ARCADIA, Calif. – There was no Triple Crown glory this year for trainer Doug O’Neill, a year after Nyquist gave the stable its second Kentucky Derby win.
Irap, the winner of the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in April, was 18th in the Kentucky Derby on May 6. Term of Art, a Grade 3 winner at Del Mar last November, was last of 10 in the Preakness Stakes two weeks later.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Oak Brook came out of his 17-1 upset win Saturday in the Black Tie Affair Handicap in good shape, trainer Brian Williamson said, and will make his next start either in the Arlington Handicap on July 8 or the Warrior Veterans Stakes at Indiana Grand on July 15.
Oak Brook won Saturday for the first time in more than a year and got a 94 Beyer Speed Figure after wiring the Black Tie Affair on a very soft turf course. Two summers ago, Oak Brook finished second by a neck in a $75,000 turf stakes at Indiana Grand.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Kasaqui, a sharp winner of the Grade 2 Wise Dan Stakes on Saturday night at Churchill Downs, is likely to make his next start July 8 at Arlington in the Arlington Handicap.
Trainer Ignacio Correas, who has strings at Arlington and Keeneland this summer, said Kasaqui appeared to have come out of his Wise Dan win in good shape, but that he would know more later this week. After he races, Kasaqui spends four or five days at Greenfield Farm near Lexington, Ky. Kasaqui is due to return to Correas’s barn at Keeneland on Friday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Bendable, who won her first start of 2017 in the $100,000 Desert Stormer Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday, is unlikely to start until the Del Mar summer season.
Trainer Richard Mandella said on Wednesday that he prefers to run her in the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares at Del Mar on Aug. 13 over the Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes at Los Alamitos on July 8.
The Great Lady M. is worth $200,000, while the Rancho Bernardo is worth $100,000. Mandella said the timing of the two races is the deciding factor.
Texas Chrome, who will be honored as the 2016 Texas-bred of the Year during the Texas Thoroughbred Association’s annual banquet Saturday night at Lone Star, is now based at Prairie Meadows. The horse last raced at Churchill Downs, finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster.
“He came out of the race in good order,” trainer Allen Milligan said. “We moved him over to Iowa. We’re going to the Cornhusker.”
Ivan Fallunovalot is back in training. The stakes-winning sprinter was on the track for the first time since April on Tuesday at Lone Star Park, according to trainer Tom Howard.
Ivan Fallunovalot missed the Grade 3, $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap in April at Oaklawn due to a soft-tissue injury to his left hind leg. He rehabbed at an Arkansas farm and shipped to Lone Star on June 2.
Howard said the horse walked the shed row under tack upon his arrival at Lone Star but on Tuesday went out for a one-mile jog on the main track.
Monmouth Park has put together an interesting card Friday that features a high-level optional-claiming race and a second-level optional claimer for New Jersey-breds. The program concludes with a 2-year-old maiden sprint.
Pool Winner, who strung together five consecutive victories in 2015-16, will make his first start in eight months in race 7. Trained by Alan Goldberg, he is eligible for the five-furlong turf sprint because he has not won a race this year.
Shimmering Aspen’s romping win in the $75,000 Alma North Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday has earned her a trip to Belmont Park, according to trainer Rodney Jenkins, who said the daughter of Malibu Moon will now be pointed to the Grade 3 Victory Ride Stakes on July 9.
The $150,000 Victory Ride is a 6 1/2-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies.
