Calculator may head east for Santa Anita Derby prep

ARCADIA, Calif. – Calculator, who won for the first time Jan. 10 in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, could make his next start outside California.

On Thursday, trainer Peter Miller said he is considering a late-February race in either Arkansas, Florida, or Louisiana for Calculator as a prep for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 4. One possibility is the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 21.

Miller said a late-February race has greater appeal than waiting for the $400,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 7.

“I don’t like the timing of the San Felipe – two months after his last race and one month to the [Santa Anita] Derby,” he said. “I’m leaning toward the Risen Star. We’ll nominate for everything. Nothing is set in stone.”

Other options are the $300,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 16 or the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 21.

Owned by Richard Pell, Calculator has made five starts. Last September, he was second to American Pharoah in two Grade 1 races – the Del Mar Futurity and FrontRunner Stakes. American Pharoah won the Eclipse Award as the outstanding 2-year-old male of 2014.

Miller plans to have two runners in the $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 7 – Rock Shandy, second to Calculator in the Sham, and Tizcano, fifth in the Spectacular Bid Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 3.

The Lewis Stakes, run at 1 1/16 miles, is led by Dortmund and Firing Line, the first two finishers of the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 20.