BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – About 4 1/2 hours before trainer Todd Pletcher watched Constitution fight his way into the Kentucky Derby, he witnessed In Tune do the same for the Kentucky Oaks.
In her stakes debut, In Tune held off a prolonged challenge from House Rules to win the Grade 2, $300,000 Gulfstream Oaks by a neck to remain undefeated in three career starts and secure a spot in the $1 million Kentucky Oaks on May 2.
It was nice enough for trainer Robertino Diodoro that his star sprinter L. A. Weekend easily captured the Coyote Handicap at Turf Paradise on Saturday. But the cherry on top was that the win gave him 104 for the current meet at the Phoenix track, tying the record for the most wins in a meet there.
And only about 20 minutes later in the next race, the record was his, as his Apply stormed home to give him meet victory No. 105.
NEW ORLEANS – Vicar’s in Trouble, the winner of the Louisiana Derby here Saturday, came out of the race in good order and, by Sunday afternoon, was scheduled to be in Louisville, Ky., where he will be prepared for the Kentucky Derby along with his Mike Maker-trained stablemate, General a Rod, who was third Saturday in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. – There is a carryover of $92,562 for Sunday’s nine-race program at Santa Anita.
An upset win by Secrets at Midnight ($37.40) in the sixth race was too tough to find for most ticketholders. After Moone’s My Name ($10.80) and Majestic Harbor ($13.60) won stakes in the seventh and eighth races, the carryover was clinched.
Sunday’s program has the typical structure for a nine-race card, with the pick six covering the fourth through ninth races. Racing begins at 12:30 p.m. Pacific.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The mutuel field closed as the favorite yet again in Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which closed Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern following a three-day run.
The field, the 24th or “all others” option, closed at 5-1, followed by California Chrome (9-1), Cairo Prince (9-1), Social Inclusion (11-1), Candy Boy (13-1), Bayern (15-1), Hoppertunity (15-1), Tapiture (15-1), Samraat (17-1), Constitution (19-1), and Intense Holiday (20-1).
ARCADIA, Calif. – Almost two months after his last start, Candy Boy was pronounced ready for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 5 after a quick six-furlong workout in 1:11.80 at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Trainer John Sadler described Candy Boy’s training in recent weeks as “steady” and said the colt has excelled since a win in the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 8. Sadler said the gap between races should benefit Candy Boy in advance of the Triple Crown.
“So many drop out, you want to have a fresh horse,” he said.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Twenty-four hours before he was scheduled to board a van headed for Aqueduct, Social Inclusion worked a half-mile in 46.90 seconds Saturday morning at cloudy, muggy Gulfstream Park.
There are all those great stakes races, yes, but the spring meet at Keeneland is so much more.
For example, there are the “baby races,” the first appearances of the year by 2-year-olds in Kentucky. Those races have been the dominion of trainer Wesley Ward in recent years, and fans can expect more of the same when the 15-day Keeneland meet starts Friday in Lexington.
Eight 4 1/2-furlong races are in the condition book for the meet, starting with opening day.
“Most likely, I’ll have a horse for every race,” Ward said. “In fact, I’ll probably double up in a few spots.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Ramsey Zimmerman is happy to get another second chance to jump-start his once-promising riding career.
After more than a year away from race riding to address drug problems, Zimmerman has returned to the saddle this winter in south Florida. On Thursday, he won two races at Gulfstream Park – his first victories since December 2012 at Fair Grounds.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Honor Code, off the Triple Crown trail with a slight hind suspensory tear, was scheduled to leave Gulfstream by van Friday and head to WinStar Farm in Kentucky, where he will join his 3-year-old stablemate Top Billing to convalesce.
Trainer Shug McGaughey said Honor Code will walk for a while until he gets the okay to be turned out.
[Clocker Reports: Get Mike Welsch’s clocker reports from Gulfstream Park and Palm Meadows]
