Bourbon War will take the next step
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Mark Hennig reports that his Kentucky Derby prospect Bourbon War exited his impressive allowance win here Friday in good order and was scheduled to go back to training Tuesday morning. Bourbon War rallied to a 2 1/4-length victory over Cutting Humor going 1 1/16 miles in his 3-year-old debut, earning a career-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure.
“All and all I thought it was a good workmanlike and professional effort,” Hennig said on Monday. “He also got a lot of valuable schooling out of the race as well. Now all you can ask for is that he continues to keep moving forward.”
Hennig said the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth here on March 2 is the most logical of all the options he has for Bourbon War’s next start.
“It’s here, it’s around two turns, the timing is good, and he seems to like this track, so right now it’s the most obvious of all the choices we’ve got,” said Hennig.
Hennig was also all smiles Monday after watching My Miss Lilly breeze an easy but impressive half-mile in 47.47 before galloping out five-eighths in 1:00.48. My Miss Lilly, a Grade 2 winner at 3 last year, has not started since finishing third in the Mother Goose at Belmont on June 30.
“I’d been working her in the dark because I didn’t want to do too much with her too soon,” said Hennig. “I brought her out in the daylight today and she worked lights out. It’s only her third half-mile but I told the rider to let her gallop out nice, and she seemed very strong.”
Hennig said surgery to take out a little chip in her ankle forced My Miss Lilly to miss the second half of her 3-year-old season.
“She was going to run in the Alabama when that happened, so once we missed that I figured there was no sense rushing her back,” said Hennig. “She’s returned bigger and stronger than ever, and if things go well I might be able to start looking for something for her at the end of February or beginning of March.”
◗ The roulette wager, which was first instituted at Santa Anita earlier this winter, was scheduled to begin here Wednesday. In the roulette wager, horses are placed in one of three groups: a red group, a green group, and a black group. The group containing the winner of the race is the winner of the bet.