Amundson will try for a Hollie Hughes repeat on Presidents Day

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following Sunday’s card, there will be four consecutive dark days in advance of a four-day race week beginning Friday and culminating with a Presidents Day Monday card.

The feature on the Feb. 15 card will be the $100,000 Hollie Hughes Stakes for New York-bred male sprinters. Amundson is pointing to a repeat in that race for trainer Horacio DePaz and owner Barry Schwartz. Schwartz has won the Hollie Hughes five times, including 2003-05 with Papua.

Amundson won the Hollie Hughes as a 15-1 longshot last Feb. 17. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down racing and prevented him from running until June. After solid efforts, albeit losses, in open-company allowance races at Belmont, Amundson finished last of seven as the favorite in the John Morrissey Stakes on July 30 at Saratoga.

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“During COVID he stayed in training, he had been in training since he was a 2-year-old, so after that race – there were no issues – we decided to just mentally give him a break,” DePaz said.

Meanwhile, DePaz said Sharp Starr, winner of the Grade 3 Go for Wand and runner-up in the La Verdad at Aqueduct, is being pointed to next Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel.