Hot Rod Charlie possible for Stephen Foster Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. - Hot Rod Charlie, the three-time graded or group stakes winner who was second in the $12 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates on March 26, resumed workouts over the weekend for a summer campaign.

On Saturday at Santa Anita, Hot Rod Charlie worked three furlongs in 36.40 seconds, his first major exercise since the Dubai World Cup. Trainer Doug O’Neill said the 4-year-old Hot Rod Charlie will be considered for the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes, a $750,000 race at 1 1/8 miles at Churchill Downs on July 2.

O’Neill said the timing of the Stephen Foster was appealing.

:: Win big at Santa Anita: Get DRF Past Performances, Picks, Clocker Reports and Betting Strategies.

Hot Rod Charlie has won 4 of 15 starts and earned $5,121,200. In 2021, he won the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby and Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and was third in the Kentucky Derby. Earlier this year, Hot Rod Charlie won the Group 2 second round of the Al Maktoum Challenge at Meydan, a key prep for the Dubai World Cup.

O’Neill, who through Saturday was second in the standings at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting with 34 wins, said he plans to have a group of approximately eight to 12 horses in Kentucky this summer.

The team will include Strongconstitution, who was second by a nose in the Lost in the Fog Stakes at Golden Gate Fields on April 30. Earlier this spring, Strongconstitution was sixth of 13 in the Group 1 Golden Shaheen Sprint, a $2 million race at six furlongs at Meydan on March 26 when O’Neill had a small group of runners based in the UAE.

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports