Mr. Big News makes return in Colonial allowance
Trainer Bret Calhoun only came to Colonial Downs this summer because the Churchill Downs backstretch closed in July, but the Calhoun barn is rolling right along.
Calhoun has won with three of his six Colonial starters and has found a spot, Monday’s co-featured third race, for Mr. Big News’s first start since the 2020 Preakness last October. Mr. Big News finished a distant seventh in the Preakness after hitting a high-water mark a month earlier when finishing third of 15 in the Kentucky Derby, beaten only by Authentic and Tiz the Law.
“He gave us a pretty good thrill on Derby Day, but I don’t think he bounced back as good as we thought he was,” said Calhoun, who trains Mr. Big News for Chester Thomas’s Allied Racing Stable.
Mr. Big News came into Calhoun’s Fair Grounds stable earlier this year but didn’t train to Calhoun’s satisfaction and was sent to Ocala, Fla., for another break, and this time he has given positive vibes.
“We think this horse could be a top older horse at some point. He wants a distance of ground – wants to go a mile and an eighth, mile and a quarter for sure, and he’s trained like that coming back,” Calhoun said. “The best part of his works have been the finish and the gallop-out.”
That makes Mr. Big News vulnerable going a one-turn mile against some seasoned, capable older horses like Galerio and Super Dude.
On Aug. 11, Calhoun debuted a 2-year-old Street Boss filly, Street Tapper, who closed with a rush to win a 5 1/2-furlong maiden turf sprint by 1 3/4 lengths. Street Tapper has more speed than she showed in her race, where she didn’t break away cleanly from an assistant starter, Calhoun said. The $100,000 Rosie’s Stakes, a turf sprint on Aug. 31, comes up too quickly for Street Tapper, who can benefit from a patient approach, according to her trainer, and the filly is being aimed toward a race in September at Kentucky Downs.
Mr. Wireless is back at Colonial after winning the West Virginia Derby on Aug. 7 by 1 1/4 lengths, equalling his career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 92 that had come last month in his Indiana Derby win. Mr. Wireless came out of the race in good shape, and Calhoun plans to send him to the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 25 at Parx Racing or the Oklahoma Derby on Sept. 26 at Remington. Parx had been the original choice, but Mr. Wireless’s connections aren’t eager to hook Hot Rod Charlie if, as has been mentioned, he ships from California for that race.
And finally, By My Standards, headed back to Colonial from Saratoga, came out of his last-of-five finish Aug. 7 in the Grade 1 Whitney in good condition. Calhoun said there are no set plans for By My Standards, who stumbled at the Whitney’s start and lost a shoe, though he managed not to hurt his hoof. A photograph captured the lost horseshoe flying through the air as the field began to race.
“It was a cool photo. It’s just unfortunate that it was my horse,” Calhoun said.
◗ Beyond the Mr. Big News comeback race, a second-level allowance with a $40,000 claiming option, there are three more allowance races and two straight maiden races on a good Monday card. Race 7 is another second-level allowance with a $40,000 claiming option, this one for older fillies and mares at one mile. And race 6, one of the maiden races, is a dirt sprint that includes a first-time starter named Lidstrom, a 3-year-old owned by Godolphin who was purchased for $2.5 milllion and is a half-brother to Derby winner and successful sire Nyquist. Lidstrom worked 23 times in California for trainer Bob Baffert before showing a six-month gap in works and turning up at Fair Hill in June, now trained by Mike Stidham.