Sticksstatelydude out, will miss Pegasus World Cup

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Sticksstatelydude, among the dozen or so handicap horses under consideration for a slot in the $12 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 28, has been stopped on and will be sidelined indefinitely, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Thursday.

Sticksstatelydude closed out his 3-year-old campaign with the best performance of his career, a 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Discovery at Aqueduct. The son of First Dude shipped to Palm Meadows in Florida shortly after the win to prepare for a winter campaign and had one work at the training center, an easy half-mile in 49.60 seconds on Dec. 16.

“He had some little issues coming out of the work that we just weren’t happy with, so we decided to send him home and give him some time off,” McLaughlin said. “The timing couldn’t have been worse, coming off such a big race. But he’s a really nice horse and hopefully he’ll be back with us again at Belmont next summer.”

McLaughlin had planned on running Sticksstatelydude in either the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus, if a lease agreement was reached with one of the 12 slot holders for the race, or the $400,000 Poseidon under similar conditions the same day.

Margate will anchor Monday card

With the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector postponed to an undetermined date, Monday’s 11-race program will instead be anchored by the $60,000 Margate, a seven-furlong overnight stakes for 3-year-old fillies who have never won a stakes.

The Margate drew a field of nine, led by the multiple-Grade 3-placed Banree, whose only start since May 20 was a second-place finish against older optional-claiming horses at Churchill Downs on Nov. 13. Banree finished second behind Off the Tracks in the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga last year. She capped off the year by checking home third going a mile in the Grade 3 Tempted at Aqueduct.

Four of Banree’s eight rivals – My Awesome Mom, Dad’s Kiddo, Empyrea, and Little Priscilla – enter the Margate off a win. My Awesome Mom has won both her starts since joining trainer David Kassen’s barn earlier this year, including an optional-claiming dash by 2 1/4 lengths at Gulfstream Park West on Nov. 26.

Empyrea has won her last four tries, all in the claiming ranks, and will be in new hands for the Margate, having been haltered for $25,000 by trainer Angel Medina for Gentry Farms here Dec. 14.

Completing the field are Sugar Cone, Giddy Up, Mo’ Green, and Bodacious Babe.

◗ The 2016 season will ring down on Dec. 31 with at least four stakes races on the card – five should the Mr. Prospector be rescheduled to that afternoon. The original stakes schedule includes four turf events Dec. 31: the $100,000 H. Allen Jerkens, the $75,000 Tropical Park Derby, the $75,000 Tropical Oaks, and the $75,000 Via Borghese.

The two-mile Allen Jerkens lured 30 nominations, led by steeplechase kingpin Top Striker, runaway winner of the Grade 1 Colonial Cup, along with graded-stakes-winning stablemates Charming Kitten and Greengrassofyoming from the barn of trainer Mike Maker.

◗ Trainer Dale Romans sent out one of his top 3-year-old prospects, J Boys Echo, to stretch his legs and get acclimated to the local surroundings here Thursday morning. J Boys Echo breezed an easy half-mile from the quarter pole around the turn in 51.03. J Boys Echo was an impressive maiden winner going 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland before finishing fourth behind Gunnevera in the Delta Jackpot in his 2-year-old finale.