Straight No Chaser back in California after mixed Middle Eastern adventure
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ARCADIA, Calif. – Straight No Chaser, the champion sprinter of 2024, recently returned to trainer Dan Blacker’s stable at Santa Anita after mixed results in a two-race campaign in the Middle East earlier this year.
Straight No Chaser “has good energy and is bouncing around the barn,” Blacker said last weekend.
Long-range plans for Straight No Chaser include a potential start in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar on July 26 and the definite goal of an appearance in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
Straight No Chaser won the BC Sprint at Del Mar last November to clinch his championship. The winner of the $400,000 Bing Crosby Stakes earns a fees-paid berth to the BC Sprint.
Earlier this year, Straight No Chaser won the Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, a $2 million race at six furlongs, in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 22, but was eight of 11 in the Group 1 Golden Shaheen at six furlongs in Dubai on April 5. Straight No Chaser was beaten nine lengths by Dark Saffron in the $2 million Golden Shaheen after racing behind horses.
“He was a little flat,” Blacker said of the Dubai loss. “He didn’t break as sharp as he can, and he had that kickback in his face. He didn’t like that very well. It wasn’t his day."
Owned by the MyRacehorse partnership, the 6-year-old Straight No Chaser has won 7 of 12 starts and earned $2,636,300. The loss in Dubai ended a three-race winning streak that began with a win in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship last September.
“It’s good to have him back [in California]," Blacker said. “We’ll give him some time and decide what is next and plan for the Breeders’ Cup. “Horses that have run in the Middle East need to get to 100 percent. I’d like to run in the Bing, but the Breeders’ Cup is the main goal.”
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