Asmussen youngsters beginning to come on

Untapable and Tapiture, the big, established older horses in the Steve Asmussen barn, are galloping along toward their 2015 debuts, and his 3-year-old stakes prospects are starting to take shape.

On Saturday, Asmussen sent out one of the most impressive winners of the Fair Grounds meet, the second-time-starting 3-year-old filly Shook Up. She won a two-turn maiden race by 13 1/2 lengths, with her time of 1:44.42 for one mile and 70 yards over a muddy, sealed track producing a Beyer Speed Figure of 94. And on Monday, Asmussen worked a trio of 3-year-old colts – Tiznow R J, Cinco Charlie, and Bayerd – who are bound for stakes.

Untapable, a cinch to be named champion 3-year-old filly of 2014, is in her third week of training since arriving at Fair Grounds following a brief respite on a Kentucky farm after her Breeders’ Cup Distaff win. Asmussen said Untapable is “galloping nicely,” but that no firm plans have been made for her first race back.

“It will be three weeks before she’ll breeze,” Asmussen said Monday. “We’re going to come back nice and slow with her. There’s no rush now. We’re looking at the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and working back from there.”

Tapiture, just below the very top of a strong 3-year-old class of 2014, and second to Goldencents in the BC Dirt Mile in his 2014 swan song, also is coming along straightforwardly.

“It’s reasonable to think we’ll run him in mid-March,” Asmussen said.

Cinco Charlie, who won the Sugar Bowl at Fair Grounds last out, and Bayerd, who won the Springboard Mile at Remington Park, worked in company Monday, going five furlongs in 1:02. Bayerd is a likely starter in the Jan. 19 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park. Cinco Charlie, who has only sprinted, is likely to go two turns when he next races.

Tiznow R J, who romped Dec. 11 in his first try around two turns, went six furlongs in 1:13.40 in his last major work for the Jan. 17 Lecomte here.

“I did more with him,” Asmussen said. “He’s a little different version than those other two.”

And finally, Shook Up made a great impression Saturday in her second start, pressing the pace, then taking over with a smooth, sharp move before the three-furlong marker and going on to a blowout victory. Shook Up, a daughter of Tapit and the Grade 1 stakes winner Sugar Shake, didn’t break well and got into traffic trouble while finishing second at Churchill in her debut, which came at seven furlongs.

“We weren’t disappointed with her first race, and she trained very nicely since,” Asmussen said. “She does have that kind of talent to blow them off their feet.”

Nothing has been decided, but Shook Up could make her stakes debut in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes here Feb. 21. That’s the race Untapable won before capturing the Fair Grounds Oaks and the Kentucky Oaks.