Gorgeous Bird, never a factor when fifth as the 6-1 fourth choice in the Fountain of Youth Stakes last Saturday, still could get a shot at a Kentucky Derby berth by making his next start in the April 4 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.
“That’s my first reaction, to point him to the Blue Grass,” said trainer Ian Wilkes. “But first I’ll have to see how he trains. He came out of the race just fine.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A closely spaced series of workouts at Payson Park has ended for Tonalist, leading trainer Christophe Clement to say that he will not run his stable star at the ongoing Gulfstream Park meet or in the March 28 Dubai World Cup.
Clement said he decided against trying to make the Dubai race and therefore has eased off slightly in his training of Tonalist at Payson, the bucolic training center located nearly two hours north of Gulfstream.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Two sprint wins in three starts since late November have resulted in Rattataptap’s entry in Saturday’s $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita.
The Grade 3 Santa Ysabel is run at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-old fillies and will be the longest race of Rattataptap’s career. As a test of stamina, the Santa Ysabel Stakes is likely to determine whether Rattataptap’s season will focus on sprints or two-turn races.
“It’s time to find out,” trainer Jeff Bonde said this week.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The 156th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate headlines Woodbine’s 2015 stakes schedule, which features 102 races worth more than $20 million in total.
The Queen’s Plate is the highlight of the July 5 card, which also will include the Grade 2 Dance Smartly, Grade 2 Highlander, and Grade 3 Singspiel stakes. The $150,000 Clarendon Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong sprint for Ontario-bred 2-year-olds, also will be contested on the Queen’s Plate card.
Imperia, who finished fifth as the favorite Saturday in the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds, could make his next start in the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park on March 21, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Wednesday from the Palm Meadows training center in Florida.
Trainer Larry Jones, who swept the Rachel Alexandra Stakes exacta on Saturday, said Sunday that victorious I’m a Chatterbox is likely for the Fair Grounds Oaks on March 28, while plans are less certain for runner-up Lovely Maria.
Both fillies came out of the race well, Jones said, though Lovely Maria showed a little more fatigue than I’m a Chatterbox.
Wireless Future, the Fair Grounds-based 3-year-old who has three wins at the meet, will be redirected from the Black Gold Stakes this coming weekend at Fair Grounds to the Spiral Stakes on March 22 at Turfway Park, trainer Tom Amoss said Monday.
In the Black Gold, Wireless Future would be running over a turf course he has handled and in a race he would probably have been favored, but the stakes is worth a mere $60,000 compared to the $550,000 offered in the Spiral, which is run on Polytrack.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Ken McPeek had a hot hand with 3-year-olds last week at Oaklawn Park. He sent out Kentucky Oaks candidate Pangburn to win her season debut in memorable fashion. The Truth Or Else ran second in the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest at 22-1, and Magic of Believing picked off his second straight route race to punch his ticket to a Kentucky Derby prep that might end up being in Dubai.
It was cold and windy with a touch of snow covering the ground on a recent morning at Laurel Park, not much greenery to be found – that is, until you step into the hydroponic growing shed trainer Phil Schoenthal has built into the side of his barn.
Schoenthal has been tinkering with growing his own feed the last three years. He’s invested a lot of time and money refining the process, and this past year he believes his horses have begun to benefit from his efforts.
