Antonios Mark rolls to impressive score in McDonald Handicap
Antonios Mark proved much the best in Saturday’s $75,000 O.D. McDonald Handicap at Albuquerque Downs, winning by 4 1/4 lengths under jockey Alfredo Juarez, Jr.
Owned by Andy Banegas and trained by Dominic Duree, the 5-year-old New Mexico-bred son of Marking dueled for the lead down the backstretch to the outside of Ar Ya Weegee and Marking Canyon. Those three raced alongside each other through the far turn before Juarez found an added gear aboard Antonios Mark. The pair opened their lead passing the final furlong pole on their way to a decisive win as the 9-to-5 post time favorite.
Bred by Fred Alexander, Antonios Mark crossed the finish line in a time of 1 minute, 21.35 seconds for seven furlongs, giving him his eighth win from 29 career starts. The winner’s share of the purse increases Antonios Mark’s lifetime earnings to more than $415,000.
Antonios Mark has now won three in a row, coming off a dominant score in the Casey Darnell Stakes over this course on Oct. 4. He has won three times in six starts at Albuquerque Downs.
Out of the Lawyer Ron mare Bekat Bekat, Antonios Mark is one of several recent stakes winners by the impressive stallion Marking. A three-time winner and earner of more than $426,000 on the racetrack, Marking has sired a number of stakes winners including New Mexico State Fair TB Futurity winner Speed Merchant, as well as multiple stakes winner Slammed, who won four stakes races in New Mexico in 2021 including the Peppers Pride NM Classic Cup before capturing the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland in 2022.
Marking, a son of Bernardini, currently stands at A & A Ranch. Antonios Mark paid $5.60 to his winning backers. The $2 exacta with runnerup Marking Canyon returned $18. Dave’s Enchantment finished third while Ar Ya Weegee rounded out the top four finishers. Spinning Black was scratched from the race, leaving the O.D. McDonald Stakes to a field of five.