Tejon Pass, Time for Truth possible for Rebel Stakes

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Stakes-placed runners Tejon Pass and Time for Truth are both potential new shooters for the 3-year-old series at Oaklawn Park, as the pair are under serious consideration for the Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel Stakes on Feb. 24.

Tejon Pass worked six furlongs on Tuesday, going in 1:15 in company in the mud. The son of Justify and five-time graded winner Foxysox was a maiden special weight winner at Santa Anita and also ran third to Nysos in the Grade 3 Bob Hope back home at Del Mar. He’s now with trainer Peter Miller’s division at Oaklawn.

“We’re going to definitely look at the Rebel,” Miller said. “With that race coming back in three weeks [after the rescheduled Southwest], we thought it might be an opportunity, some of the horses that just ran in the prep a few weeks ago may not run back in three weeks.”

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Tejon Pass made his two-turn debut in a Jan. 28 allowance at Oaklawn and was a close fifth.

“He had a bad trip,” Miller said. “He broke slow and then he rushed up on a pretty good pace. He was on the inside, then he kind of sucked back and went wide around the turn. It was better than it looked.”

Miller said a final decision on the Rebel will be made after the horse works again.

Time for Truth has been one of the meet’s most impressive debut winners, taking a maiden special weight sprint with a Beyer Speed Figure of 89 on Dec. 31. He proceeded to run second in the $150,000 Ozark last Saturday in his first start against winners. Ron Moquett trains the son of Arkansas Derby winner Omaha Beach and the Lookin At Lucky mare Shape Shifter.

“He came out of the race well,” Moquett said. “We’re excited about him. He’s a classy horse.”

“He obviously has distance on both sides of his pedigree,” Moquett said. “We’ve always wanted to win the Arkansas Derby. We’ve been second twice and third once with Whitmore. If he’s good enough, that would be an obvious goal. If it’s too far and he wants to sprint, we know how to make a living with those, too. We’ll do what’s best for him.”

◗ Jockey Kelsi Harr will miss at least the upcoming four-day race week at Oaklawn after sustaining a hairline fracture in her foot in a gate incident Feb. 3, according to her agent, Steve Krajcir. Harr is scheduled for a new round of X-rays on Sunday to assess how she is healing, Krajcir said.

◗ Jockey David Cabrera is named on horses for the Texas Champions Preview Day card Saturday at Sam Houston in his first mounts since sustaining injuries in a September race at Remington Park. He also will ride at the track Sunday and Monday, according to a press release from Sam Houston.

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