Blinkers could help Annex in Penn Mile
Even winning two stakes earlier this year at Gulfstream Park, Annex wasn’t clearly the best horse in either race. He clearly was not the best horse May 1 in the American Turf, his eighth-place finish Annex’s first loss in four races, but Annex, with a new piece of equipment, might be equipped to start a new winning streak Friday night at Penn National in the Grade 2, $300,000 Penn Mile.
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who described Annex before the American Turf, as “kind of hyper,” will race the colt in blinkers for the first time Friday. That might help. Annex got up by a head in the Palm Beach Stakes and by a neck in the Cutler Bay, but in the American Turf he could do nothing with a contending position at the stretch call, mainly going through the motions racing between horses the final furlong while taking a 5 1/2-length loss.
Another change: Junior Alvarado, aboard for Annex’s three wins, is reunited with the Constitution colt after Irad Ortiz Jr. rode him last out in Kentucky.
Ortiz was named to ride morning-line favorite Outadore, but trainer Wesley Ward said Outadore will be scratched to race instead in the Paradise Creek on Sunday at Belmont Park.
That leaves a prospective field of just six, including Chess’s Dream, who finished one length and one place ahead of Annex in the American Turf. Chess’s Dream, who upset the Kitten’s Joy at Gulfstream this past winter but also lost to Annex there in the Palm Beach, is trained by Mike Maker, who on Preakness week won four stakes at Pimlico.
With eight races behind him already and limited flash, Chess’s Dream lacks upside and strong appeal in Friday’s race – but at least he has turf form. Original, a pace player, finished third behind Chess’s Dream in the Kitten’s Joy and comes out of a third-place finish April 17 in the Woodhaven, run over the Aqueduct turf, but Gershwin, The King Cheek, and Sibelius never have raced on grass.
Sibelius, trained by Jeremiah O’Dwyer, also makes his two-turn debut and starts for the first time against other winners, but did look sharp notching a second-out Keeneland maiden win in April. O’Dwyer himself worked Sibelius, a son of Not This Time, over the Laurel turf on May 18, a breeze meant to see if the Penn Mile would be a viable option.
“Just wanted to go through the gears with him. We had another horse in front of him as he’s pretty lazy on his own, wanting him to quicken up down the lane. I thought he felt very good underneath me,” O’Dwyer said. “This is a very, very versatile horse, a nice horse, and I think the mile on the grass won’t be any trouble.”
Gershwin, a Godolphin homebred by Distorted Humor, is a half-brother to Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide. He had a maiden win from four starts, all on dirt, and has not quite made the progress his connections hoped to see.
“He needs to step up,” said trainer Mike Stidham. “We’re giving him a shot on turf to see if that helps.”
The King Cheek upset odds-on favorite Hozier in the May 14 Sir Barton at Pimlico and figures to be a forward factor.
The Penn Mile goes as race 4, post time 7:46 Eastern, as the last of four stakes on the card.
Penn Oaks
Honey Pants has won just one of six starts yet looks like the heavy hitter in the $100,000 Penn Oaks on Friday evening.
The one-mile Penn Oaks drew only seven entrants, and Midnight Obsession, trainer John Servis said, will be scratched in favor of a Pennsylvania-bred stakes earlier on the card.
Trained by Christophe Clement, Honey Pants won a Belmont maiden sprint last fall before racing competitively in three stakes. Following a break of about two months, Honey Pants returned to racing April 8 in a first-level turf allowance at Aqueduct, closing decently to finish second behind Por Que No. Por Que No ran back May 1 at Gulfstream, finishing a fading fourth in a turf stakes. Honey Pants probably doesn’t want to run a step farther than one mile, but to beat a potentially vulnerable favorite one needs an alternative, and those are in short supply Friday.
Amalfi Princess will be judged the obvious option by many, but she’s only 2-1 on the track’s morning line, and all seven of her races have come at sprint distances. She did run well over five furlongs on grass at Gulfstream in February and could get first run on Honey Pants, but it’ll be hard to extract betting value from either of the two top choices in the Penn Oaks.
◗ Midnight Obsession looked like she could contend in the Penn Oaks but trainer John Servis instead will try her against older fillies and mares in the $100,000 Lyphard for Pennsylvania-bred fillies and mares, the Friday lidlifter. Midnight Obsession is 2 for 2 but never has raced on grass, and while Servis said the filly’s dam “would run on anything,” he wouldn’t be unhappy if rain moved the race to the main track. Ujjayi, for Maker, is the morning-line Lyphard favorite. The $100,000 With Anticipation for Pennsylvania-breds, another grass route, drew a field of 12, including a coupled entry.