ELMONT, N.Y. – General a Rod, who ran in all three Triple Crown races last year and who is a two-time listed stakes winner on dirt, worked four furlongs in 48.80 seconds Sunday morning over the Belmont Park turf course.
It was a solid work, which was done around a trio of orange traffic cones set up to keep workers off the part of the inner turf course where the races are run. John Velazquez was aboard for the move in which General a Rod smoked home the final quarter in 22 seconds.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Overshadowed by all the stakes action over the weekend was the performance by the New York-bred Wincoma, who came off a layoff of nearly eight months to win a New York-bred first-level allowance race by 3 1/4 lengths on Saturday.
Wincoma, a half-brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Palace, ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.82 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Twilight Eclipse, who recorded his first Grade 1 victory in Saturday’s $400,000 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park, could make his next start in the Grade 1, $1 million Manhattan Stakes on June 6, trainer Tom Albertrani said Monday.
Following the Man o’ War, Albertrani said that he would likely wait for the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park on July 5. But after talking to Terry Finley, head of the West Point Thoroughbreds syndicate which owns Twilight Eclipse, Albertrani said the Manhattan on the Belmont Stakes undercard is an option.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Southern Barbecue, a full brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Jackson Bend, returned from a seven-month layoff to capture Sunday’s allowance feature at Gulfstream Park for owner-breeder Jacks or Better Farm and trainer Stanley Gold. Southern Barbecue, a 3-year-old son of Hear No Evil, withstood a long pace duel before edging away to a 1 1/4-length decision under leading rider Tyler Gaffalione.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Sheer Drama, runner-up behind Molly Morgan in the Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes on May 1 at Churchill Downs, is back home with trainer David Fawkes, and she will continue to train locally for a summer campaign. Sheer Drama had defeated Molly Morgan when winning the Grade 2 Royal Delta here five weeks before the La Troienne.
“We’re disappointed she didn’t win, but I’m thrilled with how she ran, and she came out of the race really well,” said Fawkes, who said he has nothing definite picked out for Sheer Drama’s next start.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer George Weaver took his time getting the promising Requite back to the races. But the wait was worth it.
Making his first start since finishing a distant fourth behind Competitive Edge in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes eight months earlier, Requite rallied to a 3 1/2-length optional-claiming victory on Saturday under jockey Eddie Castro for his second victory in three career starts. Despite a wide trip, Requite covered the six furlongs in 1:09.92 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 86.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Bal a Bali will have a summer season of Grade 1 races after winning his American debut in Saturday’s Grade 3 American Stakes at Santa Anita.
Trainer Richard Mandella said on Sunday that Bal a Bali will be pointed to the $400,000 Shoemaker Mile, a Grade 1 race on turf, on June 13. Later this summer, Bal a Bali is a candidate for two additional Grade 1 races – the $400,000 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar on July 18, and the Arlington Million at Arlington Park on Aug. 15.
Tale of Verve and Bodhisattva, the two horses who could be the longest prices in what is shaping up as a small field for the 140th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico, both had their final workouts Sunday.
Tale of Verve was entered in the Kentucky Derby but did not scratch in from the also-eligible list. He did land a top rider for the Preakness in Joel Rosario, who was available because Frosted, whom Rosario rode to a fourth-place finish in the Derby, is bypassing the Preakness.
The Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot for 2-year-olds will be run Nov. 21, the Vinton, La., track has announced. It will be a Saturday afternoon program. Last year, the Jackpot card featured eight stakes worth a total of $2.2 million.
Delta will again offer a $200,000-guaranteed pool for an all-stakes pick four on Jackpot Day. The sequence will again include the Jackpot and the Grade 3 Delta Princess, a race for 2-year-old fillies that last year was won by eventual champion Take Charge Brandi.
