame and Hashtag Lucky. Stidham mentioned that although there is nothing specific in mind for Pennybaker’s next start, “we want to take another step up and look at some Grade 2s and Grade 3s.” Frank Y. Whiteley Disco Pharoah hinted at stakes potential when he won a maiden special weight by 19 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct on the Gotham Saturday undercard. The 4-year-old confirmed that promise with a convincing victory over seven other sprinters in the $100,000 Frank Y. Whiteley, the first race in the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series that continues with races at Laurel, Colonial Downs, and Penn National before finishing up on Oct.3 at Parx Racing. Trained by Ray Handal for Perrine Time Thoroughbreds and Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, favored Disco Pharoah ($7.60), a supplemental nomination, tracked the pace three wide as Borracho and War Tocsin contested fractions of 22.51 and 45.34. Jockey Jevian Toledo pushed the button on the turn and Disco Pharoah responded. They made the lead turning for home and drove home to score by 3 1/4 lengths in 1:23.64 seconds. Mohaafeth nosed out Threes Over Deuces for second. Then came Youngest of Five, War Tocsin, Sir Alfred James and Borracho. American Patrol scratched. In a telephone interview after the race, Handal said that Disco Pharoah “always tipped his hand that he was a talented horse.” After a fourth-place finish in his career debut at Aqueduct on Nov. 11, Handal mentioned he had a “little trouble getting him into the entry box in New York” so he sent the gelding to Turfway Park for a runner-up effort over Polytrack on Dec. 12. “I don’t even think he was enjoying himself on the synthetic," Handal said. "He still put in a big run for his second time out.” Handal noted that Disco Pharoah then “developed a quarter crack” that forced him to miss some time before his maiden victory on March 5. “He put it all together the day he broke his maiden, and the lightbulb has just been on,” Handal said. Handal wanted to run Disco Pharoah in an allowance race in New York, but when that race didn’t fill, he looked for the Frank Y. Whiteley. “A stake isn’t ideal with a horse that just broke the maiden," Handal added. "But with a horse that’s talented that shows you as much as he has in the morning, you go in with some confidence.” Disco Pharoah is by Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner American Pharoah, and is a half-brother to Grade 3 synthetic winners Miss Mo Mentum and Lookin for Eight. Disco Pharoah sold for $300,000 as a weanling, was a $300,000 RNA as a yearling and sold for $225,000 as a 2-year-old in training. According to Handal, Disco Pharoah might next appear in the Grade 3 Runhappy Stakes at six furlongs on May 14 at Belmont Park. Weber City Miss Luna Belle earned her fifth consecutive stakes victory with a facile triumph in the $125,000 Weber City Miss Stakes, a "Win and You're In" for the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico on May 20. The Weber City Miss was Luna Belle's first start around two turns, and she handled it with no fuss. Ridden by Denis Araujo, heavily favored Luna Belle ($2.20) raced in fifth position as Chardonnay set the pace while hounded by Zawish through fractions of 24.31 and 47.85. Luna Belle saved ground entering the far bend and then split rivals with a three-wide burst after six furlongs in 1:12.19. She took the lead four paths off the rail turning into the stretch and spurted clear to win by 4 1/2 lengths in 1:45.44. Khuluq finished second with Click to Confirm another 3 3/4 lengths back in third. They were followed home by Chardonnay, Zawish and Abidale. Luna Belle began her current winning streak in her final start of 2021, the Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship on Dec. 18. She won that seven-furlong race by 2 3/4 lengths with a 78 Beyer. Since then, Luna Belle has raced, and won, like clockwork. She grabbed the Xtra Heat by six lengths at six furlongs on Jan. 29, captured the Wide Country at seven furlongs on Feb. 19 by three lengths and won the Beyond the Wire Stakes going a mile on March 19. A homebred daughter of Great Notion out of stakes-placed Heavenly Moon, Luna Belle is owned by Deborah Greene and winning trainer Hamilton Smith. Luna Belle is the fourth blacktype earner out of the mare and has won 6 of 11 starts for earnings of $381,570. In a telephone interview after the race, Smith confirmed that Luna Belle will point to the Black-Eyed Susan.