Mattingly goes for first turf win in Paradise Creek; pick six carryover now $103K

The versatile Mattingly will attempt to become a turf winner Sunday when he starts as one of the chief contenders in the $150,000 Paradise Creek, a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds at the Belmont meet at Aqueduct.

The field of nine includes supplemented runner Smokey Smokey, who is coming off a second-place finish in the Animal Kingdom at Turfway Park, and Works for Me, a New York-bred stakes winner who was cross-entered in a race Saturday.

Mattingly is the field’s other stakes winner, having accounted for the Hollywood Beach in September on the Tapeta surface at Gulfstream Park. Mattingly is also stakes-placed on both dirt and turf, and owns one of the best turf Beyer Speed Figures in the Paradise Creek.

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“There’s no concern about the turf,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “His sire, Bucchero, they run on everything. It really seems like they’re better on the Tapeta and turf, but he’s run on the dirt, also. No concern at all about the grass.”

Mattingly – whose dam was an eight-time winner on grass – launched his 3-year-old season April 7 by finishing fifth in the $200,000 Palisades at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Keeneland. The race was run on good ground, and it was won by the promising Fandom in a blazing 1:02.83. Mattingly was making his first start since Dec. 2, when he was fourth in the In Reality division of the Florida Sire Stakes at Gulfstream.

“We freshened him up off the stallion series,” Orseno said. “He actually got a little sick the next day, so I just sent him to the farm for like seven weeks total, then brought him back in.

“I thought he ran really well for his first race back. He got beat two and a half lengths against some pretty salty horses.”

Since then, Mattingly has been working at Gulfstream.

“He’s doing really well,” Orseno said. “He’s ready to run and off that race I was able to get three really good works into him, so I was happy with that.”

Last week, Mattingly was vanned to Orseno’s division at Monmouth Park.

“He’s been training there all week,” he said.

Trevor McCarthy has the mount on Mattingly from post 3 for Ironhorse Racing and Harlow Racing.

“He’s pretty versatile,” Orseno said. “I think his best race would be just sitting off the speed, which it looks like we have a couple in there that want to go. He’s chased some fast horses and laid close, but I think if he sat two lengths off the leader that would be an ideal spot for him, and hopefully he performs to what we expect.”

The Animal Kingdom that Smokey Smokey exits has produced two next-out stakes winners in fourth-place finisher Valentine Candy and fifth-place finisher Joe Shiesty.

Summer in Adriane is back with straight 3-year-olds after running fourth in an Aqueduct allowance at six furlongs on turf. It went in a sizzling 1:07.27.

Apollo Ten, a half-brother to Grade 2-winning millionaire Bay Storm, enters off a first-level allowance win on turf at Gulfstream.

Sketch won his maiden on turf in England and tested Group 1 rivals there before being moved to the United States.

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