Chocolate Ride might face rematch in Muniz

Chocolate Ride, who won the Fair Grounds Handicap on Saturday, is an intended starter in the March 28 Mervin Muniz Handicap at Fair Grounds, while the race’s fast-closing runner-up, Glenard, is considered possible for the race.

Chocolate Ride, claimed for $40,000 late last year and exiting a first-level allowance win, ran the race of his life to win the Fair Grounds Handicap, coming close to the nine-furlong course record despite setting a slow pace for the first five furlongs or so. The horse battles foot issues and is likely to breeze just once between starts, according to Ricky Giannini, the Fair Grounds-based assistant to trainer Brad Cox.

Glenard, an English import making his first start in the U.S., produced a powerful finish to cut into Chocolate Ride’s lead Saturday despite the winner getting his last three furlongs in a fast 34.68 seconds.
“I was pretty happy with how he ran first start of the year,” trainer Graham Motion said. “He probably even was a work short in this race.”

Motion thinks Glenard might turn out to be a better horse at distances slightly longer than the nine furlongs he raced Saturday and of the Muniz, but lacking an obvious alternative, he still will consider the Fair Grounds race for Glenard, who has returned to Motion’s string in Florida.

Yockey’s Warrior impresses

The top Beyer Speed Figure earned by a 3-year-old last weekend did not come from one of the several stakes across the eastern half of the country, but in race 2 on Saturday at Fair Grounds, where first-time starter Yockey’s Warrior blitzed a field of maiden sprinters and earned a 97 Beyer when running six furlongs in 1:10.33.

Yockey’s Warrior is a sound, solid horse, and came out of the race well, trainer Al Stall said, but no one is rushing him into anything. The most likely spot for his next start, Stall said, is a first-level allowance race going seven furlongs on opening day of the Keeneland meet.