Street Lute to skip Primonetta Stakes

Trainer John Robb’s Street Lute is getting some time off. Last year’s Maryland-bred juvenile filly champion has won 7 of 9 lifetime starts without ever finishing out of the money.

Street Lute is nominated to the $100,000 Primonetta Stakes against older fillies and mares on April 24 but won’t compete.

“I backed off her a little bit,” Robb said. “I’m not going to run her until Preakness weekend.”

The Grade 3 Miss Preakness Stakes for 3-year-old filly sprinters will be contested May 14 at Pimlico. Street Lute finished third as the odds-on favorite in her most recent outing, the Beyond the Wire Stakes on March 13 at Laurel.

Meanwhile, popular 17-time winner Anna’s Bandit has returned to the work tab and is “doing good,” according to Robb. The 7-year-old multiple stakes-winning daughter of Great Notion breezed a half-mile in 50 seconds on March 27 and followed that up with a half-mile move in 49.40 on Wednesday morning.

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Anna’s Bandit last competed at Delaware Park on July 11 when she was third in the $75,000 Dashing Beauty Stakes.

Boyce nears return

Jockey Forest Boyce is recovering nicely from a shoulder injury and should be back in action next week. According to her agent, Jay Burtis. Boyce suffered the injury during a morning mishap last month.

“She just came off wrong and landed wrong,” Burtis said. “She was just really sore.”

Burtis indicated that Boyce worked horses Tuesday morning.

Boyce has piloted 846 winners with career earnings of $28,081,088. She has booted home 46 stakes winners, five in Grade 3 company. A runner-up for an Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice in 2010, Boyce led all Maryland-based riders in victories while winning titles at both the summer and fall Laurel meets that year. She is often the “go-to” rider for Shug McGaughey when the Hall of Fame trainer ships horses into Maryland.