Slow Down Andy works five furlongs for Risen Star Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. - Slow Down Andy, winner of the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December, will have his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 19, trainer Doug O’Neill said Sunday.

Slow Down Andy was under consideration for the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Saturday until owners and breeders Paul and Zillah Reddam and O’Neill opted for the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at 1 1/8 miles. O’Neill said that uncertainty regarding flights to Oaklawn was one reason he and the Reddams decided to send Slow Down Andy to Fair Grounds.

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O’Neill said the trip to Fair Grounds will not only give Slow Down Andy a chance for a lucrative prize, but also test how the colt fares in his first start outside of Southern California.

“The big thing is we can see how he travels,” O’Neill said.

On Sunday at Santa Anita, Slow Down Andy worked five furlongs in 1:00.60. By Nyquist, who won the Kentucky Derby in 2016 for the Reddams and O’Neill, Slow Down Andy has won 2 of 3 starts and has earned $249,850.

In the Los Alamitos Futurity at 1 1/16 miles, Slow Down Andy finished a length in front of the heavily favored Messier, who is scheduled to start in the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Feb. 6. Messier, trained by Bob Baffert, worked five furlongs in 59.60 seconds at Santa Anita on Sunday, the fastest of 70 clockings at the distance.

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