The unbeaten 3-year-old colt Mask, considered a top prospect for the Kentucky Derby, has had a setback “that will require him to miss approximately two weeks of training,” trainer Chad Brown said Tuesday.
Brown said the timing of the setback, details of which he did not want to disclose, would keep Mask out of his next scheduled start, the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 17.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Higher Power is nearing his stakes debut. The 3-year-old half-brother to millionaire Alternation is unbeaten at two turns, and among his wins is a first-level allowance Jan. 13 at Oaklawn.
Higher Power rallied from off the pace for a three-quarter-length victory over the well-regarded New York Central. For the effort, Higher Power earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 79. He has since worked five-eighths in 1:01.40 at his base of Oaklawn.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Sporting Chance had a significant work Monday at Oaklawn, where he went five furlongs in company in 1:01.40 in preparation for his first start since winning the Grade 1 Hopeful in September at Saratoga.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said if the horse continues to progress as desired he will start his season in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 19 at Oaklawn.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer D. Wayne Lukas and jockey Gary Stevens, whose Triple Crown wins together include the Kentucky Derby with Winning Colors and the Preakness with Oxbow, will team for the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star on Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds.
Lukas said Bravazo is being pointed to the race following his Jan. 13 allowance win at Oaklawn. Bravazo, under Stevens, rallied from off the pace for a neck win. Last year, the horse ran second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland.
“I think he will relish the long stretch at New Orleans,” Lukas said.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The 6-year-old Great Stuff earned a lifetime-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102 winning the Grade 3, $100,000 Toboggan Stakes last Saturday at Aqueduct.
There are several logical options for Great Stuff, depending how he trains the next few weeks. The most obvious one is the Grade 3, $250,000 General George Stakes on Feb. 17 at Laurel Park. The General George, like the Toboggan, is run at seven furlongs.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Midnight Disguise, the 4 1/4-length winner of the Busanda Stakes on Jan. 25 at Aqueduct, will most likely make her next start in the $200,000 Busher Stakes here March 3, trainer Linda Rice said Monday.
While the Busher will mean cutting back to a one-turn mile after a successful trip going 1 1/8 miles around two turns, Rice believes it’s the best option to get to the Grade 2, $300,000 Gazelle on April 7.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trevor McCarthy will ride Firenze Fire in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct and on Monday he got acquainted with the multiple graded stakes winner, guiding him through a half-mile workout in 49.18 seconds over the Belmont Park training track.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It will only be the first Saturday in February, but Dale Romans will already have the first Saturday in May in mind when the Holy Bull Stakes is run at Gulfstream Park for the 29th time.
Romans said Monday he intends to enter as many as four horses in the Grade 2, $350,000 Holy Bull. Entries for a big Saturday card were to be drawn here Wednesday.
