Volatile's explosive Aristides win puts him on path to the big sprints

It’s very difficult to feel bad for Steve Asmussen, even after the Hall of Fame trainer went 1 for 14 last week to remain one victory shy of 737 Churchill wins, a number that will tie him with Dale Romans as the all-time leading trainer in track history.

“It’s been a little bit frustrating not getting there yet,” Asmussen said.

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Still, the one winner for Asmussen last week was a doozy: Volatile, a 4-year-old colt making his stakes debut, earned a 112 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the six-furlong Aristides on Saturday. The winning time of 1:07.57 was just .02 of a second off the track mark, set in 2007 by Indian Chant.

Asmussen trained Lady Tak, the second dam of Volatile.

“He’s special to us because of his family,” said Asmussen, who trained the champion sprinter of 2019, Mitole.

Lady Tak won major events such as the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga, and in 2004 became the first millionaire trained by Asmussen.

“He has her freak-like ability,” Asmussen said. “We’re hoping that he shows the same affinity for Saratoga’s course like she did. We are definitely expecting to step him up into graded stakes company from here.”

Meanwhile, owner Jeff Bloom has confirmed that the Asmussen-trained Midnight Bisou will make her next start in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis on June 27, closing day of the spring meet. Midnight Bisou, the No. 1-rated horse in the weekly National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll since early March, will be making her first start since finishing second in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 29.