Edgewood upsetter Concrete Rose to breeze Sunday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Concrete Rose will have her first workout since her stunning upset of Newspaperofrecord when breezing Sunday at Keeneland.

Trainer Rusty Arnold acknowledged the work comes more than three weeks since Concrete Rose swept past the previously undefeated Newspaperofrecord in the May 3 Edgewood Stakes at Churchill Downs, saying “it was designed this way. Everything is good with the filly.”

Concrete Rose is being pointed to the Grade 1, $750,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational on July 6, when she could be rematched with Newspaperofrecord going 1 1/4 miles.

“It’s such a long break between races, I thought it best to give her a little time out of the Edgewood,” Arnold said. “I’ve thought about running her in the Regret” on June 15 at Churchill, “but then there’s only three weeks to the Belmont Oaks, so that’s only a remote possibility.”

:: MEMORIAL DAY SALE: Save 50% on Formulator PPs, DRF Plus access, and handicapping reports

In the 1 1/16-mile Edgewood, Concrete Rose and jockey Julien Leparoux rallied from midpack to win by 3 3/4 lengths over Newspaperofrecord, who was the 1-5 favorite when making her first start since ending a sensational 2-year-old season with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last November.

In other news from the Arnold barn, Morticia, one of the top filly-mare turf sprinters in the country, is eligible for a Churchill allowance next Sunday (June 2), while Totally Boss goes next in the Grade 3 Parx Dash on July 6 after winning back-to-back allowances at Keeneland and Churchill.

Also, Borracho is headed to the Grade 2 Woody Stephens on the June 8 Belmont Stakes undercard off a Kentucky Derby Day allowance victory in which Hidden Scroll was third and Lexitonian was fifth. Lexitonian returned last Saturday to upset the Chick Lang at Pimlico.

“That made our race look pretty good,” Arnold said.