HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Mitole, who put up a Beyer Speed Figure of 107 for his win in the $150,000 Bachelor for 3-year-olds Thursday at Oaklawn, was bright and alert Saturday and is scheduled to ship to Churchill, according to his trainer, Steve Asmussen.
Mitole’s number equaled the top Beyer put up by a 3-year-old so far in 2018. Justify earned a 107 for his win in the Santa Anita Derby.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Sassy Sienna and Wonder Gadot finished a nose apart Friday in the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy at Oaklawn and a rematch is brewing for next month’s Kentucky Oaks.
Trainer Brad Cox said Sassy Sienna, who earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 82 for her win in the Fantasy, is scheduled to ship Saturday night to his Churchill Downs division to begin preparations for the Kentucky Oaks. Trainer Mark Casse said Wonder Gadot, who earned the same number, is set to ship Monday to Churchill for the Oaks.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Unbridled Mo came out of her victory in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park in top shape and was walking the shed row Saturday morning at the D. Wayne Lukas barn, where Todd Pletcher’s horses have been housed for the Racing Festival of the South.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Fire Away, winner of last Sunday’s $100,000 Danger’s Hour, is likely to make his next start in the Grade 2, $250,000 Dixie Stakes on May 19 at Pimlico, trainer Shug McGaughey said.
Fire Away won the Danger’s Hour by 1 1/4 lengths over Projected. The victory was the fourth in as many starts over Aqueduct’s turf course for Fire Away, a 6-year-old son of War Front.
McGaughey said he would look to keep Fire Away in races at a mile to 1 1/16 miles. The Dixie is run at 1 1/16 miles.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – After a relatively quiet winter, trainer Chad Brown’s stable has heated up with the beginning of the spring meet and the opening of the turf at Aqueduct.
In three successive days, Brown sent out horses off extended layoffs to win over the Aqueduct turf.
On Wednesday, Ticonderoga, away since last October’s Hill Prince, won a first-level allowance race by a length. He ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:39.95, which is the fastest race at the distance run over the outer turf course, which only opened for business last fall. Ticonderoga earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – They have come from all across the country to chase the $100,000 purse of the inaugural Mizdirection Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Aqueduct on Sunday.
Horses based in Southern California, South Florida, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky are here for the six-furlong turf sprint named for the Southern California-based mare who twice won the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and earned $1.7 million. Mizdirection finished fifth of six in the Grade 1 Just a Game, her lone start in New York.
ARCADIA, Calif. – California is in need of (older) California-bred stakes runners.
For the second time this year, Santa Anita has canceled a $100,000 stakes for statebreds because of insufficient entries. The Dream of Summer Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile was scheduled for Sunday, but did not draw an adequate field when entries were taken Thursday.
In 2017, the Dream of Summer Stakes drew a field of eight. Racing secretary Rick Hammerle said the Dream of Summer will not be rescheduled.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Abel Tasman, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2017, will have her 2018 debut in the Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 4, trainer Bob Baffert confirmed Friday.
As far back as February, Baffert mentioned the $350,000 La Troienne Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares as a springtime goal for Abel Tasman, who has not raced since a second to Forever Unbridled in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar last November.
Trainer Jonathan Thomas, who sent out the highly regarded Catholic Boy to finish fourth behind Audible in the Florida Derby, will be in the spotlight at Tampa Bay Downs on Sunday when he saddles Arrogate’s younger half-sister, Osare, in the third race, a maiden special weight event carded at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Audible, working for the first time since his impressive victory in the Grade 1 Florida Derby 13 days earlier, breezed an easy half-mile in 48.74 seconds Friday morning at Palm Beach Downs. Audible was one of two of trainer Todd Pletcher’s four potential Kentucky Derby starters to work at the training center Friday along with Louisiana Derby winner Noble Indy.
