The New York-bred West Hills Giant has been nominated to several stakes on this circuit but is likely to make his next start Feb. 16 in the Grade 3, $250,000 General George Handicap at Laurel Park.
Trainer John Terranova said he prefers the seven-furlong distance of the General George to options at six furlongs or two-turn races at a mile and 1 1/16 miles available to him in New York.
Trying to return him to the form that made him a Grade 1 winner last April, trainer Rudy Rodriguez will equip Dads Caps with blinkers when the 5-year-old takes on Salutos Amigos and four others in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Six maiden winners will take on the multiple graded stakes winner El Kabeir in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.
The Withers, run at 1 1/16 miles over the inner track, is the second of four races on this circuit for 3-year-olds who aspire to make it to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 2.
El Kabeir, trained by John Terranova for Zayat Stables, won last month’s Grade 3 Jerome by 4 3/4 lengths here and will likely be an odds-on favorite Saturday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Upstart, who stamped himself as a leading Kentucky Derby contender with his impressive victory in the Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes, blew out an easy half-mile in 50 seconds at Palm Meadows on Wednesday. The work was his first since the Holy Bull 10 days earlier.
Trainer Rick Violette said he was hoping to wait for the weekend to breeze Upstart, but “he was getting more and more full of himself, so we just let him blow off some steam this morning.”
Jevian Toledo has been the hottest jockey at Laurel Park in recent weeks and comes into Friday’s card atop the rider standings.
Toledo, a 20-year-old native of Puerto Rico, went 8 for 28 at Laurel last week. During the weekend of Jan. 15-17, Toledo went 6 for 19. Laurel canceled racing Jan. 22-24 due to weather conditions.
Toledo enters the week with 19 wins since the meet began Jan. 1, three more than Sheldon Russell and six more than Victor Carrasco.
The Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile will be a Friday night affair for the first time this season at Lone Star Park. The Texas Mile and the Grade 3, $200,000 Lone Star Park Handicap are the richest offerings among 11 stakes worth a cumulative $1 million for the 50-date meet, which runs April 9 through July 19.
The Texas Mile is scheduled for Friday, April 24. The race for 3-year-olds and up had traditionally been run on a Saturday.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Aqueduct canceled Wednesday’s live racing card due to concerns that warmer temperatures forecasted for the afternoon could create an uneven and unsafe inner track.
It was ninth cancellation of the winter.
Many of the cancellations have come due to extreme cold. Wednesday, the forecast for the afternoon was for temperatures near 40 degrees. While that sounds good, NYRA officials said there was plenty of moisture trapped at the base of the track that could melt and create a wet and potentially uneven surface.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Mark Casse has unleashed some quality 3-year-olds on the Oaklawn meet just three weeks into the season, and one of those winners will see stakes action in the immediate future. Casse said Kantune, who popped a Beyer Speed Figure of 84 in winning a maiden special weight route, is headed for the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest at Oaklawn.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Dortmund, the unbeaten winner of the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity in December, worked a half-mile in 47.60 seconds Tuesday. Dortmund will be favored in his 3-year-old debut, the $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Saturday.
Trainer Bob Baffert said he timed Dortmund in 47.80 seconds. Owned by Kaleem Shah, Dortmund has made three starts.
“He went really well,” Baffert said. “He was just cruising around there. He looked good. He’s ready.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Shared Belief has completed his serious preparation for Saturday’s $500,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita.
On Tuesday at Golden Gate Fields, Shared Belief worked a half-mile in 50.80 seconds under his regular work rider, Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze.
“I told Russell to go in 49 or 50 seconds,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. “This horse has always been really consistent. He doesn’t show me anything but the same consistency. He looks good.”
