Red Ruby out, Harbor Lights in for Fantasy Stakes

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Red Ruby will miss the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy on Friday at Oaklawn, while Harbor Lights is joining the cast. The 1 1/16-mile race offers points for the Kentucky Oaks.

Red Ruby, the winner of the Martha Washington Stakes in February at Oaklawn, sustained “superficial cuts” on a hind leg Thursday, according to trainer Kellyn Gorder. He said she spooked and hit a metal ladder in the barn. The attached ladders are standard in a number of local barns, enabling horsemen to reach storage areas. Red Ruby required stitches and lost a little training time, said Gorder.

“Unfortunately, she’s going to be out of the race,” he said.

Gorder said the Kentucky Oaks remains a goal if she has enough points to get into the classic next month at Churchill Downs.

Harbor Lights is targeting the Fantasy, trainer Steve Asmussen said Saturday, after she worked a half-mile in 49.20 seconds at Oaklawn. Harbor Lights is coming off a dominant allowance win at Oaklawn for which she earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 81.

The draw for the Fantasy is Tuesday.

• Lookin At Lee, the runner-up in last year’s Kentucky Derby, breezed a half-mile in 49.20 seconds Saturday and is being considered for the Grade 2, $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap this Saturday, Asmussen said.

• Colonelsdarktemper, a candidate for the Oaklawn Handicap, worked a bullet five-eighths in 1:00.80 on Sunday at Oaklawn.

• Whitmore, who is expected for the Grade 3, $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on Saturday at Oaklawn, worked a half-mile in 49 seconds Sunday.