Several of the area’s top 3-year-old prospects skipped the Holy Bull to await the Fountain of Youth, among them Remsen Stakes winner Leave the Light On, who worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 Sunday at Palm Meadows for trainer Chad Brown.
“He’s doing good,” Brown said. “He’s had three works now since coming to south Florida, and so far, so good.”
Untapable, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2014 and expected to be one of the leading older female dirt-route horses in the country this season, had the first timed workout of her 4-year-old season, going an easy half-mile Monday at Fair Grounds.
Coming out with trainer Steve Asmussen’s second set of horses following the renovation break, Untapable worked by herself just after 9 a.m. Monday. Track clockers timed her in splits of 13.60 seconds, 26.20, and 39.40 en route to an official four-furlong clocking of 51.80.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Rick Violette couldn’t have been more upbeat when asked how Upstart had bounced back from his impressive 5 1/2-length victory over Frosted and seven other overmatched rivals in Saturday’s Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes.
“He’s doing terrific,” Violette said Monday. “He was a little quiet yesterday morning. By Sunday afternoon, he was quite bright, and this morning, he was a handful. I might even send him out for a short gallop tomorrow to let him get rid of some of that energy.”
Punctuate, unraced since beating maidens in September, earned a spot in the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs on Feb. 1 with a six-furlong workout from the gate in 1:14 on Sunday.
Punctuate has familiar bloodlines. He is by the prominent stallion Distorted Humor, and is out of Peppers Pride, who was unbeaten in 19 starts in New Mexico from 2005-2008.
Punctuate is owned by Arnold Zetcher and trained by Bob Baffert.
“It looked like he went well,” Baffert said of the workout.
Big Macher, scratched from Saturday’s $150,000 California Cup Sprint, worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 on Sunday for the $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes at six furlongs next Saturday.
Trainer Richard Baltas timed Big Macher in a minute, going the first three furlongs in 37 seconds, and the final quarter-mile in 23 seconds. Baltas timed Big Macher galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.
Mischief Clem won his first stakes in the California Cup Derby, a race won in 2014 by California Chrome.
California Chrome won the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles in his next start, and the same $400,000 race on March 7 has been the subject of preliminary discussions between owner Craig Griffin and trainer Bob Hess Jr. for Mischief Clem.
“That would be tough,” Hess said. “The timing is good.”
Mischief Clem has won 3 of 6 starts and earned $366,380 for Griffin and his wife, Lorie.
ARCADIA, Calif.- Alert Bay and Mischief Clem could run in graded stakes later this winter after winning $250,000 stakes on the California Cup program at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Alert Bay extended his winning streak to five races in the California Cup Turf Classic at 1 1/8 miles on turf. The 4-year-old was scheduled to leave Santa Anita for trainer Blaine Wright’s stable at Golden Gate Fields on Monday. A decision on Alert Bay’s next start may not be made for another week, Wright said, but one option would be the $400,000 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf on March 7.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Dodging one storm that canceled training here Saturday and avoiding a second storm that will likely cancel training here on Tuesday, El Kabeir managed to get in an important five-furlong workout Sunday morning in preparation for the Grade 3 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct on Feb. 7.
Working shortly after 9:30 a.m. on a freshly harrowed Belmont Park training track that would likely be termed “good,” El Kabeir breezed a solid five furlongs in 1:01.47, getting his final quarter in 23.72 seconds. He galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.86 under exercise rider Simon Harris.
