Prince Lucky figuring it out ahead of Pennsylvania Nursery

Trainer Larry Jones has Prince Lucky right where he wants him heading into the $100,000 Pennsylvania Nursery on Saturday at Parx Racing.

Or, maybe it’s the other way around.

“He’s been just a little bit of a difficult horse to train – we kind of had to learn to do things his way,” Jones said.

Prince Lucky should go favored in the Nursery, a seven-furlong race for 2-year-old colts and geldings bred in Pennsylvania. He’s part of an eight-horse field that includes Smooth B, who exits a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Futurity at Belmont Park; and American Talent, a first-level allowance winner last month at Parx.

Prince Lucky is making his Parx debut off a first-level allowance score Oct. 30 at Laurel. He darted to a 3 3/4-length win while covering six furlongs in 1:10.78, and the Beyer Speed Figure of 83 that he earned is the best career number in the Nursery.

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“We were very pleased,” said Jones, who trains Prince Lucky for breeder Daniel McConnell. “This horse has been a little difficult to train, to kind of train and learn. We just kind of babied him along, and he’s looking like he’s getting the hang of it now. It looks like he enjoys doing it now, instead of something he had to go out and do. Now, it’s his idea.”

Prince Lucky is a son of Corinthian. He won his debut in a maiden special weight Aug. 28 at Delaware Park and one start later ran third in the $75,000 First State Dash on Sept. 30, also at Delaware. In the stakes, Prince Lucky displayed an aversion to the whip, Jones said.

“He was like, ‘Oh, no, don’t you be hitting on me,’ ” Jones said. “Now, we ride him with no whip. He doesn’t want to see that thing, so we just leave it at home.”

Ricardo Santana Jr., who has the mount on Prince Lucky, will not carry a whip in the Nursery.

The horse will be picking up more ground Saturday and prepped for the move with a bullet half-mile work in 47.80 seconds Nov. 21 at Delaware Park.

“I think the colt has a lot of potential,” Jones said. “I don’t think distance will be a problem for him.”

Jones won the Nursery in 2006 with Hard Spun, who retired a Grade 1 winner of more than $2.6 million.

Bound to Windsor tops Eleanor Casey Memorial

Bound to Windsor will be seeking to win her third consecutive stakes race Saturday night when she starts as the probable favorite in the $50,000 Eleanor Casey Memorial at Charles Town.

The Casey Memorial is for 2-year-old fillies bred in West Virginia. The seven-furlong race will be run around two turns.

Bound to Windsor has won 3 of 4 career starts, with her first stakes win coming in a divisional race on the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic card Oct. 14 at Charles Town. In her most recent start, Bound to Windsor defeated colts in the West Virginia Futurity on Nov. 4, also at Charles Town.

The West Virginia Futurity was run over seven furlongs, and the Beyer Speed Figure of 74 that Bound to Windsor earned is the best career number in the Casey Memorial. She will break from the rail under Christian Hiraldo, the leading rider at Charles Town, who has the mount for Taylor Mountain Farm and trainer James Casey.

Charles Town leading trainer Jeff Runco, who through Wednesday was at 3,992 career Thoroughbred wins in North America, has three starters in the Casey Memorial – Flashy Dragon, See Ya Manana, and Wolfblade.