OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Runninsonofagun, winner of the Grade 3 Bold Ruler as a 3-year-old last fall, is set to make his 4-year-old debut in next Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap at Aqueduct.
Runninsonofagun completed preparations for the Tom Fool by working five furlongs in 1:01.53 on Friday morning over the Belmont Park training track. It was his sixth work since resuming training in January.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Full speed ahead next week at Santa Anita when racing resumes with a favorable weather forecast and six graded stakes including the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and accompanying mandatory payout in the jackpot pick six on Saturday, March 4.
Racing was canceled Feb. 24-26 due to rain and track condition, but clear skies are expected when Santa Anita reopens for racing on March 3. The Big Cap card includes four graded stakes; the March 5 program will feature three stakes (two graded, including a pair postponed when racing was canceled this week.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Forte, the reigning divisional champion, will make his eagerly awaited 3-year-old debut here next Saturday (March 4) in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, one of nine stakes (eight graded) on one of the premier dates of the 2022-23 Championship meet. Forte, trained by Todd Pletcher, was scheduled to have his final pre-race breeze this weekend at Palm Beach Downs.
Opry, claimed for $25,000 in late November at Del Mar, is bound for Dubai and the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup at two miles at Meydan Racecourse on March 25, trainer George Papaprodromou said on Thursday.
Opry was third in the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita on Feb. 5, finishing three-quarters of a length behind the winner, Prince Abama. Opry closed from sixth in the field of 10.
“I like the way he galloped out,” Papaprodromou said.
Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza has rehired veteran jockey’s agent Brian Beach after a 21-month gap in their partnership.
Beach represented Espinoza from 2013 until May 2021 when Espinoza hired Tom Knust. At the time, Beach had purchased a home in Idaho with his wife, Lotta, and was based there.
Beach said last weekend that he will spend the majority of his time in Southern California while representing Espinoza.
With extensive rain forecast in coming days, some Santa Anita-based trainers have significantly altered their approach to preparing runners for major stakes on March 4.
Air Force Red, a top candidate for the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf, and Newgrange, who may go favored in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles on dirt, were given workouts on Thursday, four days after they worked on Sunday.
Rain is expected on Friday and Saturday and the Santa Anita main track and training track may not reopen for workouts until Monday, conditions permitting.
Pioneer of Medina probably will return to Fair Grounds for the New Orleans Classic on March 26 after a gritty victory last weekend in the Mineshaft Stakes, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
Fresh off a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure finishing third in the Harlan’s Holiday at Gulfstream, Pioneer of Medina got a 99 Beyer winning the Mineshaft by a head over Mr. Wireless. And if Pioneer of Medina does return, he’s likely to face the same rival in the New Orleans Classic, with Mr. Wireless an intended runner in that race.
Southlawn will make her next start March 26 in the Fair Grounds Oaks following a breakthrough performance last Friday at Fair Grounds.
Southlawn landed a nice second-out maiden win last July at Ellis Park, but then finished seventh, ninth, and fifth while beaten more than 30 combined lengths. Back from a three-month layoff while racing for the first time on Lasix, she blitzed a first-level dirt-route allowance race last week, winning by eight lengths under Reylu Gutierrez in a fast raw time that produced an 87 Beyer.
Proxy finished second in the 2022 New Orleans Classic but is unlikely to have a chance to go one better this year. A tough-trip fifth last out in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, Proxy is headed away from trainer Michael Stidham’s winter base at Fair Grounds again for a March 4 start in the Santa Anita Handicap.
