Trombetta eyeing New York stakes for Lucky Stride

Lucky Stride “looked good” after her victory in last Saturday’s Nellie Morse at Laurel Park, according to trainer Michael Trombetta, and will probably head to New York.

“Nothing’s stamped in stone, but I think she’s been included in the invitations for the Heavenly Prize,” he said. “But that’s [only] two weeks and it’s probably too soon. The one that comes back on April 10, the Top Flight Invitational, might be a much better option.”

Trombetta credited the mare’s toughness as one of her best attributes.

“She’s one of those kind of horses that if she’s in contention that last quarter of a mile, she’s pretty relentless,” he said. “She keeps coming. She’s a pretty hearty mare that doesn’t want to quit.”

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Trombetta also provided updates on some of his other runners. Bella Aurora, winner of the $100,000 Interborough Stakes at Aqueduct on Jan. 18, has been retired and will be bred to Horse of the Year Authentic.

Premier Star, winner of the Jersey Shore Stakes at Monmouth on Oct. 14, has been sold to overseas interests and is training in Dubai.

Wet Your Whistle, second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, will return in 2021. “We gave him a few months off and we just started putting tack on him the last week or so,” he said.