Sky Music right back for Damon Runyon

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It’s not Todd Pletcher’s modus operandi to run horses back in 17 days, but when it came to Sky Music he felt he didn’t have much of a choice.

Thus, Sky Music, who has won his first two starts, will head a field of eight entered to run in Sunday’s $65,000 Damon Runyon Stakes for New York-bred juvenile males. The Damon Runyon, at 1 1/16 miles, shares billing with the $65,000 East View Stakes for New York-bred juvenile fillies, also at 1 1/16 miles.

Sky Music, a son of Sky Mesa who brought $140,000 at the 2009 Fasig-Tipton Select yearling sale in Saratoga, won his debut on Oct. 3 by a neck going 6 1/2 furlongs at Belmont Park. Seven weeks later, on Nov. 18, Sky Music rallied four wide and came from well off the pace to win the Restrainor Stakes by 3 3/4 lengths. He ran a mile in 1:36.74 and earned a 75 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I thought his first race was good despite being a little bit green. Second start was a big step forward, stretching out in distance, step up in class and company, and he handled it well,” said Pletcher, who trains the horse for Cot Campbell’s Dogwood Stable. “He’s acted well since his last race. Hopefully it’s enough time to regroup.”

Sky Music will break from post 7 and be ridden by Javier Castellano.

Pletcher will also start Never Right Joey in the Damon Runyon. Never Right Joey won his first two starts – both at Saratoga – before running fourth in the Sleepy Hollow and fifth in the Restrainor.

“I thought he had a difficult trip last time, never really got into a comfort zone,” Pletcher said of Never Right Joey’s performance in the Restrainor. “Hopefully, stretching out, the race will spread out a little more and he can get a spot where he’s a little more comfortable.”

John Velazquez will ride Never Right Joey from the rail.

Others entered in the Damon Runyon include Artie Luvsto Party, Beau de Beaupre, Deciphering Dreams, Megalithic, Preachintothedevil, and Ram.

Miss Valentine, a winner of her first two starts, heads a field of six entered in the East View.

Girolamo, Vineyard Haven to return

Godolphin Stables Grade 1 winners Girolamo and Vineyard Haven as well as the Grade 2 winner Regal Ransom will remain in training in 2011, but the Grade 2-winning filly Sara Louise has been retired and will be bred, assistant trainer Rick Mettee said Thursday.

Girolamo, who won the Grade 1 Vosburgh and who finished third in last Saturday’s Cigar Mile, and the multiple Grade 1 winner Vineyard Haven, who finished seventh in the Cigar Mile, will ship to the Palm Meadows training center in south Florida early next week, Mettee said. They will be joined by Regal Ransom, Tahitian Warrior, Cocalero, Percusionist, and the filly Hibaayeb, who won the Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon at Santa Anita before finishing last in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Mettee said Girolamo and Vineyard Haven would get a break, but that Regal Ransom could possibly run during the Gulfstream meet. The entire string will return to New York in April, joining other horses Godolphin sees fit to ship over from Dubai.

Meanwhile, Mettee said that Sara Louise, who finished fifth as the favorite in the Grade 2 Top Flight Handicap on Nov. 26, has been retired. Sara Louise went winless in 3 starts as a 4-year-old after winning graded stakes in both her 2- and 3-year-old seasons.

She retired with a record of 4-2-1 from 11 starts and earnings of $400,435.

McLaughlin deciding on plans for It’s Tricky

It’s Tricky ran well enough winning her debut at Aqueduct on Sunday to warrant a trip to south Florida for the winter, but trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is debating if shipping the filly at this time is a smart move.

“She is a Florida filly, but sometimes we do well staying here,” McLaughlin said. “We’ll see. She’s a very nice filly, she’s one of our best but, she has been properly named. We got her saddled, got her in the gate and she ran very well. She’s not straightforward.”

It’s Tricky, a daughter of Mineshaft, won a six-furlong maiden race by 1 3/4 lengths on Sunday, running the distance in 1:10.84. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 84.

NYRA planning free bus service to track

With New York City Off-Track Betting threatening to close all of its branches at the end of business Friday, the New York Racing Association planned to begin offering free bus service from selected OTBs in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens to Aqueduct beginning Saturday.

Fifteen minutes after the final post at Aqueduct, the buses will leave the clubhouse entrance and drop patrons back at the same pickup points.

A complete list of stops and times of departure is available at www.nyra.com.

This weekend, all bus passengers are to receive vouchers for a free hot dog, soda, or coffee, and a free program.

◗ Jockey Maylan Studart began a 15-day suspension on Thursday dating back to a careless riding infraction incurred on May 31 at Belmont Park.