OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With Wayne Potts beginning a lengthy suspension Sunday, his assistant Bonnie Lucas has taken over the stable. On Sunday, Lucas sent out Catch the Smoke to win a $20,000 claiming race at Aqueduct.
Lucas said she has taken out her trainer’s license and plans to be a head trainer even after Potts is eligible to return from suspension on June 24. Potts has 75 days’ worth of suspensions – 45 from the New York Gaming Commission and 30 from the New Jersey Racing Commission.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A year ago, City Man came off a five-month layoff to run second in the Grade 2 Fort Marcy at Belmont Park, running a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure in the process.
This year, City Man will again take a shot at winning the Grade 2 Fort Marcy, only he’ll do so with a solid prep race under his belt. City Man came off a four-month layoff to win Saturday’s $100,000 Danger’s Hour Stakes at Aqueduct. He got a sweet setup when Value Proposition outfooted expected speed horse Rinaldi to the lead and City Man sat a stalking third before taking over in the lane.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Golden Pal emerged from his powerhouse Shakertown Stakes win Saturday in good condition, trainer Wesley Ward said Sunday.
Golden Pal, breaking brilliantly and showing his dazzling early speed, had the Shakertown wrapped up in midstretch and cruised home a 4 3/4-length winner. His Beyer Speed Figure, 109, was a career best, surpassing the 107 he earned in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
“He actually got a little bit tired in the race,” Ward said.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Although Skippylongstocking and A. P.’s Secret finished third and fourth, respectively, while never seriously threatening the two leaders at the end of Saturday’s Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. couldn’t have been happier with their performances and is looking forward to what might be next for his two improving 3-year-olds.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Flightline, the undefeated winner of the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes in December, worked three furlongs in 37 seconds on Sunday, his first timed exercise since returning to training in March after a brief rest caused by a training setback.
Trained by John Sadler, Flightline is expected to have his next start in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Mile Handicap on June 11 at Belmont Park. A three-time winner, Flightline has not raced since an easy win in the Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Cairo Memories beat one filly when she finished seventh in her 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on dirt on March 6 at Santa Anita.
She will not be racing on that surface again anytime soon.
Cairo Memories won the second stakes of her career in Saturday’s Grade 3 Providencia at 1 1/8 miles on turf. The long-range goal for owners David Bernsen and Schroeder Farms and trainer Bob Hess Jr. is the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks, a $700,000 race for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles on turf July 9 at Belmont Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Desert Dawn will be prominent California trainer Phil D’Amato’s first starter in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 6 at Churchill Downs following the filly’s 14-1 upset win in Saturday’s Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks.
Desert Dawn needed a win in the $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks at 1 1/16 miles to be considered for the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks at 1 1/8 miles after losing her first starts in graded stakes.
“She was one of the fillies on the cusp of being there,” D’Amato said Sunday. “The way she galloped out, the longer the better for her.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jockey Flavien Prat wasted absolutely no time making his impact felt as a first-time regular at Keeneland. The 29-year-old Frenchman has jumped out to the early lead atop the spring-meet jockey standings with seven wins, one more than Irad Ortiz Jr. Prat won not only the Blue Grass on Zandon, but also the Grade 1 Madison on Just One Time and the Grade 3 Beaumont with Matareya.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Everything is good with Zandon in the aftermath of the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, where the Upstart colt stamped himself as one of the major players for the May 7 Kentucky Derby with his breakthrough victory Saturday.
Baldo Hernandez, the local assistant to trainer Chad Brown, reported Sunday morning that Zandon “ate up everything” after the Blue Grass and was in good stead.
