Fair Grounds: Ground Transport ships to win

Trainer Mike Stidham sent Ground Transport out on the road this past weekend to get the 4-year-old Big Brown colt an elusive first stakes victory.

Ground Transport shipped to Laurel, set a soft pace, and comfortably won the $100,000 Johnson Memorial on Saturday over Mr Palmer, his fourth victory but first outside the maiden or allowance ranks. Ground Transport had finished second in the Tenacious Handicap to Prayer for Relief and fourth in the Mineshaft Handicap earlier in the Fair Grounds meet.

“I think the way he ran Saturday says a lot about these stakes they’ve been running at Fair Grounds,” said Stidham, who said Ground Transport came out of the race in good shape and has been shipped to Keeneland. Ground Transport will be nominated to the Pimlico Special and a bevy of other stakes in April, Stidham said.

Willcox Inn, the Stidham-trained middle-distance turf stakes horse, hasn’t posted a workout at Fair Grounds since February, but Stidham said there’s nothing amiss with the horse.

“He just doesn’t do as well training on dirt, and we’re going to wait until we get him up to Keeneland to work him again,” he said.

Keeneland also is the destination for I Dazzle, winner of the Red Camelia Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds. I Dazzle might make her next start in the Bewitch Stakes there.