Plans for Brickyard Ride up in the air after pop-and-stop in Thor's Echo

Trainer Craig Lewis said he’s unsure where the eight-time stakes winner Brickyard Ride will reappear after his third-place finish in Sunday’s Thor’s Echo Stakes for statebred sprinters at Santa Anita.

Brickyard Ride finished 12 1/4 lengths behind winner The Chosen Vron in the four-runner Thor’s Echo Stakes. He disputed the pace for the first half-mile before tamely fading from contention on the rail.

“It wasn’t his day,” Lewis said.

The race featured a highly anticipated first matchup between The Chosen Vron and Brickyard Ride. The Chosen Vron, trained by Eric Kruljac, stalked the pace before taking the lead in early stretch. The Chosen Vron won by 5 1/2 lengths for his 11th stakes win in what was likely a prep for the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar on July 29, Kruljac said in the winner’s circle.

In the last two years, Brickyard Ride has won stakes at distances ranging from six furlongs to a mile on dirt, and at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita.

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Lewis said the 6-year-old Brickyard Ride’s condition will be assessed. He said bringing him back in the $100,000 Bertrando Stakes for California-bred milers at Los Alamitos on June 24 is not out of the question.

“I’m not sure what we’ll do,” he said. “I have an open mind.”

The $400,000 Bing Crosby Stakes is likely the next start for Spirit of Makena, who won his second consecutive stakes at seven furlongs in Saturday’s Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita.

A winner of 4 of 5 starts, all for owner and breeder Bruce Chandler and trainer George Papaprodromou, Spirit of Makena won his stakes debut in the Grade 3 San Carlos Stakes at seven furlongs on March 11.

The winner of the Bing Crosby Stakes receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

Last year, the Papaprodromou-trained American Theorem won the Triple Bend and Bing Crosby stakes and was eighth in the BC Sprint at Keeneland in November, his most recent start.

American Theorem has resumed training for a summertime campaign, Papaprodromou said. The 6-year-old worked five furlongs in 1:03.20 on Sunday, his fourth workout this year.

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