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Will Take Charge edged stablemate Oxbow by a head to give his Hall of Fame trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, a one-two finish in the Grade 2, $600,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Saturday. With the win, Will Take Charge earned 50 points to become the new points leader on the inaugural system that governs Kentucky Derby eligibility if the May 4 race is oversubscribed.
Trainer John Terranova did say that Falling Sky, the winner of the Sam Davis Stakes and the third-place finisher in the Tampa Bay Derby, would make his next start in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn on April 13.
Shakin It Up and Titletown Five are among the probable starters for an expected full field of 12 for the Grade 3, Sunland Derby on Sunday.
The field for the $1 million Florida Derby is starting to grow. On Saturday, trainer Ken McPeek said to add Frac Daddy’s name to the short list of 3-year-olds pointing for the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 30.
Elnaawi, the third-place finisher in the Gotham on March 2, began working toward a start in the $1 million Wood Memorial on April 6 by breezing an easy half-mile in 50.01 seconds Saturday morning over the Belmont Park training track.
Making his first start around two turns in the third start of his career, War Academy ran down stablemate Manando to win a first-level allowance Friday at Santa Anita and keep his Kentucky Derby hopes alive.
Channel Isle and Red Wings are both being pointed to stakes at Turfway on March 23, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Friday.
The aggressiveness that Vyjack displayed earlier in his career was not evident Friday morning at Aqueduct as the undefeated 3-year-old worked an easy half-mile over the inner track in preparation for the $1 million Wood Memorial on April 6.
A $600,000 purse, perfect calendar placement for a follow-up prep and Grade 2 status of Saturday’s Rebel Stakes all conspired to produce the deepest field of 3-year-olds I’ve seen so far this year. The lineup of 11 includes horses that have been graded stakes placed at no fewer than five different tracks.
Rydilluc breezed five furlongs in 1:02.02 over the Palm Meadows turf course on Thursday, his first breeze since his smashing 3 1/2-length victory over Charming Kitten in the Grade 3 Palm Beach Stakes earlier this month.
