Guest Suite, who won the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 21 in his 3-year-old debut, had his final Risen Star workout on Tuesday, going a half-mile in 48 seconds. On a damp, drizzly morning, trainer Neil Howard did not hesitate to work Guest Suite over a wet, sealed Fair Grounds surface.
“On this racetrack, very rarely does anything get in your way of training,” Howard said.
NEW ORLEANS – The first multistakes card of any significance at the Fair Grounds meet on Dec. 17 sounded a steady drumbeat of Brad Cox-trained stakes winners. Green Mask won the Bonapaw, Cash Control won the Blushing K. D., and Western Reserve won the Buddy Diliberto.
In the summer of 2015, trainer Tony Dutrow had a handful of 2-year-olds from the first crop of Uncle Mo. He liked the promise they had shown and wanted to get more. So, at the Keeneland yearling sale that September, getting an Uncle Mo colt was paramount to Dutrow.
Practical Joke will make his first start as a 3-year-old in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on March 4, and Jose Ortiz will have the mount, trainer Chad Brown said Wednesday.
Brown also had been considering the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on March 4 for Practical Joke’s first start on the Kentucky Derby trail.
“Ultimately, the decision was made because he’s thriving in south Florida, and I really don’t want to move the horse since he’s doing so well,” said Brown, who winters at the Palm Meadows training center.
Mo Town
Uncle Mo-Grazie Mille, by Bernardini
(Bred in Kentucky by John D. Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock; $200,000 purchase by Team D at 2015 Keeneland September yearling sale)
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The undefeated One Liner, who popped a Beyer Speed Figure of 102 for his win Monday in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park, was traveling Tuesday, headed back home to Palm Beach Downs in South Florida.
Mastery, one of the top 3-year-olds in the country, will make his first start of the year in the Grade 2, $400,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 11, trainer Bob Baffert said Tuesday after Mastery worked six furlongs in 1:12 at Santa Anita.
The time equaled the fastest of 10 works at the distance on Tuesday.
Mastery worked in company, with Martin Garcia aboard. Mike Smith has the mount in the San Felipe.
"He worked great," Baffert said.
Eight new names are among the separately listed wagering interests in Pool 3 of the 2017 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens Friday at noon Eastern. The only futures pool toward the 2017 Kentucky Oaks will coincide with the three-day wagering window.
The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, is pegged by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia as a 4-1 morning-line favorite for Derby Pool 3, which closes Sunday at 6 p.m. Unique Bella is the 8-5 program choice in the Oaks pool, which closes a half-hour later.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - One Liner remained undefeated in three career starts Monday, winning his two-turn and stakes debut in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest at Oaklawn Park. One Liner rolled home by 3 1/2 lengths over Petrov, and it was another 8 1/4 lengths back in third to Lookin At Lee.
One Liner was given a 102 Beyer for the Southwest, the top Beyer for a 3-year-old this year and tied for the best of this crop. Classic Empire got the same figure for his victory in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
