OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Montauk Traffic, a 4 1/2-length maiden winner here Dec. 28, worked five furlongs in 1:01.66 on Wednesday morning and could be a candidate for either the Grade 2, $250,000 Withers Stakes on Feb. 1 or the $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes on Feb. 8.
Montauk Traffic worked in company with Devil’s Code, galloping out six furlongs in 1:14.51 while leaving his company.
Bellera, winner of the Grade 3 Comely, and Another Broad, winner of the Top Flight Invitational in April, give trainer Todd Pletcher a potent 1-2 punch for Sunday’s $100,000 Ladies Handicap. Bellera, a 4-year-old daughter of Bernardini, is the 123-pound highweight, while Another Broad, runner-up in the Grade 3 Turnback the Alarm Handicap in November, is the second highweight at 121 pounds.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – That trainer Jason Servis entered a horse in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct is hardly surprising. That his starter is Sunny Ridge, well, that is somewhat surprising.
Sunny Ridge has won 8 of 28 starts and earned $1.4 million in a career that began in June 2015. He has never raced at seven furlongs, the distance of Toboggan. Moreover, Servis has won the last two sprint stakes on this circuit with Happy Farm, who won the Grade 3 Fall Highweight, and Firenze Fire, who won the Gravesend, both in December.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The stakes winners Midcourt and Restrainedvengence are scheduled to start in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Feb. 1 at Santa Anita.
Midcourt was invited to the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park, but trainer John Shirreffs said he would prefer to start him in the $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes.
Owned by Lee and Susan Searing, Midcourt won the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes on Nov. 23 at Del Mar and was third in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes here Dec. 28, ending a four-race winning streak.
ARCADIA, Calif. – In her last six starts in sprints, Apache Princess has won three times and finished second three times. In her last six starts in races around two turns, Apache Princess is winless, with a second in the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes at a mile last summer at Del Mar as her best effort.
NEW ORLEANS – Warrior’s Charge, going solo, worked a sharp half-mile in 49 seconds Wednesday at Fair Grounds as he prepares for a start Feb. 17 in the $500,000 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park.
Warrior’s Charge set a strong pace and finished a close fourth in the Preakness last May, his stakes debut, but subsequently suffered a case of colic that led to a seven-month layoff. Warrior’s Charge returned to action Dec. 18 and aced a Fair Grounds second-level allowance test, comfortably seeing off Gun It, who’s among the entrants here Saturday in the Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes.
NEW ORLEANS – Lynn’s Map, a winner of two straight races since his career debut, probably will be scratched from the Lecomte Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds because of a poor post position.
Lynn’s Map drew the outside gate in a 14-horse field for the Lecomte, a 1 1/16-mile dirt race for 3-year-olds that leads to the Risen Star Stakes in February and the Louisiana Derby in March here in New Orleans. Trainer Mark Casse said Tuesday that he planned to enter Lynn’s Map on Friday for the Smarty Jones Stakes, which is to be run Friday, Jan. 24 at Oaklawn Park.
NEW ORLEANS – Midnight Bisou, the certain older female dirt champion of 2019, continued her preparation for the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 29 when she worked five furlongs in 1:01.40 on Wednesday at Fair Grounds.
Working during the short window reserved for breezing horses just after the morning renovation break, Midnight Bisou was put to no pressure while sailing solo through her drill over a good, sealed racing surface.
“It was what she needed for where she is right now,” trainer Steve Asmussen said just after watching the work from the track apron.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Hidden Scroll, the beaten favorite in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby last year, will be heavily favored when he returns to action in the Friday feature at Gulfstream, a $51,000 first-level allowance at six furlongs. The 4-year-old Juddmonte Farms homebred colt will be making his first start in more than eight months. He faces seven opponents in the ninth of 10 races.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Chad Brown said the decision has been made to retire Feedback after the 4-year-old filly put in the worst performance of her short career here Sunday.
Feedback went to her knees at the start of the 6 1/2-furlong allowance but was not injured, Brown said. The daughter of Violence failed to contend and finished fifth of sixth as the 3-5 favorite. She was making her first start in nine months.
