ARCADIA, Calif. – Slow Down Andy, winner of the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December but only sixth of 10 in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 19 at Fair Grounds, will be pointed to the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes on April 9 at Keeneland, trainer Doug O’Neill said over the weekend.
The Blue Grass is one of the leading preps for the Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita on Saturday may arrive too soon for Soothsay, the two-time graded stakes winner who has not raced since July.
Sunday, trainer Richard Mandella said Soothsay remains a candidate for the $500,000 Beholder Mile for fillies and mares, but that the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs on March 13 may be a better fit.
“I’m a little concerned,” Mandella said, referring to Soothsay’s level of fitness. “I’m debating.”
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Fans of the one-eyed Patch have a new rooting interest on this year’s road to the Kentucky Derby.
The one-eyed Un Ojo emerged from his 75-1 upset in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel on Saturday in good order and will likely make his next start in the Grade 1, $1 million Blue Grass on April 9 at Keeneland, trainer Ricky Courville said Sunday.
Courville said the Grade 1, $1.25 million Arkansas Derby on April 2 also remains a consideration for the horse, who picked up 50 points for the Kentucky Derby with his half-length victory in the Rebel.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Winning 20-cent tickets in the Rainbow 6 returned $2,116 apiece when another forceout of a giant wagering pool was held Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
New wagers into the Rainbow 6 totaled $7,404,674 when chasing a carryover of $1,089,070 from Friday.
Two of the winners in a sequence comprising races 7-12 were post-time favorites. The winning numbers were 3-10-11-6-3-1, with those winners’ odds being 9-5f, 7-2, 10-1, 7-5f, 7-5, and 4-1.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Simplification, who overcame a slow start to finish a game second in the Grade 3 Holy Bull, will have a new rider when he goes postward among the favorites in next Saturday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Warren’s Showtime, the durable 5-year-old mare who won seven stakes races for trainer Craig Lewis and owner-breeders Ben and Sally Warren, broke a front leg during a workout Saturday at Santa Anita and was euthanized.
Warren’s Showtime was working by herself on the Santa Anita main track minutes after the 6:30 a.m. renovation break. At the top of the lane, she switched leads, took a bad step, and pulled up. No other horses were involved, though several had workouts interrupted as they steered around Warren’s Showtime.
Apprentice jockey Emily Ellingwood is scheduled to resume riding this weekend nearly two months after she suffered a concussion in a spill on Dec. 31 at Santa Anita. Ellingwood said Friday that she needed a final doctor’s clearance later that day to be permitted to ride.
She has two mounts on Saturday and Sunday.
Country Grammer, Idol, and Tripoli, Grade 1 winners at 1 1/4 miles in Southern California in 2021, will miss the Big Cap.
Country Grammer, trained by Bob Baffert, was entered in the Saudi Cup. Last May, Country Grammer won the Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita.
Idol won the 2021 Big Cap, catching Express Train in the stretch, but has not raced since a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita in October. Idol recently resumed workouts for trainer Richard Baltas at the San Luis Rey Downs training center.
Flavien Prat, the leading rider at the current Santa Anita meeting, will ride Warrant in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 5, the track’s leading race for older horses.
Warrant, trained by Brad Cox for Twin Creeks Racing Stable, has won 3 of 8 starts and earned $649,700. Warrant is the lone shipper expected for the $650,000 Santa Anita Handicap and is scheduled to arrive in California from Louisiana on Tuesday, Cox said in a text message Friday.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will be sidelined for much of next week and beyond – with the notable exception of the Saturday stakes – after being suspended five days by the Gulfstream stewards for the disqualification of his mount, Princess Cupid, from first to third in the sixth race here Wednesday.
