Calhoun sweeps Monday turf stakes
Trainer Bret Calhoun won Fair Grounds 3-year-old grass stakes on Monday with Excess Magic, who captured the Woodchopper, and Lovely Ride, who won the Pago Hop.
The day before, he found out what he needed to know regarding Tejano Twist, who loomed and faded in the Gun Runner, finishing second but beaten more than six lengths while making his two-turn debut. Tejano Twist was coming off a pair of sharp Kentucky sprint wins, and connections won’t press on with route racing.
“No Derby preps or anything like that. We’re going to freshen him and point him to one-turn races later in the spring,” Calhoun said.
Plans aren’t set for Lovely Ride, who was making her turf debut in the Pago Hop, or Excess Magic. Both horses came out of their Monday races in good shape, Calhoun said.
Hidden Connection, a distant fourth as the second choice in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, worked three furlongs on Dec. 19 at Fair Grounds and was scheduled to breeze again Dec. 30, said Calhoun. A blowout winner of the Pocahontas Stakes in September, Hidden Connection is likely to make her 3-year-old debut in the Feb. 19 Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds.