Maker pointing Henley's Joy, Dunph to Risen Star

Somelikeithotbrown, the favorite for the $75,000 John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park on Friday night, is not the only 3-year-old grass runner trainer Mike Maker will test on a different surface this month. Maker intends to shift two-time turf-stakes winner Henley’s Joy to dirt for owner Bloom Racing in the Feb. 16 Risen Star at Fair Grounds.

Although progeny of Henley’s Joy’s sire, Kitten’s Joy, often falter on dirt relative to their success on grass and synthetic surfaces, “there is really no significant turf race at this time, so now is the time to try the dirt,” Maker said.

Maker also has Dunph targeting the Risen Star. Dunph was last seen finishing third behind Long Range Toddy and Bankit in the Springboard Mile at Remington Park on Dec. 16.

Maker also intends to be active in the supporting stakes on the Risen Star card, pointing Hogy for the Colonel Power, a 5 1/2-furong turf sprint; Krewe Chief for the Grade 3 Mineshaft; and Markitoff and Sir Dudley Digges for the Fair Grounds Handicap, a 1 1/8-mile grass race.

Maker’s better grass marathoners are likely to remain in Florida. John B. Connally Turf Cup winner Bigger Picture and William McKnight Handicap one-two finishers Zulu Alpha and Soglio are under consideration for the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream on March 2 and the Grade 2 Pan American there March 30. He expects to split them between the two races, and one or both could go on to the Grade 2 Elkorn at Keeneland on April 20.

Iva targets Beaumont Stakes

Iva, the winner of the Feb. 1 Cincinnati Trophy at Turfway, is being pointed toward the Grade 3 Beaumont at Keeneland on April 7, trainer Wesley Ward said.

The Beaumont, at seven furlongs and 184 feet, would mark the longest race for Iva. She twice won going five furlongs to begin her career before a runner-up finish in the six-furlong House Party at Gulfstream and her 1 1/4-length triumph in the 6 1/2-furlong Cincinnati Trophy. That victory earned her a 71 Beyer Speed Figure.

The next stakes race at Turfway for 3-year-old fillies is the $100,000 Bourbonette Oaks on March 9, a one-mile race that Ward is pondering for The Mackem Bullet, pending how she performs in the Battaglia.