Seymourdini points to Stymie Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Linda Rice had three horses nominated to Saturday’s Toboggan Stakes but didn’t enter any, as her Barn 44 at Belmont remains under quarantine until a horse who tested positive for the equine herpesvirus on Jan. 9 tests negatively for it in a subsequent exam.

While Rice was considering running Gravesend winner Do Share in the Toboggan, she was never really planning on running Seymourdini. Instead, Seymourdini will point to the $150,000 Stymie Stakes on March 10.

“I think that’s a better race for us,” Rice said. “Put everything else behind us and point to that race.”

Seymourdini finished ninth in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile following a fourth-place finish in the Bold Ruler. Last spring, Seymourdini put together an impressive three-race streak, winning two allowance races at Laurel and the State Dinner Stakes at Belmont by a combined 36 1/4 lengths.

All three of those races were at one turn, with two of them being at a mile. The Stymie this year is a one-turn mile.

On Jan. 19, Seymourdini worked five furlongs in 1:04.26 over the Belmont training track.

◗ On Wednesday, the 3-year-old California Night, a first-out winner for trainer Mike Maker, worked four furlongs in 47.65 seconds over the Belmont training track in preparation for a possible start in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes here Feb. 3.