Lone Star Park: Texas Stallion Stakes winners return

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Hidden Recipe and Going Away Baby, who in February accounted for the first round of Texas Stallion Stakes races for 3-year-olds, are both back to lead their respective divisions in the series that continues Saturday at Lone Star Park.

There will be two $100,000 Texas Stallion Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles, with one race for colts and geldings and the other for fillies. Both are restricted to the offspring of eligible stallions.

Hidden Recipe won his two-turn debut in the February edition of the Stallion Stakes at Sam Houston, when he tracked the pace in second and went on to a three-quarter length win. The race was run at a mile, and the additional ground he picks up Saturday should suit Hidden Recipe, said his regular rider, Chris Landeros.

“He’s the type of horse that has one steady pace,” Landeros said. “He just grinds along, and the farther the better, I think. He grinds it out each and every pole and he gets better and better. The mile helped last time. He was still kind of tough to pull up. I don’t think the mile and a sixteenth will bother him at all.”

Hidden Recipe has been flattered since the race, with two horses he defeated returning to win their next starts, including Halifax Dancer, who accounted for an allowance at Lone Star. As for Hidden Recipe, he shows some strong works for what will be his first start since Feb. 19. The horse, who races for Tom Durant and is trained by Jack Bruner, will break from post 5.

“I don’t want him to be too far off the pace,” Landeros said. “He won’t be on the lead. But I’d like him to get a stalking, mid-pack trip, depending on pace. We’ll just have to see how it sets up in the first turn and go from there.”

The chief threat could be Tamtastic, a half-brother to multiple stakes winner Taptam. He was the favorite in the Stallion Stakes won by Hidden Recipe, but finished third after breaking from post 10. Cliff Berry has the mount for trainer Bret Calhoun.

Going Away Baby was a three-length winner of the last Stallion Stakes race for fillies, also at Sam Houston on Feb. 19. She was stretching out from a sprint to two turns, and will follow the same pattern Saturday after finishing fourth in an Oaklawn allowance March 31.

Junior Chacaltana has the mount for trainer Danny Pish. Going Away Baby is a full sister to Leaving On My Mind, a multiple stakes winner at two turns who has earned more than $400,000.