Blackjackcat to skip Kilroe Mile

ARCADIA, Calif. – Blackjackcat, third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar last fall and fifth in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes on Feb. 10, will miss the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on March 10.

Trainer Mark Glatt said on Thursday that Blackjackcat has not had a workout since the Thunder Road Stakes, in which he was beaten five lengths by the winner, Om.

“We’re going to pass,” Glatt said. “Our plans are a little bit up in the air. We want to make sure he’s good and ready when we do come back.”

Glatt mentioned the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile on turf at Golden Gate Fields on March 31 as a possible spot for Blackjackcat.

Owned by Al and Sandee Kirkwood, Blackjackcat has won 6 of 16 starts and earned $582,070. Last summer and fall, Blackjackcat won four consecutive races, including the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile in August, before finishing 1 1/4 lengths behind winner World Approval in the BC Mile.

“Ultimately, the goal is to get back to the Breeders’ Cup,” Glatt said. “We have plenty of time to have him as sharp as he was last year.”

The BC Mile will be run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

Sharp Samurai, who won four turf stakes for 3-year-olds last year for Glatt, is being prepared for a spring comeback. Sharp Samurai won two Grade 2 races in consecutive starts last year – the Del Mar Derby in September and the Twilight Derby in October – before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar on Nov. 25 in his most recent race.

World Approval, the champion turf male of 2017, and Om are leading contenders for the $400,000 Kilroe Mile. The Kilroe Mile is one of three Grade 1 races on the March 10 program, along with the $600,000 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles and the $400,000 Triple Bend Stakes for sprinters.

The Big Cap has a field of eight probable starters – Accelerate, Fear the Cowboy, Giant Expectations, Hoppertunity, Mubtaahij, Pavel, Prime Attraction, and Top of the Game.

Roy H, the champion sprinter of 2017, is the leading candidate for the Triple Bend, which is run at seven furlongs.