Sir Anthony royalty as far as trainer is concerned

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Anthony Mitchell has yet to be knighted back in his native England, but Sir Anthony the horse lives and breathes nonetheless in Barn 18 at Gulfstream Park.

“A while back the owner said, ‘I’ve got an idea for this horse,’ ” an amused Mitchell recalled early this week on his Gulfstream shed row. “He said he wanted to name the horse after me, and I said, ‘Well, it better be good, then.’ ”

Indeed, Sir Anthony has proved himself worthy of the honor. Bred and owned by Richard Otto, a longtime owner-breeder in Illinois, the 4-year-old ridgling came to national prominence here 10 weeks ago by upsetting heavily favored Audible in the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday. It was the fourth straight victory for the son of Mineshaft, and now the goal is five in a row when the Grade 3, $100,000 Hal’s Hope is renewed here Saturday.

“He’s panned out to be a nice horse, a fun horse,” said Mitchell, who turns 60 on March 3. “I’m no under illusions with him. I’m on the road to try to improve him, and maybe some of his better races are ahead of him, who knows? If not, I mean, he’s still eligible for the Illinois two-other-than, so there’s always a backup plan.”

Audible, the 2018 Florida Derby winner, wheeled back to finish fifth in the Jan. 26 Pegasus World Cup after finishing second at 1-10 in the Dec. 15 Harlan’s Holiday. Audible is trained by Todd Pletcher, who now will run two different horses at Sir Anthony in the one-mile Hal’s Hope – Copper Town and Prince Lucky. Foremost among the other probables is Quip, the 2018 Tampa Bay Derby winner making his first start since finishing far back in the Preakness.

Shortly after the Harlan’s Holiday, Sir Anthony was sent to the Lambholm South training center in Ocala, Fla., where he initially got time off before returning to serious training. Two breezes there were followed by two more here, ending with a five-furlong drill Saturday in 1:00.80, and now Mitchell is expecting another big effort.

Mitchell said that if Sir Anthony runs well in the Hal’s Hope he would probably return in the March 29 Skip Away or March 30 Gulfstream Mile.

“Then we’ll probably take him back up to Arlington for the Hanshin,” he said.

Mitchell has just six horses in his care here, although he hopes to have about 18 when he returns to Chicago in early spring.

“I’m not one to come to the barn with the Wranglers pressed and a fresh white shirt,” he said. “I’ll get in the trenches and can tell you everything about my horses. I don’t have an assistant to tell me what’s going on, and that’s the way I like it.”

The Hal’s Hope will anchor a Saturday card that also will include a pair of $75,000 turf sprints for 3-year-olds, the Texas Glitter and Melody of Colors. Entries will be drawn Wednesday.

◗ Trainer Ian Wilkes said he will consider the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes on April 7 at Keeneland for Solar Kitten, who put a powerful stretch kick on display here Friday in winning a two-turn allowance race on the turf. Owned by Turf Stable and Six Column Stable, the daughter of Kitten’s Joy earned a 74 Beyer Speed Figure.