Lone Star Park: Shotgun Gulch headed west for next

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Trainer C.R. Trout has been debating which is the best path to get Shotgun Gulch to this fall’s Grade 2, $400,000 Presque Isle Downs Masters, and at one point had seriously considered a stakes at Arlington Park. But now, he’s changed gears and is going Hollywood.

Trout on Wednesday said Shotgun Gulch is to make her next start in the Grade 2, $200,000 A Gleam Handicap at Hollywood Park. The seven-furlong race over Cushion Track for fillies and mares is July 16. Shotgun Gulch, who in April won the Grade 1 Madison at the same distance over Keeneland’s Polytrack, is scheduled to breeze Saturday at her base of Lone Star Park.

“Hollywood came up just right, the timing,” Trout said. “It’s run on the 16th of July, and then we’ll run on the 10th of September. It works well.”

Shotgun Gulch gave Trout his first Grade 1 win in the Madison. She has raced once since, finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs on May 7. Shotgun Gulch is owned and was bred by Trout. She is 4, and to date is 7 for 18, with career earnings of $488,309.

Presque Islae Downs has a Tapeta synthetic surface.

Dreaminofthewin headed to Iowa Derby

Dreaminofthewin, who was third in the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile at Lone Star in April, is being pointed for the Grade 3, $250,000 Iowa Derby, Trout said on Wednesday. The 1 1/16-mile race will be run at Prairie Meadows on June 25.

Dreaminofthewin, who faced older rivals in the Texas Mile, returned to the 3-year-old ranks last month and finished fourth on turf in the $200,000 Lone Star Derby.

The return to dirt should be meaningful for Dreaminofthewin, who this past winter at Oaklawn Park ran second to future graded stakes winners Alternation and Caleb’s Posse in separate races. He met Caleb’s Posse, who took last weekend’s Grade 3 Ohio Derby, in the $100,000 Smarty Jones in January. Dreaminofthewin then hooked Alternation, eventual winner of the Grade 2 Peter Pan, in an allowance in February.

Fields set for futurities

The fields for Saturday’s two divisions of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity were drawn Wednesday morning. Each race will go with a nine-horse field and be run over five furlongs. The estimated purse for both the colt-and-geldings division and the fillies division is $100,000.

◗ Favorite Flavor is the one to beat in the featured sixth race Friday night, an $18,000 optional claiming sprint for fillies and mares at 5 1/2 furlongs. She missed by a head at a similar level last out, and the Beyer Speed Figure of 85 that she earned is the best last-race number in the field. Lone Star’s leading rider, Chris Landeros, has the mount for trainer Cody Autrey.

◗ Apprentice jockey Efigenio Ruiz won the first race of his career in last Saturday’s first race, taking a three-way photo with Platinum Van ($25.80). He was aboard for trainer Kathren Garcia. It was the 30th career start for Ruiz, who began riding earlier this year.