Highway Star had reasons for last-place finish

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Rodrigo Ubillo said he doesn’t like to make excuses for Highway Star when she runs poorly, but the New York-bred mare certainly had reasons for her last-place finish in the Heavenly Prize Invitational last Saturday at Aqueduct.

Ubillo said Highway Star came out of the race sore in her back. Also, she scoped with mucus in her lungs. Lastly, Highway Star’s protein level was low, according to Ubillo.

“She never showed any signs of being sick,” Ubillo said. “We check temperatures every day; we never heard her cough.”

As of Thursday, Ubillo said Highway Star had yet to go back to the track. He said it was too soon to say if Highway Star would miss the Grade 3 Distaff on April 6.

“Hopefully, it’s nothing major and we’ll move forward,” he said. “We’ll see when she goes back to the track.”

◗ Harlan Punch, who won twice in six days including a seven-length victory in the Stymie Stakes, will most likely make his next start in the $90,000 Mr. Sinatra Stakes on the March 31 Claiming Championships, trainer David Jacobson said. Jacobson had given consideration to wheeling Harlan Punch back in Saturday’s Harrison E. Johnson Stakes at Laurel, but decided against it.