Lea set to return in Hal's Hope

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Lea, who has not started since his upset victory over Will Take Charge in the 2014 Donn Handicap, will launch his comeback here next Saturday going a mile in the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope.

Lea, a son of First Samurai, got sick about a month after the Donn and never recovered sufficiently to race again last season, explained trainer Bill Mott.

“We didn’t plan on running him right back after the Donn,” Mott said. “We were waiting for the Charles Town Classic and then the Metropolitan. But he came down with a fever, and it took him a long time to recover. We kept pushing it back, pushing it back, and now we’ve finally got him where we want him. He seems healthy and ready to go.”

Mott says he’s hopeful Lea can use the Hal’s Hope as a stepping-stone for a defense of his title in the Donn on Feb. 7.

“When a horse has been off as long as he has, there’s always a bit of a mystery involved as to whether they’ll come back as good as they were,” Mott said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to say after this race that we’re using the race as a prep for the Donn.”

Joel Rosario, who guided Lea to his first Grade 1 victory in the Donn, will have the mount once again in the Hal’s Hope.

The presence of Lea will bolster a Hal’s Hope lineup that suffered a couple of blows recently, the first when trainer Shug McGaughey decided to pass the race with Honor Code, the second last week when it was announced that Atreides had been sent to the farm due to ankle issues.

Trainer Todd Pletcher nominated six horses to the Hal’s Hope, including reigning Florida Derby winner Constitution, Belmont Stakes runner-up Commissioner, and Harlan’s Holiday winner Liam’s Map, although as of Friday, he was leaning toward running only Grade 3 winner Golden Lad in the race.

Mosler might try turf

Mott said he was considering trying Mosler on the turf for the first time next Saturday in the Grade 2 Ft. Lauderdale. Mosler has won three of his last five starts but has never run on turf or in stakes competition.

“I’m taking a good look at the Ft. Lauderdale even though he’s never raced on turf before,” Mott said. “I’m not disappointed in the way he’s run on run on the dirt, but he’s worked well on grass, he’s a big, strong horse, and being by War Front, it seems like the reasonable thing to do to try him on turf once. And this should be a strong enough field to give us a pretty good idea where we stand with him on the grass.”