Stellar Wind targets Apple Blossom at Oaklawn
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ARCADIA, Calif. – It was not the type of workout expected from a multiple Grade 1 winner, but trainer John Sadler was not concerned with Stellar Wind’s six-furlong workout in 1:16.40 on Friday.
“They went a little slow, pilot error,” Sadler said. “It was not exactly what I wanted, but I’m not freaking out because I have time.” Stellar Wind has three more works scheduled prior to her comeback in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park on April 14.
Stellar Wind, the champion 3-year-old filly in 2015 and three-time Grade 1 winner, including two over Beholder, has won 7 of 12 starts. She finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in her most recent start.
Accelerate, the Sadler-trained Grade 2 winner, missed a workout last week due to a foot issue but galloped fine Friday and was scheduled to work Saturday as he prepares for the Grade 2, $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 15.
◗ The second-best 3-year-old filly in California, whose training was interrupted by illness, was scheduled to jog Friday, the first time Abel Tasman has gone to the track since being transferred March 9 from trainer Simon Callaghan to Bob Baffert.
Baffert said Abel Tasman “had a slight fever and something else going on” that disrupted her training. Plans for her next start have not been determined; she remains a candidate for the Kentucky Oaks.
Abel Tasman won 3 of 5 for Callaghan, including the Grade 1 Starlet at Los Alamitos in December. She finished second to Unique Bella in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes in her comeback March 4 and was transferred to Baffert after a mix-up in the silks worn by jockey Joe Talamo.
◗ Reach the World, who runs next in the Santa Anita Derby on April 8, posted a sharp team workout Friday for trainer Baffert. The runner-up to Battle of Midway last out in an entry-level allowance, Reach the World worked in 59.80 seconds, tied for the day’s fastest work.
“I gave him a good little waker-upper today,” Baffert said. Reach the World worked in company with the unraced maiden Lookie Loo. Reach the World has won 1 of 3 starts.
