Haimish Hy inherits San Luis Rey favoritism at Santa Anita

ARCADIA, Calif.– With division leaders Bourbon Bay and Champ Pegasus jetting off to Dubai for the $5 million Sheema Classic on March 26, Haimish Hy will be favored in Sunday’s $150,000 San Luis Rey Stakes at Santa Anita.

Bourbon Bay and Champ Pegasus were first and second in the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes in January, an order that was reversed in the Grade 2 San Luis Obispo Stakes in February. Haimish Hy made his 2011 turf debut in the San Luis Obispo, a 1 1/2-mile turf race, and was beaten 3 1/4 lengths by Champ Pegasus, closing from ninth in the final quarter-mile.

Haimish Hy will make his second start over 1 1/2 miles on turf in the San Luis Rey Stakes, and Alan Sherman, assistant to his father, trainer Art Sherman, thinks the 4-year-old will excel at the distance. “I don’t think he’d get tired going two miles,” Alan Sherman said. “He only runs the last three-eighths.”

Owned by a partnership, Haimish Hy has won 5 of 12 starts, including two stakes last summer and fall – the El Cajon Stakes at Del Mar in September and the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on turf at Hollywood Park in an 11-1 upset in November.

Dubai You X Y Z may try Inglewood next

Dubai You X Y Z, who stretched his career record to four wins in five starts with a victory in an optional claimer on Thursday, is a candidate for the $100,000 Inglewood Handicap at Hollywood Park on April 24, owner-trainer Mark Tsagalakis said.

Tsagalakis said that Dubai You X Y Z’s participation in the Grade 3 Inglewood, over 1 1/16 miles on turf, depends on how the 4-year-old gelding responds to Thursday’s race, a three-quarter-length win under jockey Brice Blanc.

“It takes him a month to tell me where he needs to be,” Tsagalakis said. “If he’s good to go, that’s a possibility. He deserves an opportunity to try [a stakes] somewhere. It’s fun to think about.”

Dubai You X Y Z has earned $100,622.

Quick Enough headed to Dubai for Al Quoz Sprint

Quick Enough, the winner of the Sensational Star Handicap on Feb. 27, will make his next start in the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai on March 26.

Jockey Rafael Bejarano will ride Quick Enough, who is trained by Doug O’Neill.

“He’s been so good sprinting on the grass,” O’Neill said. “Even though this is a straightaway as opposed to a turn, he’s doing great, so let’s take a chance.”

Quick Enough has won 8 of 19 starts and $375,360. A 7-year-old gelding owned by a partnership, Quick Enough was claimed for $40,000 at Del Mar last August.

Last fall, Quick Enough won the Grade 3 Morvich Handicap at Hollywood Park, but was a troubled 10th in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs in November.

* Three Southern California-based runners are under consideration for the $1 million Charles Town Classic over 1 1/8 miles in West Virginia on April 16.

Setsuko and Quindici Man, the second and third-place finishers in the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 5, are candidates, along with Acclamation, who was fifth in the $300,000 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf on March 5.