Bigger Picture seeks three-peat in Connally Turf Cup

Have marathoner, will travel.

That could be the unofficial mantra of trainer Mike Maker, who will be looking to win the Grade 3, $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup for the seventh time – and sixth time in a row – on Sunday at Sam Houston Race Park. Maker has tabbed Bigger Picture, a Grade 1 winner who has won the last two runnings of the 1 1/2-mile race for 4-year-olds and up, and Markitoff for the trip from Florida.

“We have plenty of marathon horses, and this time of year, you don’t have a lot of options to separate them,” Maker said. “This is a nice purse, and we like going to Sam Houston.”

Bigger Picture is the favorite in a field of nine for the Connally. The group includes Some in Tieme, the runner-up in this race a year ago, and Cooptado, a Group 1 winner in his native Argentina who like Bigger Picture has compiled more than $1 million in career earnings.

The Connally is one of six stakes on a card that also features the Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic. There is a special first post of 1 p.m. Central.

The Connally was first run in 1995, and just one horse, Candid Glen, has won the race three times, from 2001-03. Bigger Picture, an 8-year-old who races for Three Diamonds Farm, has a good chance to tie the record. He enters off a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup, a 1 1/2-mile race in which he was beaten a neck by the late-running Chicago Style on Nov. 23 at Del Mar.

“It was a tough one to lose,” said Maker. “I thought we were a winner, and we just got nailed.

“After the race in California, we freshened him up, and he’s come back as good as ever.”

Jose Ortiz, who was aboard Bigger Picture for his two wins in the Connally, has the mount from post 4.

Maker has won the Connally more times than any other trainer.

Some in Tieme will be making his first start for trainer Efren Loza Jr. after one of his owners, Amancio Alonso, bought a controlling interest in the horse, who also will continue to race for longtime owners Some In Time Inc.

“I just got the horse in December,” Loza said. “We decided to run here because he ran a pretty good race last year and he’s training well. We decided to take a chance here again.”

Some in Tieme will add blinkers for Sunday.

“Just to keep him more focused,” Loza said. “He’s a little bit lazy in the morning, and when I put the blinkers on, he looks more sharp, more competitive. He’s an older horse, but maybe it will help a little bit. His last breeze was with the blinkers, and it was a really good breeze.”

Some in Tieme worked five furlongs around the dogs on the Palm Meadows training center turf course in Florida on Jan. 14, going in 1:00.40. Manny Cruz was aboard and has the mount from post 6.

“I think with the blinkers, he’ll be a little more sharp, sit closer behind the leaders,” said Loza.

Some in Tieme flew into Houston last week, said Loza.

Hogy back for Turf Sprint

Hogy rallied from off the pace for a 2 1/4-length victory in the $75,000 Frontier Utilities Turf Sprint last year at the age of 9. He’s back to defend his title in the five-furlong race, his third straight appearance in the stakes, having finishing a troubled second by a head in 2017.

“Hogy had a great setup last year, ran a strong race,” said Maker, his trainer. “He’s doing well.”

Hogy is a 19-time winner who has earned more than $1.3 million. He races for Michael Hui and like last year will be ridden by Ortiz.

A field of 10 was entered in the Turf Sprint, including stakes winners Perfect to Please and Wings Locked Up and the sharp invaders Adonis Creed and American Sailor.

◗ Susie Bee is a top contender in the $50,000 Jersey Lilly for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf after running a close third as the favorite in a Gulfstream Park allowance Jan. 1. She was beaten a length while making her first start since September. Ortiz has the mount for Calumet Farm and Maker.

◗ Sightforsoreeyes, who was fourth in the Grade 1 Vosburgh in September at Belmont Park, cuts back from three route efforts to six furlongs for the $50,000 Stonerside Sprint. His chief rivals include Leadem in Ken, Direct Dial, and Proper Discretion, a mare who also was entered in a Saturday stakes at Oaklawn.

◗ Moojab Jr, Sunlit Song, and Bonjour Baby get a rematch in the $50,000 Houston Turf after running one-two-three in the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame Stakes last fall at Retama Park. The Houston Turf is for 4-year-olds and up bred in Texas, and drew a field of 12.