Hess high on Blue Tone's chances in Texas Mile
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Hours before Friday night’s Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile at Lone Star Park, there’s an opportunity to get some additional insight into one of the race’s main contenders, Blue Tone.
He’s coming off a runner-up finish in a Santa Anita stakes won by Cat Burglar, who is set to run Friday at Churchill Downs in the Grade 2 Alysheba.
Blue Tone was sent to Lone Star, where he will face nine others, including graded stakes winners Jessica’s Star, Shotgun Kowboy, and Carve, for a couple of reasons, said Bob Hess Jr., who trains Blue Tone for Schroeder Farms.
“We think the mile is his absolute best distance, and having run at Lone Star in the past, I think he’ll like the surface,” Hess said. “I also like the fact that the race will be at night. It will be a little cooler, and he should appreciate that.”
Texas Mile, Race 5
KEY CONTENDERS
Blue Tone, by Birdstone
Last 3 Beyers: 99-83-97
◗ He finished two lengths behind Cat Burglar in the Santana Mile on April 2. Cat Burglar was the 4-5 favorite, and Blue Tone was 7-1 in his first out since June.
“I think the best horse won that day. Cat Burglar is a nice horse,” Hess said. “Our horse, I was real proud of him. No excuse, really, other than we feel with a race now under his belt, he can move forward off the layoff.”
◗ James Graham has the mount on the two-time stakes winner at a mile from post 4.
Jessica’s Star, by Magna Graduate
Last 3 Beyers: 97-87-86
◗ He’s on top of his game, finishing second by a neck in the $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup in February at Sam Houston in his first start since June. Jessica’s Star then ran second in the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap but, after a stewards’ inquiry into the stretch run, was placed fifth in the March 26 race at Fair Grounds.
“We actually filed an appeal on that disqualification that is still pending,” said Michael Stidham, who trains Jessica’s Star for Mark Breen. “It hasn’t gone before the commission yet.
“Jessica’s Star ran a monster race, and it’s a shame he came down. Since he’s come back off the layup, he’s run two big races.”
◗ Jessica’s Star will be cutting back from 1 1/8 miles Friday.
“He’s got some tactical speed,” Stidham said. “Unless they run really, really fast up front, he’s able to get into a stalking position.”
Shotgun Kowboy, by Kodiak Kowboy
Last 3 Beyers: 88-85-95
◗ The front-running winner of last year’s Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby, he is making his Lone Star debut after racing this winter at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn.
“He’s settled in great,” said C.R. Trout, who bred, owns, and trains Shotgun Kowboy. “I had trained him here when he was a 2-year-old and when he was 3. He didn’t race at Lone Star, but he was with us all the time. He’s been here since March.”
◗ Shotgun Kowboy will break from post 5.
“We’re satisfied letting him settle in midpack,” Trout said. “If someone wants to go, let them go.”
◗ The forecast is for a high of 84 degrees and a low of 59, with no precipitation, according to The Weather Channel.