Mark Valeski nearly aced his stakes and two-turn debut Saturday in the Risen Star, losing by a nose to El Padrino, but to trainer Larry Jones, that performance could wind up being a mere point of departure.
Algorithms will have surgery for a fractured splint bone in his right front leg and will miss the Triple Crown, trainer Todd Pletcher and co-owner Jack Wolf said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. The news ended a whirlwind 48-hour period for Algorithms, who on Sunday was scheduled to run in the Fountain of Youth Stakes but was scratched that morning from the race because of a problem with the splint. Subsequent radiographs revealed the extent of the damage.
Ever So Lucky has been anything but lucky this winter for trainer Jonathan Sheppard. Ever So Lucky was forced to miss the Grade 2 Hutcheson due to a combination of several days of wet weather that disrupted his training and a little gash on his right foot, and now he’s suffered a second minor setback, a bruise on his left foot, Sheppard revealed Sunday.
The likelihood of a small field for the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby on March 31, plus the chance to keep jockey Ramon Dominguez on Alpha, has trainer Kiaran McLaughlin pondering the Florida Derby for Alpha, who still has the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 7 as a potential final Kentucky Derby prep, too.
Algorithms will not be one of the 23 separately listed 3-year-olds in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, even though the colt has not been definitively ruled out of contention for the 138th Derby on May 5. Pool 2 opens Friday at tracks and wagering outlets throughout North America for the usual three-day run.
Earning a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure in a February prep race at one mile is a far cry from running competitively over 10 furlongs on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs, but it’s nothing to sneeze at, either.
Mark Casse hopes talent trumps experience when it comes to running Stealcase in Saturday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
Union Rags thrust himself squarely into the eye of the media storm sure to follow his every move during the next nine weeks after opening his 3-year-old campaign with a sensational four-length victory over News Pending in Sunday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Trainer Michael Matz has said all along that he was using Sunday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth as a prep for Union Rags. But Union Rags made a shambles of the Fountain of Youth, drawing off to an impressive four-length victory that was even easier than the final margin might suggest.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said it will probably be several days before he knows exactly where he stands with Algorithms, who was scratched from Sunday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth due to a splint injury on his right front leg.
