Run Classic pointing to Tinsel Stakes at Oaklawn

Run Classic worked a half-mile in 48.20 seconds Thursday at Fair Grounds and is scheduled to return to stakes competition later this month for the first time since the Louisiana Derby in March 2021.

Trained by Bret Calhoun for owner Tom Durant, Run Classic showed obvious ability starting his career at Fair Grounds early in 2021, with his connections trying him in the Louisiana Derby after a second-start maiden win in a dirt route. Run Classic finished last of eight in the Louisiana Derby, came out of the race with an issue, and despite posting nine timed workouts late in 2021 and this past January and February, the colt didn’t race again until September.

In his comeback start he won a first-level allowance race at Churchill Downs going 6 1/2 furlongs, short of his best, then turned in a very sharp performance at Keeneland, where he cruised to an 8 1/4-length second-level allowance score over an extended seven furlongs, earning a 105 Beyer Speed Figure.

Back out to two turns in a Nov. 13 allowance at Churchill, Run Classic engaged in a furious speed duel, his pace rival fading to a distant seventh and Run Classic nipped on the wire by a closer.

All being well, Run Classic starts Dec. 17 at Oaklawn Park in the $200,000 Tinsel, a 1 1/8-mile race that might or might not push against the horse’s distance limitations.

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“He might be better going shorter, but he’s a fast horse with a high cruising speed,” Calhoun said. “The main objective is to see how he handles that surface.”

* Two Emmys, unraced since June, had his first official workout in more than three months when he went a half-mile in 50.80 seconds on Thursday. Winner of the Grade 1 Mr. D. Stakes in 2021, where he beat Domestic Spending, Two Emmys this past spring captured the most important grass race of the Fair Grounds season, the Muniz Memorial. Trainer and majority owner Hugh Robertson sent Two Emmys to train this summer at Delaware Park with his son, Mac Robertson, but Two Emmys never started on the East Coast.

* Phileas Fogg, a first-time starting 2-year-old colt, scored an eye-catching 3 3/4-length win debuting in a two-turn dirt maiden race Thursday at Fair Grounds. By Astern, Phileas Fogg is trained by Michael Stidham for his breeder, Godolphin. He clocked 1:45.37 for 1 1/16 miles after setting a steady pace under Colby Hernandez and earned a 78 Beyer Speed Figure.

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