Will Rogers: Rodeo's Castle working for 8-year-old campaign

Rodeo's Castle, now 8, has been turning up on the work tab at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla. He is scheduled to make his first start of the year at the track in the $50,000 Route 66 on May 2, said his trainer, Veronica Griggs. The race will be the first start since last June for Rodeo's Castle, a three-time stakes winner who has earned $414,766.

"We had a five-eighths work today, and he worked very well," Griggs said Wednesday, noting she caught the horse in 1:02. "He came back bouncing from the work, so he seems back real close to his old self. I'm pretty excited."

Rodeo's Castle, a gelding, has not raced since he finished sixth in the $125,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap at Prairie Meadows on June 28. Before that, he finished third in the $50,000 Prairie Express. Rodeo's Castle registered his richest career win in the $275,000 Duncan F. Kenner at Fair Grounds in 2006. His best Beyer Speed Figure, a 105, was earned in 2005, when he ran six furlongs in a blazing 1:07.80 to win the $75,000 Ford Express at Lone Star Park.

Griggs is in the midst of a high-percentage meet at Will Rogers, where her starters have gone 10 for 39. She ranked fourth in the trainer standings to current leader Roger Engel as of Wednesday.