NEW ORLEANS – Trainer Phil Bauer isn’t making excuses for Another Lemon Drop’s fourth-place finish in the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 17 at Fair Grounds.
Another Lemon Drop, who broke from post 10, had a clean trip, and jockey Calvin Borel was able to save ground along the rail around the final turn, Bauer said. The colt simply lacked the stretch punch that Bauer was expecting.
“That was the frustrating part,” Bauer said. “He’s never not finished.”
NEW ORLEANS – Potomac River, who hasn’t raced since being injured in the Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap in March, is back in training, and trainer Jose Camejo is targeting this year’s Muniz on Feb. 28 at Fair Grounds for him.
On Jan. 25, Potomac River had his third three-furlong workout since he arrived at Fair Grounds in early December. Last season, he won the Grade 3 Fair Grounds Handicap on turf before finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Muniz.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Rattataptap earned another try at a stakes victory by winning for the second time in her career in an optional claimer at six furlongs for 3-year-old fillies Thursday.
Ridden by leading jockey Rafael Bejarano, Rattataptap ($5.60) led throughout and won by 4 3/4 lengths over Tall and Sweet. The win has led trainer Jeff Bonde to consider the $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 28 for Rattataptap.
“This filly has a lot of potential,” Bonde said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Calculator, who won for the first time Jan. 10 in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, could make his next start outside California.
On Thursday, trainer Peter Miller said he is considering a late-February race in either Arkansas, Florida, or Louisiana for Calculator as a prep for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 4. One possibility is the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 21.
Miller said a late-February race has greater appeal than waiting for the $400,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 7.
NEW ORLEANS – A little more than halfway through this 81-day Fair Grounds meet, Tom Amoss has moved to a 13-win lead over Larry Jones in the trainers’ standings.
Through Thursday, the 44th day of the meet, Amoss had won 29 of 82 starts and was tied with Jones for the best win rate, 35 percent, among trainers with more than a handful of starts.
Work All Week, the champion male sprinter of 2014, resumed training at a farm near Ocala, Fla., this week after some vacation time, according to his trainer, Roger Brueggemann. Work All Week won the Grade 1, $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in his most recent start Nov. 1.
Work All Week is scheduled to arrive at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., the latter part of February. Brueggemann said shipping plans will be dictated by the weather. The horse is based at a farm owned by his breeder and owner, Midwest Thoroughbreds.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Marcus Vitali said he plans to bring Lochte back on two weeks’ rest to defend his title in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap on Feb. 7.
Lochte rallied from midpack to register a head decision over Old Time Hockey last Saturday in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes. The win was just the second in 11 starts for the son of Medaglia d’Oro since he upset the 2014 Gulfstream Park Turf at odds of 39-1 here last winter.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Saturday’s $200,000 Arcadia Stakes for turf milers at Santa Anita Park will not include a runner from trainer Christophe Clement’s stable. Clement said on Wednesday that he hoped to send the 5-year-old War Correspondent, but that he was told on Tuesday that a flight to California had been canceled. War Correspondent will start in a stakes at Gulfstream Park in the coming weeks.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Firing Line, second to Dortmund in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 20, will be ridden by Gary Stevens in the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes for 3-year-olds on Feb. 7 at Santa Anita Park.
Trainer Simon Callaghan made the announcement on Twitter last weekend. On Wednesday, Callaghan said previous Grade 1 wins for his stable with Stevens on Fashion Plate and Byrama were a factor in the decision. Firing Line races for Arnold Zetcher.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Sam’s Sister, the dominant female sprinter in Southern California this winter, is likely to start in the $300,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap at seven furlongs at Laurel Park in Maryland on Feb. 14.
On Wednesday, Sam’s Sister worked a half-mile in 49.20 seconds at Santa Anita. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Sam’s Sister has won consecutive stakes at seven furlongs in her last two starts – the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Dec. 26 and the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes on Jan. 19.
