Lombo will return to sprinting

ARCADIA, Calif. – Lombo, the winner of the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 3, will revert to sprints after finishing seventh in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 10.

Trainer Mike Pender said recently that Lombo should be more competitive in shorter races. Lombo finished 21 1/2 lengths behind top finishers McKinzie and Bolt d’Oro in the San Felipe. Those runners are considered the two leading 3-year-olds in the nation.

“I think I’ll go back to sprinting,” Pender said. “We took on the best the West Coast has to offer and they swallowed him whole.”

Owned by Michael Lombardi, Lombo has won 2 of 5 starts and earned $129,570. Pender mentioned the Grade 3 Lazaro Barrera Stakes on May 12 as a goal. The $100,000 Barrera Stakes is run at seven furlongs for 3-year-olds.

Lombo won consecutive starts at the beginning of the year – a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs in January and the Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles in his stakes debut.