LAUREL, MD – Post Time is the best racehorse based in the Mid-Atlantic today. He’s one of the better older dirt horses in the country. That’s why it came as a surprise that Post Time ran Saturday in Laurel Park’s $100,000 Polynesian Stakes for 3-year-olds and upward at a one-turn mile instead of a race like the $300,000 Parx Dirt Mile next week at Parx Racing, or the Grade 3, $400,000 Ack Ack Handicap at Churchill on Sept. 28. After a runner-up effort to National Treasure in the Metropolitan Handicap followed by a third-place finish in the Whitney, both prestigious Grade 1 races at Saratoga, trainer Brittany Russell said earlier in the week that she wanted to get Post Time’s confidence back in top shape by facing easier competition. Mission accomplished. Sent off as an overwhelming favorite, Post Time drilled his four overmatched foes by 11 1/2 lengths under jockey Sheldon Russell. He completed the distance in 1:36.98 and returned $2.10 across the board. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. “That was good,” Brittany Russell said. “I asked Sheldon to make him [gallop out] around that turn to make sure he got a little more out of it. That was what we came here to accomplish. He enjoyed himself.” Post Time can be a bit of a rogue at times, but he behaved himself like a proper gentleman in the paddock before skipping the post parade to get down to business. “He’s really classy,” Russell added. “He still goes out last and breaks post because he’s colt-y. We’re just avoiding any problems [by skipping the post parade]. He hasn’t been a problem in a long, long time.” Post Time broke last in the Polynesian, but there was pace for him to attack as uncoupled stablemate Frightland and multiple stakes winner Ain’t Da Beer Cold contested fractions of 23.80 and 47.03 seconds over the fast track. Post Time saved ground on the backstretch and made a three-wide bid on the turn in tandem with a wider Debit Card, who briefly loomed a threat turning into the long Laurel stretch. Sheldon Russell clucked to Post Time and the race was soon decided with the 4-year-old Frosted colt drawing away with every stride. Curlin’s Malibu, the biggest price on the tote at 39-1, got up for second with a tired Debit Card another 1 1/2 lengths back in third. Frightland and Ain’t Da Beer Cold completed the order of finish. Riccio scratched. The versatile Post Time won both the Grade 3 General George and Grade 2 Carter Handicap earlier this year at seven furlongs, and certainly acquitted himself with merit in the nine-furlong Whitney. The Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile seems like a very logical year-end goal, but Brittany Russell will discuss it with Post Time’s owner, Ellen Charles, before committing to the next race. *All Along Stakes “She’s a really nice filly,” Graham Motion said after favored No Show Sammy Jo ($3) captured the $100,000 All Along Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf. “She does things so easily.” No Show Sammy Jo’s tactical speed is one of her best assets, and she worked out a picture-perfect pace-tracking, ground-saving trip under Jorge Ruiz to best late-kicking Atomic Blonde by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:47.54 over the firm turf course. A 4-year-old filly by Lope de Vega, No Show Sammy Jo has now won her last four starts. Motion wanted to race her during the boutique Saratoga meet, but was forced to withdraw when races were rained off the turf. “We got really messed up,” Motion added. “After I scratched her twice, she got a little temperature, so we missed the next race. It hasn’t been ideal.” Cut From Class cut the pace in the All Along, and she set uncontested fractions of 24.10, 48.55 and 1:12.68 before No Show Sammy Jo confronted her in upper stretch. No Show Sammy Jo soon assumed the lead, and she stayed nicely to her task to deny Group 3 winner Atomic Blonde, who settled in last early, followed Cut From Class’s inside move on the second turn, then finished willingly inside the winner at a distance that might have been a hair short. Circle Home was third, a neck behind the runner-up. Then came Cut From Class, For Flying, She’s Dancing and Blood Orange. Main Track Only entrant Malibu Beauty scratched. Motion mentioned that he feels No Show Sammy Jo “will go a little farther,” but doesn’t have a next race in mind. Bred in Great Britain by Fittocks Stud and St Albans Bloodstock, No Show Sammy Jo was purchased overseas for approximately $214,000 as a yearling, and races for Bridlewood Farm and Madaket Stable. *Sensible Lady Turf Dash The “other” Christophe Clement-trained runner took the $100,000 Sensible Lady Turf Dash for fillies and mares at six furlongs on turf when Loon Cry rallied from behind under Mychel Sanchez. Both Loon Cry ($10.80) and her favored stablemate, Love Appeals, entered the Sensible Lady on two-race win streaks, but it was the former that earned the hat trick. The pace didn’t seem very fast as All That Magic and Shoshanah stepped the opening quarter in 23.34 seconds. Loon Cry settled in ninth position in the 10-horse field, gradually tipped out into the lane and finished well to deny the Motion-trained Queen of the Mud by a length in 1:08.44. Love Appeals was another three-quarters behind in third with Hay Stack, All That Magic, Blame Day, L Street Lady, Shoshanah, Ms. Bucchero and Anaita rounding out the placings. Alla Breve, Carolina Hideaway and Isabel Alexandra scratched. “She gave me a really good feeling all the way around,” Sanchez said. “Strong, good, confident. I got a good break, saved ground around the turn. When I went out, she really kicked on. She closed strong.” Assistant trainer Ed Haney thought that Love Appeals was “too close” to the pace. “For me, I think this track favors closers.” Haney believes that added confidence is one of the reasons for Loon Cry’s improvement this year. The 4-year-old filly has won all three turf starts this season. Foaled in New York, Loon Cry is a homebred owned by Waterville Lake Stables. By More Than Ready, Loon Cry has scored half of her 14 lifetime starts for earnings of $409,999. She notched her first stakes victory last month in Woodbine’s Sweet Briar Too Stakes, also at six furlongs. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.