Oeuvre horse for course in Third Chance Handicap

Oeuvre will be first choice to win the Third Chance Handicap for the second year in a row Sunday at Hawthorne.

Five-year-old Oeuvre has won all seven of her Hawthorne starts – six on dirt, one on turf – since Chris Block began training her as a 3-year-old of 2022. The mare, a Richard Perkins homebred by Shackleford, won the 2023 Third Chance by 4 3/4 lengths while carrying 125 pounds, five more than the runner-up, and Hawthorne racing secretary Dave White is treating the Third Chance, for Illinois-bred fillies and mares at six furlongs on dirt, as a real handicap. Oeuvre must tote 128 pounds – including jockey Orlando Mojica – and concedes between seven and 14 pounds to her six rivals.

Even so, Oeuvre remains the most likely winner, her chief competition coming from the barn of trainer Michele Boyce, who sends out a pair of 5-year-old mares, Journeyist and Purr Sea, both of whom have found success on the Hawthorne main track. Journeyist is 13-5-1-3 over the Hawthorne surface, and the fact she races for the first time since August is less of a concern than Journeyist’s preference for routes over sprints.

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Purr Sea is the sprinter and figures to seize an early lead breaking from post 2 under Julio Felix. Purr Sea missed 14 months of racing before returning to action over the winter at Turfway Park, where she rounded into form and won a second-level allowance race in her third outing.

She’s better on Hawthorne dirt than Turfway Tapeta and gets seven pounds from Oeuvre.

Nobals cranking up

Nobals has begun gearing up for another run at the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, which he won last fall at Santa Anita.

Five-year-old Nobals had a much different campaign last year than he will this year. His season began in March and encompassed six starts before even getting to the Breeders’ Cup but trainer Larry Rivelli, with an eye toward the BC Turf Sprint at Del Mar, gave the gelding a longer layoff this winter. Nobals hit the Hawthorne work tab on April 24 and has logged a trio of three-furlong breezes. He won’t be racing June 8 in the Jaipur Stakes at Saratoga, and Rivelli isn’t sure when and where Nobals will make his seasonal debut.

“We’re working back from the Breeders’ Cup. There are a bunch of five- and 5 1/2-furlong turf sprints to choose from,” Rivelli said. “We gave him an extra month off just because. I don’t want to be enticed to run him more than I need to.”

Hawthorne has a $100,000 turf sprint stakes in July. Races in Indiana, Virginia, and Kentucky also will be considered.

A second high-level Rivelli-trained turf sprinter, One Timer, is scheduled to have his first timed workout of 2024 this weekend at Hawthorne. One Timer won a $600,000 race in 2022 at Kentucky Downs and was beaten a head there last year in the $1 million Turf Sprint. That race carries a $2 million purse in 2024 and will be the cornerstone of One Timer’s season, Rivelli said.

Illinois Derby winner to work

Patriot Spirit is scheduled to work a half-mile Sunday at Hawthorne, his first breeze since a front-running victory April 21 in the Illinois Derby.

Patriot Spirit led from the start of the $200,000 Illinois Derby, which he won by 5 1/2 lengths, albeit with a modest 85 Beyer Speed Figure. The colt, by Constitution, came out of the race in good shape, according to trainer Mike Campbell, and is a likely runner June 22 in the Ohio Derby.

“He’s training forwardly. After he works this weekend, I’m going to request from [Hawthorne] management that he works between races, seven-eighths of a mile or so, before the Ohio Derby,” said Campbell, who trains Patriot Spirit for owner George Mellon.

◗ With Jareth Loveberry now based in Kentucky, veteran journeyman David Cohen recently began riding regularly at Hawthorne and quickly has made his mark. From his first 21 mounts, Cohen rode eight winners, tied for fourth best among Hawthorne jockeys.

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