Always Sunshine makes the grade in Maryland Sprint

3:47 PM ET

BALTIMORE — The rapidly improving Always Sunshine scored his first graded stakes win in easy fashion at Pimlico on Saturday, taking the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint by 2-1/2 lengths.

Always Sunshine has now won four of his last five starts for trainer Ned Allard and his longtime client Gil Campbell. Frankie Pennington, the leading rider at Parx Racing, has ridden Always Sunshine in his last five races.

“He’s a special horse,” Pennington said. “In mid-stretch, after he made the lead, he switched off.”

A sloppy Pimlico track was no problem for Always Sunshine in Saturday’s Maryland Sprint Stakes. Maryland Jockey Club

Always Sunshine’s recent wins include a first-level allowance at Parx, the Dave’s Friend Stakes at Laurel Park, and a third-level optional race at Parx. His one loss during that run came to Salutos Amigos in the Grade 3 Tom Fool at Aqueduct, where Always Sunshine had to work his way through traffic in the stretch. The late-running Salutos Amigos finished fifth in the …

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