Oaks winner Monomoy Girl targets Acorn

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Monomoy Girl is scheduled to breeze Sunday at Churchill Downs in her second major work since the filly won the May 4 Kentucky Oaks for trainer Brad Cox.

Monomoy Girl went a half-mile last Sunday in 48.80 seconds.

“She came out of the Oaks in great shape,” Cox said.

The Grade 1 Acorn on the Belmont undercard is the next scheduled start for Monomoy Girl, a winner in six of seven career starts.

Wise Dan for turf champ

Trainer Mark Casse said World Approval will make his next start in the Grade 2 Wise Dan on the undercard of the June 16 Stephen Foster after being scratched last Saturday at Pimlico when weather forced the Dixie Stakes off the turf.

World Approval, the 2017 Eclipse Award winner for top turf horse, will be making his first start since finishing fifth as the 1-2 favorite in the March 10 Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita.

Hogy to Woodbine or Penn

Trainer Mike Maker said that Hogy, the popular 9-year-old gelding, will make his next start in either the seven-furlong Connaught Cup at Woodbine or the five-furlong Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup at Penn National. Both are June 2 races on turf.

First or second in 32 of 51 career starts, Hogy was scratched last Friday at Pimlico from the Jim McKay Turf Sprint, which was run over a bog in very slow time.

◗ Trainer Neil Howard said he is “60-40” in favor of running Song of Spring in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis on the June 16 Stephen Foster card at Churchill. The 4-year-old filly earned her first stakes victory last weekend in the Grade 3 Allaire du Pont at Pimlico.

At this early stage, Valadorna and Farrell are the likely Fleur de Lis favorites.

◗ Trainer Ron Moquett said his next major medical hurdle in his ongoing battle with atypical sarcoidosis comes Friday, when he meets with specialists to diagnose his progress. Moquett was stricken with the pulmonary affliction in March and is limited by doctors in having contact with his horses and other people.

◗ Just two winning tickets, each worth $52,481, were sold Thursday evening in the Single 6, when one-day handle was $122,115. The jackpot has gone unswept by a solo winner since it was seeded for the May 11 card following a May 10 forceout. Into Friday, the jackpot stood at $471,168.

◗ Back-to-back first-level allowances, each worth $55,000, will wrap up a nine-race Sunday program that starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern.

Both co-features will be run at one turn on the main track, with race 8 for fillies and mares at seven furlongs and race 9 for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs.

◗ Churchill’s lone Monday card of the year is set for Memorial Day, with the first race going at 12:45 p.m.