Practical Move's next likely race will be San Felipe Stakes
ARCADIA, Calif. – Practical Move, upset winner of the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity, will launch his 3-year-old campaign in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 4 at Santa Anita, skipping the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes on Feb. 28 at Oaklawn Park, trainer Tim Yakteen confirmed.
“You prefer to run out of your backyard,” Yakteen said Saturday at Santa Anita, where Practical Move smoked five furlongs in 59 seconds, the day’s fastest five-furlong work. It was a super work over the Santa Anita surface he will race over in his comeback
“Nothing’s etched in stone, and we want to see how the races come together, but I prefer to stay here,” Yakteen said.
Owned by Pierre and Leslie Amestoy and Roger Beasley, Practical Move’s 2-year-old campaign culminated Dec. 17 with his upset at Los Alamitos. The colt’s blazing work last weekend hinted at a promising 3-year-old season.
Practical Move opened up on Bob Baffert-trained Hejazi on the backstretch, coasted to the finish as the workmate caught up, then rebroke after the wire.
“He worked absolutely terrific, came home in 23 flat,” Yakteen said. “Fantastic drill. We went three-quarters in 1:11, out in” 1:25.
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Yakteen was asked if he expected company in the work. His succinct one-word reply: “No.”
In addition to Practical Move, the San Felipe field will include smashing debut sprint winner Geaux Rocket Ride, trained by Richard Mandella. Flavien Prat rode Geaux Rocket Red in his Jan. 29 debut, a runaway win by nearly six lengths in 1:09.52. He earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure.
Will he stay two turns?
“Prat got off him and said ‘I actually think he’ll go farther,’ ” Mandella said.
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