Heitai’s connections are determining their next move with the crack Louisiana-bred sprinter after he won his second straight stakes race last Saturday night at Delta Downs. Heitai was one of the main attractions on the Louisiana Premier Night program of divisional stakes, and he accounted for the $100,000 Sprint with a Beyer Speed Figure of 100. The horse since has returned to his base of Fair Grounds, trainer Tom Amoss said Wednesday.

“We’re mulling over our options,” said Amoss, who trains the horse for Rowell Enterprises.

There are eight fillies and mares expected to run in Saturday’s $200,000 Santa Maria Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita and all are stakes winners – Awesome Baby, Legacy, Sweet Marini, Thegirlinthatsong, Tiz Midnight, Valiant Emilia, Warren’s Veneda, and Yahilwa.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – J S Bach will make his stakes debut Monday in the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn following a flashy win at Gulfstream Park. He rolled by 8 1/2 lengths in a maiden special weight at the same 1 1/16-mile distance of the Southwest, and late Wednesday morning, he touched down in Arkansas aboard a flight from Florida.

Lord Nelson, winner of the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes for sprinters on Feb. 1, worked a half-mile in 48 seconds at Santa Anita on Wednesday.

Trained by Bob Baffert for John Fort’s Peachtree Stables, Lord Nelson is being prepared for the $400,000 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on March 7.

“He came out of the race sharp,” Baffert said. “I was happy with the work. He’s right on schedule for the San Felipe.”

:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays

You might say that Dale Romans is going out of his way to try to get Indianaughty some Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

On Tuesday, Romans sent the Indian Charlie colt clear across the continent on a Federal Express flight from south Florida to Memphis, Tenn., then on to San Francisco for the El Camino Real Derby on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields. The 1 1/8-mile Tapeta race is worth 10 Derby points to the winner.

Protonico was eased in the stretch of the Grade 1 Donn Handicap last weekend, but trainer Todd Pletcher said the Giant’s Causeway colt came out of the race “super” and that he has been unable to find a reason for such a poor performance as the 5-1 third choice in a field of nine.

“I don’t have any excuse to offer,” he said.

Lea, second as the 13-10 favorite in the Donn, probably will not be sent to Dubai next month for the $10 million Dubai World Cup, as had been speculated beforehand, according to Walker Hancock, president of Claiborne Farm, which co-owns the 6-year-old horse with Adele Dilschneider.

The multiple stakes winner Clubhouse Ride sustained a suspensory injury in the San Antonio Stakes last Saturday, leading to discussions about whether to retire him for immediate stallion service or attempt a comeback later this year, trainer Craig Lewis said on Wednesday.

“There’s some questions about what his future is,” Lewis said. “He might go to stud, or he could come back. It’s being discussed.”

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Graham Motion said that Eclipse Award winner Main Sequence remains on target for the Mac Diarmida Stakes at Gulfstream a week from Saturday, a race he’ll use as a prep for the Dubai Sheema Classic on March 28. On Monday, Main Sequence worked seven furlongs around the Palm Meadows turf course in 1:23.90 in company with stablemate Bravodino, his fifth work since arriving at the training center from Fair Hill at the start of 2015.

CYPRESS, Calif. –California Chrome was back in action at Los Alamitos on Wednesday morning, jogging four days after finishing second in his 2015 debut in the $590,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita.

The schedule follows a routine set in the last year for California Chrome, the 2014 Horse of the Year, according to Alan Sherman, assistant trainer for his father, Art. After three days of walking, California Chrome jogs for a day before resuming galloping.

“He was ready to do something,” Alan Sherman said.