Free Rose will get extended vacation

ARCADIA, Calif. – Free Rose, a winner of two graded stakes for 3-year-olds on turf at Del Mar last summer, will be turned out for the winter after finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar last Saturday, trainer Richard Baltas said.

“I think I’ll give him a little break, a couple of months off,” Baltas said on Thursday. “He’s had a long year, and we can focus on next year.”

Owned by Abbondanza Racing and Nathan McCauley, Free Rose has won 4 of 13 starts and earned $360,760. He won the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap and the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby during the summer before finishing second in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

In the Hollywood Derby, Free Rose was third or fourth for the first mile of the race at 1 1/8 miles on turf and was beaten 3 1/2 lengths by Annals of Time.