NEW ORLEANS – Even after entering the race, the trainers of Risen Star entrants Supreme Aura and High North left the door open to opt for the Southwest Stakes on Feb. 19 at Oaklawn Park.
Trainer Mike Stidham said Monday it was very likely Supreme Aura would start in the Risen Star, and that he’d only consider entering the Southwest on Friday if the race were to be split into divisions. Either way, Supreme Aura will be trying two turns for the first time after two eye-catching sprint wins.
NEW ORLEANS – Noble Indy failed to meet a mere $45,000 reserve when taken to auction as a yearling. In that regard, he already has exceeded early expectations, and could continue on the Triple Crown trail with a solid showing Saturday in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds.
Noble Indy, who had been considered for other 3-year-old stakes, worked five furlongs in 1:01.12 Saturday at Palm Beach Downs in Florida, exited the work in good order, and has a Wednesday flight booked to New Orleans.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainers Danny Gargan and Dennis Lalman were both issued suspensions and fines by the New York Gaming Commission for medication violations.
Gargan was suspended 10 days and fined $1,000 for an overage of phenylbutazone in the system of the horse Playwright, who won a New York-bred maiden $40,000 claiming race at Aqueduct on Dec. 6. Bute is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory used to relieve pain.
Gargan’s suspension was reduced to seven days for waiving his right of appeal. He will begin serving the suspension Sunday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Michelle Nevin said she thought about running My Boy Tate in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 General George Handicap at Laurel Park, but ultimately decided to keep the New York-bred gelding home and point to Monday’s $100,000 Hollie Hughes Stakes for statebreds.
My Boy Tate has strung together four consecutive victories – all in statebred company – including a three-length score in the Say Florida Sandy Stakes here last month. Last Saturday, My Boy Tate breezed five furlongs in 1:01.77 over the Belmont training track.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It was a pretty good week for trainer John Servis. On Feb. 4, his beloved Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl. Six days later, the Servis-trained 3-year-old A Different Style proved victorious in the Jimmy Winkfield at Aqueduct.
While Eagles fans might be dreaming of a dynasty, Servis is not dreaming of the Kentucky Derby with A Different Style, who will remain sprinting and who will likely point to the Grade 3, $250,000 Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct on April 7.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The full slate of 12 starter-allowance races that Gulfstream has offered in recent years on Presidents Day (Monday) has been shifted to the Saturday of the holiday weekend for this year. The purse of every race is $50,000 or $60,000.
Page McKenney, the 8-year-old gelding with more than $1.76 million in earnings, is eligible for one of the Saturday starters, the Old Man Hickory, and was expected when entries were drawn Wednesday.
Monday, the last of six straight days of action here, will bring the Grade 2 Royal Delta, a one-mile race.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mark Casse is so high on He Takes Charge that the trainer intends to give the gray Tapit colt a shot to prove himself with the elite of the 3-year-old class. Making his fifth career start, He Takes Charge drew clear late to win a 1 1/16-mile maiden race here Saturday with Tyler Gaffalione aboard, earning a career-high 82 Beyer Speed Figure.
:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays
OLDSMAR, Fla. – Imperial Hint, the standout sprinter who was second to Roy H in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar in his last start at 4, returned to the work tab Saturday, breezing a half-mile in a bullet 47.40 seconds over a fast Tampa Bay Downs track.
Trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. said the 5-year-old Florida-bred horse is a possible starter in the March 31 Dubai Golden Shaheen.
“We have received an invitation and are considering it,” he said. “I’d say it’s 50-50.”
OLDSMAR, Fla. – It’s not every day at Tampa Bay Downs that a first-level allowance race comes together like this.
Magnum Moon, with a 95 Beyer Speed Figure from his only start, is part of a terrific group of 3-year-olds trying to prove themselves around two turns in the seventh race on a rare Thursday program here. The one-mile and 40-yard race is designed as a prep for the March 10 Tampa Bay Derby.
