The unbeaten Ain't No Elmers may have run herself into Fantasy Stakes

This is a strange time in racing to house a blossoming young prospect in your shed row. Bob Baffert is the prime example, with major Kentucky Derby hopes Authentic, Charlatan, and Nadal in his Santa Anita barn – and no Kentucky Derby the first Saturday in May.

On a lesser scale, trainer Bret Calhoun on Wednesday watched the 3-year-old filly Ain’t No Elmers run her record to two wins from two starts and look especially impressive in so doing. Ain’t No Elmers brims with promise even as her racing future – racing’s future – brims with uncertainty.

“It’s a problem,” Calhoun said. “You don’t know where to even think of running. There were races at Keeneland we were definitely looking at, but those races are gone.”

Keeneland earlier this week canceled its spring 2020 race meet.

Ain’t No Elmers, by Goldencents, debuted Feb. 15, went straight to the front in a maiden sprint race, and widened her advantage through the homestretch to win by more than six lengths. Calhoun said he seriously considered running her back in the Fair Grounds Oaks but opted instead for a six-furlong first-level allowance race on Wednesday. Calhoun and jockey Adam Beschizza formulated a plan to give Ain’t No Elmers a different experience, taking her back off the leaders, asking her to harness her speed and come with a run. Ain’t No Elmers pulled a bit in the early stages, but the race’s pace was fast enough (and Beschizza strong and deft enough) to get the filly back into the second flight. She was unleashed past the five-sixteenths pole and buried the lead pack with an impressive burst of acceleration that included a fifth furlong in a dazzling 11.29 seconds. The race was over at the furlong grounds, and Ain’t No Elmers cruised under the wire after switching to her wrong lead in the late stages when she spotted marks on the track and jinked to avoid a nonexistent obstacle. Ain’t No Elmers clocked 1:10.11 for six furlongs and got an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.

“It was unbelievable acceleration, and what’s exciting about this filly is I really think she’ll go the two turns,” Calhoun said. “Mentally is the key with her, and she’s continued to progress. Sometimes you run them the first time and it blows their mind, but not her – she’s continued getting better.”

It wasn’t on his radar before, but now the Fantasy Stakes, a two-turn race now scheduled for May 1 at Oaklawn, is on Calhoun’s radar. That could be the next start for Ain’t No Elmers – though in this racing moment, next starts generally are a tricky proposition.

◗ James Graham tweaked his lower back working a horse Thursday morning and had to take off his mounts Thursday afternoon at Fair Grounds. Two of those horses won, allowing Mitchell Murrill and Colby Hernandez, who each had a winner on the card, to creep closer to Graham in the jockey standings this meet. Entering Friday’s action, Graham, who was back on his mounts, led the standings with 63 winners to 59 for Murrill and Hernandez.

◗ The feature on Sunday’s nine-race card is race 5, a first-level dirt-sprint allowance race restricted to Louisiana-breds. Outofmybind has slightly hidden but very competitive form and is the pick to win at what should be a fair price.