OZONE PARK, N.Y. – On Sunday morning, trainer Graham Motion tweeted a photo of a pony done up in bubble wrap with the caption, “Irish War Cry looks good this morning.”
While humorous, the tweet truthfully encapsulated the fragile nature of Thoroughbreds, especially 3-year-olds on the Triple Crown trail.
Six years ago, Motion won the Wood Memorial with Toby’s Corner. On the day he was scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs, Toby’s Corner turned up lame and didn’t make the Kentucky Derby.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The first three finishers from the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday all will be pointed to the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs, and the fourth-place finisher likely is headed to the Belmont Stakes, their trainers said Sunday morning.
Gormley and Royal Mo, who finished first and third, respectively, in the Santa Anita Derby, “both look great this morning,” trainer John Shirreffs said at his barn.
Oaklawn leading trainer Steve Asmussen’s top prospects for the Racing Festival of the South stakes put in their final works Sunday morning, including his Arkansas Derby double of Lookin At Lee and Untrapped.
It was an overcast morning in the 60s in Hot Springs, Ark. The track was fast.
Untrapped, who comes off a third-place finish in the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel at Oaklawn, went a half-mile by himself in 51 seconds. Lookin at Lee did the same, also going in 51 seconds. Lookin At Lee was third in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest in February at Oaklawn.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Rush hour came late Sunday morning at Keeneland, as a multitude of turf stars worked for upcoming stakes engagements at the Kentucky track. The activity on the lawn was led by the star racemares Lady Eli, Time and Motion, and Catch a Glimpse, all targeting the Grade 1, $350,000 Jenny Wiley Stakes this coming Saturday.
Classic Empire and Petrov, who are among the leading contenders for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 15, both put in final works for the race Saturday. They are part of an anticipated field of 10 or 11 for the 1 1/8-mile race that closes out the meet at Oaklawn.
Entries will be taken Wednesday. The Arkansas Derby carries 170 eligibility points for the Kentucky Derby, to be awarded to the first four finishers on a scale of 100-40-20-10.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The fields for the seven stakes races making up the $3.45 million Racing Festival of the South, which runs Thursday through Saturday at Oaklawn, are taking shape, with a large group of 3-year-olds anticipated for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby.
“It’s looking like 10 or 11,” Pat Pope, racing secretary at Oaklawn, said Friday. “That’s what we know of.”
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Stallwalkin’ Dude, sixth behind Mind Your Biscuits in the Dubai Golden Shaheen last month at Meydan, has resumed galloping and likely will resurface early in the Belmont Park spring-summer meet, trainer and co-owner David Jacobson said.
Stallwalkin’ Dude could run in the Diablo Stakes – he finished fifth behind Joking in that race last year – on May 7 or wait for the Grade 2, $250,000 True North on June 9.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Joking, the Grade 1-winning sprinter who got sick after shipping west last fall, forcing him to scratch from the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, has returned to the East Coast, but not yet the racetrack.
Joking, an 8-year-old gelding by Distorted Humor, has been turned out at Patty Hogan’s farm in central New Jersey, having arrived there about three weeks ago from Southern California, according to owner and trainer Charlton Baker. Joking will remain at the farm for up to three more weeks before rejoining Baker at Belmont Park.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Timeline may have earned himself a spot in the Grade 3, $200,000 Peter Pan at Belmont Park on May 13 with an eye-catching 13 1/2-length romp in the slop Thursday at Aqueduct.
Facing winners for the first time after winning a seven-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream on March 4, Timeline stalked the pace for more than five-eighths of a mile before taking command in upper stretch and gliding away from the first-level allowance field.
The 2016 race for leading trainer at Emerald Downs came down to the last week of the meet, and with two wins on closing day, Blaine Wright edged Jeff Metz and Frank Lucarelli to capture his first title. Wright won 39 races. Lucarelli and Metz tied for second with 37.
Metz was the leading trainer the previous three years. Lucarelli led the trainer standings five times, most recently in 2012. All three are back with strong stables for the 2017 meet, which begins Saturday.
