Midnight Stroll takes a pass on La Brea Stakes; Hot Peppers still on target

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Midnight Stroll, expected to ship to Southern California Thursday for the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 26, did not make the trip and won’t run, according to assistant trainer Tonja Terranova.

Midnight Stroll worked a half-mile in 48.65 seconds Thursday morning at Belmont Park, but Terranova said the horse seemed “a little flat” afterward and she didn’t feel comfortable putting the horse on the plane.

“We’re going to skip,” Terranova, assistant to her husband John, said.

According to Terranova, Thursday was the last opportunity to ship horses from the Northeast to the West Coast. Horses are shipped via Federal Express and due to the upcoming Christmas holiday, Fed Ex is not offering equine flights between now and Dec. 25.

Tonja Terranova said Midnight Stroll would sometime soon van to Florida where the Terranovas have a string at Tampa Bay Downs.

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“We’ll let her grow up a little bit and come up with a plan,” Terranova said.

Midnight Stroll won the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks in July and subsequently finished third in both the Charles Town Oaks and Raven Run Stakes.

Hot Peppers, also pointing to the La Brea, did ship from Newark, N.J., to California on Thursday, according to trainer Rudy Rodriguez.

Hot Peppers won the Grade 3 Victory Ride in July and finished second in the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga.

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