Journalism, the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby after overcoming trouble to win the Santa Anita Derby by three-quarters of a length, is tentatively scheduled for his first work back this coming weekend at Santa Anita.
“I have to figure out his travel schedule first,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “He’ll work this weekend.”
McCarthy added that Journalism is “doing very well, seems like he’s in a pretty good groove at the moment.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – The best 3-year-old who is not already qualified for the Kentucky Derby worked an easy half-mile Monday morning at Santa Anita in preparation for a potential Derby start.
Baeza, runner-up to Journalism in the Santa Anita Derby, needs defections to make the Kentucky Derby lineup. He ranked 24th on the points list as of Monday morning, and only 20 horses can start. Trainer John Shirreffs is proceeding as if Baeza will get in. Monday’s workout was slow, by design.
Before he gets ready to relocate to New York for the summer, trainer Gregg Sacco still has a few horses left to run at Tampa Bay Downs.
In Wednesday’s featured first-level allowance/optional $16,000 claiming sprint at six furlongs, Sacco sends out Kitty Hawk in his second start off a six-month layoff. Kitty Hawk, previously trained by Vickie Oliver, finished fourth as the favorite in this condition on March 29, his first start since last September.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Skippylongstocking will start as the 123-pound highweight Saturday when he attempts to win the Grade 2, $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap for the second year in a row. He is part of a field of eight for the 1 1/8-mile race and will start from post 4.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mother Nature disappointed Rainbow 6 players on March 30 at Gulfstream Park when heavy rains and lightning forced the cancellation of the second half of a card that featured a bi-weekly force out of the pool. But there was a rainbow at the end of all that bad weather as nobody has solved the Rainbow 6 since, meaning a much larger carryover, likely in the vicinity of $600,000, will be up for grabs when a mandatory payout is offered Sunday. Track officials estimate that the total pool could reach $4.5 million.
INDIANTOWN, Fla. – Tappan Street and Sovereignty, two of the six top-ranked 3-year-olds in the latest Daily Racing Form Derby Watch and the first- and second-place finishers, respectively, in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, got back to work Friday morning. Both breezed easy half-miles over a fast track at their winter home of Payson Park.
Haulin Ice has returned home to South Florida after her win in the $250,000 Matron at Oaklawn Park, and plans for her next start are to be determined, according to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.
Haulin Ice, who is the reigning Arkansas-bred of the year, was a five-length winner of the Matron. She defeated open company in the race and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 101. Haulin Ice covered six furlongs in 1:09.20.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Virginia Derby winner American Promise is scheduled to have one more work at his winter base of Oaklawn Park before shipping to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Thursday.
American Promise has turned in back-to-back bullet works at Oaklawn since winning the Virginia Derby on March 15. He went five furlongs in 59.40 seconds on Wednesday.
“He had a beautiful work this week,” Lukas said. “He’ll get one more here, then we’ll move him. We’ll go to Kentucky.”
A few jockey assignments for the May 3 Kentucky Derby have been finalized, with John Velazquez getting back on Grande and Irad Ortiz Jr. taking the mount on Publisher.
Grande, the Wood Memorial runner-up, got into the Kentucky Derby field because Heart of Honor, runner-up in the UAE Derby, is no longer being considered for the Kentucky Derby, according to a racing official with the International Racing Bureau.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Raymond is like a lot of other horses this meet at Oaklawn Park in that he’s been chasing Payne.
But not on the track.
Raymond has been chasing Payne on the leaderboard of the meet’s winningest horses and can tie him atop the standings with a victory in the eighth race Sunday.
Payne’s record stood at 4 for 5 this meet through Friday. Raymond is 3 for 3 this stand, first winning a $10,000 waiver claiming race on Jan. 4, then taking back-to-back starter allowances.
