HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Moment of Delight posted her third stakes victory in her last five starts, outlasting Distinta by a neck in Saturday’s White Pearl Stakes. Moment of Delight, a 5-year-old daughter of A.P. Warrior trained by David Fawkes, gave leading rider Luis Saez a sweep of the afternoon’s two stakes. He also won the Grade 2 Royal Delta aboard Curlin’s Approval.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Mind Your Biscuits figures as a solid favorite when the 4-year-old colt makes his first start since winning the Grade 1 Malibu on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. An earner of nearly $800,000, Mind Your Biscuits will return in the Grade 3, $100,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs.
The Gulfstream Sprint is one of three stakes to be run here Saturday, along with twin turf sprints, the $75,000 Texas Glitter and $75,000 Melody of Colors.
Royal Delta’s brother on rise
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The turf star Lady Eli was on the work tab for the first time since her nose defeat in the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf; the 5-year-old mare breezed three furlongs in an easy 37.90 seconds Saturday over the Palm Meadows turf.
“It looked like she was just galloping down the lane,” said Chad Brown, who trains Lady Eli for the Sheep Pond Partners. “She was moving very smoothly, which was the most important thing I was looking for. Hopefully, this gets her started on a regular work schedule” of every seven days or so.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Irish War Cry is scheduled to breeze Saturday at the Palm Meadows training center in preparation for his next stop along the Kentucky Derby trail, the March 4 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
The work will be the only one between races for Irish War Cry, who extended his unbeaten record to three when leading all the way to win the Feb. 4 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream. Trainer Graham Motion confirmed Monday that he intends to enter the chestnut Curlin colt in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth at 1 1/16 miles.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Mark Casse said Sunday that Classic Empire will not make the March 4 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park, as had been tentatively planned, but that any subsequent prep race for the May 6 Kentucky Derby remains possible for him.
The reigning divisional champion, Classic Empire was scheduled to breeze Monday morning toward the Fountain of Youth, but that plan has been scrapped because of a nagging hoof abscess.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Bronze Age is the latest 3-year-old to join the list of Triple Crown prospects for trainer Bob Baffert.
Bronze Age won his debut at a mile, and third career start, with a convincing 1 1/2-length victory in 1:35.29 Saturday at Santa Anita. He beat two well-regarded Baffert-trained prospects in West Coast, who had his career debut Saturday and finished with interest, and Glacier, who was a well-beaten third.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Wild At Heart, the winner of Saturday’s Grade 3 Buena Vista Stakes, is likely to have her Grade 1 career debut in the $400,000 Santa Margarita Stakes at Santa Anita on March 18.
Wild At Heart won the first stakes of her career in the $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes for fillies and mares, which was switched from a mile on turf to dirt because of rain Friday and early Saturday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – With the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth only two weeks away, prospective contenders were active at training venues throughout south Florida on Saturday, most notably at Gulfstream Park, where Three Rules and the Peruvian hopeful Huracan Americo both turned in their penultimate works for the important Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby prep.
Highway Star, the winner of the Grade 3 Go for Wand in December, will target the $150,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational on March 4, trainer Rodrigo Ubillo said.
Following the Go for Wand, Highway Star came back in the Ladies Handicap, where she finished fourth, beaten 17 lengths, by Wonder Gal. Ubillo decided to give the New York-bred filly a break following that performance.
On Friday, Highway Star returned to the work tab, breezing three furlongs in 38.16 seconds over the Belmont Park training track.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The bright-orange helmet cover on the rider of a Bill Mott-trained horse galloping over the Belmont Park training track Saturday morning was a dead giveaway: Junior Alvarado is back.
Sort of.
Saturday morning was Alvarado’s first day on horseback since Dec. 11. Shortly thereafter, he underwent surgery to repair the rotator cuff on his left shoulder. Alvarado said he still has a way to go to be fit enough to ride races in the afternoon, but he is targeting mid-March for his return to competition.
