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]

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Sugar Shock will be out for a measure of revenge at Oaklawn Park next Saturday, when she runs in the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy. She had finished first in the local prep, the Grade 3, $150,000 Honeybee on March 8, but was disqualified and placed second after drifting out in the stretch and impeding a rival. Sugar Shock gets her second shot at graded glory in the Fantasy, which opens Oaklawn’s annual Racing Festival of the South.

NEW ORLEANS - The closing-day card Sunday is nondescript, with nary a stakes race. The nominal feature is race 7, an optional-claiming turf sprint at about 5 1/2 furlongs for either first-level allowance runners or $17,500 claimers.

Rightous Party and Western Elegance, second and third in a similar first-level allowance sprint March 8, look like the top contenders, assuming the race stays on turf.

ARCADIA, Calif. – While the list of outsiders for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 5 continues to grow, trainer Bob Baffert said Friday that he is uncertain which of his Triple Crown hopefuls will run in California’s richest race for 3-year-olds.

A field of seven to nine horses is likely for the Santa Anita Derby, which is run over 1 1/8 miles. The race is led by California Chrome, the winner of the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes March 8, and Candy Boy, who won the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 8.

NEW ORLEANS - It had rained overnight here Thursday, so on Friday morning, trainer Al Stall Jr. stood at the outside rail during the renovation break, examining the track to see if it was in suitable condition to work his top sprinter, Central Banker, who is set to run April 5 in the Grade 1, $500,000 Carter at Aqueduct.

“This is a trainer’s Maalox moment,” he said.

NEW ORLEANS – Mylute was one of the elite 3-year-olds of 2013, and he served notice Thursday that he is ready to count himself among the strong group of older horses still in training with a sharp comeback victory in an optional claimer at Fair Grounds.

“We’ve got big plans for him,” said trainer Tom Amoss, adding that the Grade 3, $300,000 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day, May 2, is the next goal for Mylute.