OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Seemingly armed with one talented 3-year-old sprinter in Germaniac, the Maryland-based trainer Tim Tullock will attempt to find out how good another one of his 3-year-old sprinters is when he ships in Pax Orbis for Monday’s $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes at Aqueduct.
A field of eight was entered for the six-furlong Winkfield, but Alex Inc is cross-entered in an allowance race Sunday at Parx and is likely to run there if the track is good, trainer Butch Reid said.
Goldencents, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita in November, is nearing a return to training following a two-week break at a local farm, trainer Doug O’Neill said.
Goldencents finished seventh in the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 30. Following that race, there were discussions between O’Neill and owners Glenn Sorgenstein and Josh Kaplan about starting Goldencents in Saturday’s $200,000 Strub Stakes.
Those plans ended when Goldencents was taken out of training earlier this month.
Shared Belief, a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding 2-year-old of 2013, is tentatively scheduled to have a workout Sunday after missing a workout Jan. 12 because of a grabbed quarter.
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Shared Belief could start in the $200,000 Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 8.
“I’m not under any pressure to work him,” Hollendorfer said. “I want to wait until the proper time. I might work him on Sunday.”
Add the colt Hartford to the growing list of 3-year-old prospects whom trainer Todd Pletcher has won with first-time out this winter in Florida. Hartford rolled to a 5 3/4-length victory Thursday going seven furlongs, a performance Barbara Banke, whose Stonestreet Stables owns Hartford, said was a long time in coming.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this,” she said in the winner’s circle.
Hartford has been one of the most highly regarded of the class of 2014 3-year-olds for Pletcher and Stonestreet, but Pletcher said minor issues prevented him from racing until now.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Wildcat Red earned a spot in next Saturday’s Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes with his game second-place finish in the Gulfstream Park Derby. On Friday, trainer Jose Garafolo confirmed Wildcat Red would indeed be entered in the first major Kentucky Derby prep of Gulfstream Park’s meet after watching his star work an easy five furlongs in 1:01.81 shortly after the first renovation break.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – After watching Mean Season blitz a first-level allowance field here on Dec. 22, assistant trainer Leana Willaford resigned herself to the fact she would be putting the speedy colt on a van headed for Florida and trainer Bill Mott’s stable at Payson Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Oscar Party is scheduled to start in Sunday’s $200,000 La Canada Stakes for 4-year-old fillies. If she runs in that race, it will be the first time something has happened on schedule for her in recent months.
Owned by Deron Pearson, Oscar Party was third in the Zia Park Oaks in New Mexico on Nov. 27, a race delayed four days because of poor weather. Oscar Party missed the $300,000 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 because of a throat abscess.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The red-hot Fanticola, a winner of three consecutive races from September to December, makes her stakes debut in Saturday’s $75,000 Megahertz Stakes at Santa Anita. The winning streak is likely to remain intact, trainer Mike Mitchell said Thursday.
“For her to win the race, she’ll have to improve, and she showed me she can improve,” Mitchell said. “She’s trained well and showed me signs that she’s better than an allowance horse or a high-priced claimer.”
NEW ORLEANS – If 3-year-old Fair Grounds stakes races have taught us anything the last two years, it is this: Don’t forget the longshots.
In the 2013 Risen Star Stakes, Ive Stuck a Nerve beat what turned out to be a strong group at odds of 135-1. In the 2012 Louisiana Derby, it was Hero of Order who pulled a shocker, nipping Mark Valeski at 109-1.
There probably are no 100-1 shots in the Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte Stakes on Saturday, but with attention focused on likely favorites Albano and Gold Hawk, there will definitely be overlooked entrants.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Bob Baffert has three runners in Friday’s sixth race, a $56,000 maiden race for 3-year-olds over 1 1/16 miles which could produce stakes runners.
Baffert starts The Admiral, who was second as the 4-5 favorite in a one-mile race on Dec. 27; Icy Ride, fourth in that race on Dec. 27; and the first-time starter Day of Fury. He considers The Admiral to be his leading chance and said the colt was too close to the pace on Dec. 27.
