Won for Lou ends layoff for new barn in Bear's Den
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Won for Lou has been training remarkably well ahead of his first start on the East Coast for trainer Jose D’Angelo. Once an outsider on the 3-year-old turf scene in California, he could return from a layoff with far more to offer in the $100,000 Bear’s Den Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
“I know him better now,” D’Angelo said. “He came in good from his old barn, so just getting to know him [during the four-month layoff], it becomes easier to do my job.”
In his last three workouts at the Palm Meadows training center, Won for Lou has run the fastest time at the distance that morning, most notably completing four furlongs in 47.80 seconds on Aug. 15.
In 10 starts for trainer Doug O’Neill, the colt ran in four stakes at Santa Anita and Del Mar, including a pair of Grade 3 races as a juvenile, but never finished better than fifth. His best performance so far came in a $50,000 starter/optional-claiming race at Santa Anita in March, when he stretched out to a mile and won by 4 1/2 lengths with a 77 Beyer Speed Figure.
Won for Lou is one of two horses in the field of eight 3-year-olds with a win at a mile on turf.
“I think the two turns is definitely his race,” D’Angelo said. “We were looking to get to racing in the Florida [first-level allowances] coming off the layoff, but he’s feeling good, so we’re taking the shot in the stakes.”
Trelawny, a colt trained by Jose Pinchin, switched back to turf last time out and won a first-level allowance at 7 1/2 furlongs, earning a 75 Beyer. The Florida-bred has won on all three surfaces at Gulfstream but is still looking for his first stakes victory.
Diciassette, a juvenile stakes winner, will make his turf debut for trainer Patrick Biancone. Since winning the $75,000 Proud Man last August, the colt has run in four straight stakes on dirt, never finishing worse than fourth or better than third.
Benny the Bull
Biancone admitted he was taking a stab with Diciassette in the Bear’s Den, but the trainer will have a more grounded chance with Classic of Course in the $100,000 Benny the Bull Stakes. The uber-consistent 4-year-old has never finished worse than fourth in 15 career starts on dirt.
In four stakes between March and July, the Florida-bred gelding ran on well for minor prizes behind the likes of Damon’s Mound, Viking, and Rolando. Biancone jokingly referred to him as an ATM, always cashing checks, and he got back to his winning ways in a $71,000 allowance last time out.
“It’s the same horses, the same local competition,” Biancone said. “There’s a different winner each time, and the one who gets the best trip wins the race.”
As Biancone noted, Classic of Course has traded blows with Back Em Up, To The Eastside, and Pure Class, and all three high-level contenders will enter with similar chances.
Latch the Hatch, a 4-year-old gelding trained by Joe Orseno, is a relatively new face rising through the ranks. The front-running Florida-bred has won three of his last five starts, including a first-level allowance with a 91 Beyer last time out.
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