ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. combined to win 13 races from 40 starters at Belmont Park’s two meets in 2021 and he will again have a presence in New York this summer as he plans to have 16 horses based here for the spring/summer meet that begins Thursday.

Among the group that will ultimately be here is Skippylongstocking, the third-place finisher in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 9. Skippylongstocking is scheduled to have his first work since the Wood on Friday at Gulfstream Park.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – April has been a breakthrough month for Saffie Joseph Jr., but he’s hoping May brings an even greater first.

Joseph won the Florida Derby for the first time in his ascendant training career, sending out White Abarrio to victory in the Gulfstream Park showcase April 2. The next day, Joseph wrapped up the Gulfstream Championship meet training title, ending an 18-year reign by Todd Pletcher.

“It was quite amazing,” Joseph said earlier this week via Zoom from his South Florida base.

There are several undefeated fillies in a deep group preparing to contest this Kentucky Oaks - and of those, Shahama is flying under the radar.

The filly, a half-sister to Preakness Stakes winner Lookin At Lucky, has won all four of her starts in Dubai for KHK Racing and trainer Fawzi Nass, and has since been transferred to Todd Pletcher to target the Oaks. The filly classic will be her first U.S. start, and her first start since Feb. 18.

"She's been really straightforward," Pletcher said. "She's been super professional since she came in. She's trained impressively."

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Fearless, who was second in the Oaklawn Handicap last Saturday, is being considered for a start in the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special, according to his trainer, Todd Pletcher.  

Fearless raced just off the pace in the Grade 2, $1 million Oaklawn Handicap and finished four lengths behind winner Last Samurai. The Oaklawn Handicap was run at 1 1/8 miles, the same distance Fearless won over April 2 in the Grade 3 Ghostzapper at Gulfstream Park. For his effort in the Oaklawn Handicap, Fearless - a son of Ghostzapper - earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 96.  

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Clairiere emerged from her runner-up finish in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn in excellent condition and is now settled in at Churchill Downs, trainer Steve Asmussen said Tuesday. 

Clairiere was a fast-closing second in the Grade 1, $1 million Apple Blossom last Saturday. She finished 1 1/4 lengths behind champion Letruska and a half-length in front of third-place finisher and champion Ce Ce. 

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Greeley and Ben, who was one of the winningest horses in North America in 2021, hit a milestone of 20 career wins Sunday at Oaklawn Park.

And he did it with style.

Greeley and Ben tracked the pace from the rail in a conditioned allowance that carried a $62,500 claiming option, got through along the inside in the stretch, and shuttled home to cover six furlongs in a super-quick 1:08.67. For the effort, Greeley and Ben earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Slipstream, who won the Palisades Stakes on April 10 at Keeneland in his 3-year-old debut, is being pointed to the Group 1 Commonwealth Stakes, a six-furlong race at the Royal Ascot meeting in June, trainer Christophe Clement said Sunday.

“At the moment, he is going to be trained to go there” or the Paradise Creek on May 29 at Belmont Park, Clement said. “Ascot is a much more exciting race and at the moment that would be our main goal.”

ELMONT, N.Y. – Coming off their weekend stakes wins, Unanimous Consent and Consumer Spending will both be stretched out a little farther in distance for their next start.

Unanimous Consent, who won Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile Woodhaven Stakes for 3-year-olds by 1 3/4 lengths, will most likely make his next start in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pennine Ridge at 1 1/8 miles on June 4. Unanimous Consent, a son of More Than Ready, improved his record to 3 for 3. He earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Manny Franco became a go-to rider for trainer Chad Brown during the six months racing was held at Aqueduct, winning 20 races from 46 mounts between the winter and spring meets. While many of the regular riders Brown uses will be back at Belmont following the Kentucky Derby on May 7, Brown said he still plans to keep Franco as part of his rotation.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Bank Sting and Make Mischief, two of the more talented New York-bred female runners on the grounds, are both pointing to the Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian Stakes at Belmont Park on May 14.

Bank Sting, a daughter of Central Banker, is 7 for 9 with four stakes wins. Most recently, she won the Heavenly Prize Invitational at Aqueduct on March 5.

Tonja Terranova, assistant trainer to her husband, John, said, “Even if she gets graded stakes-placed, that would be good.”