Ever So Lucky has been anything but lucky this winter for trainer Jonathan Sheppard. Ever So Lucky was forced to miss the Grade 2 Hutcheson due to a combination of several days of wet weather that disrupted his training and a little gash on his right foot, and now he’s suffered a second minor setback, a bruise on his left foot, Sheppard revealed Sunday.
Sheppard’s current goal for Ever So Lucky is the seven-furlong, Grade 3 Swale on March 10.
The likelihood of a small field for the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby on March 31, plus the chance to keep jockey Ramon Dominguez on Alpha, has trainer Kiaran McLaughlin pondering the Florida Derby for Alpha, who still has the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 7 as a potential final Kentucky Derby prep, too.
McLaughlin said the victory by Union Rags in the Fountain of Youth Stakes on Sunday might help keep the field size small for the Florida Derby. But McLaughlin also is looking down the line at a possible conflict for the Wood with Dominguez.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Algorithms will not be one of the 23 separately listed 3-year-olds in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, even though the colt has not been definitively ruled out of contention for the 138th Derby on May 5. Pool 2 opens Friday at tracks and wagering outlets throughout North America for the usual three-day run.
Earning a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure in a February prep race at one mile is a far cry from running competitively over 10 furlongs on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs, but it’s nothing to sneeze at, either.
While Bob Baffert deservedly received most of the accolades for sweeping both divisions of the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn on Feb. 20, another colt, an “Under the Radar” runner, made a nice impression in his own right.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Mark Casse hopes talent trumps experience when it comes to running Stealcase in Saturday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
Stealcase will enter Saturday’s Gotham with only a maiden win from three starts on his r é sum é , but Casse said the son of Lawyer Ron was his top-rated 2-year-old of 2011, a year in which he won 31 races with juveniles.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.- Union Rags stood in his paddock located behind the barn area at Palm Meadows training center early Monday morning vigorously attacking a flake of hay while his trainer, Michael Matz, looked on. It may be one of the last peaceful moments the pair will get to spend between now and Kentucky Derby day.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Michael Matz has said all along that he was using Sunday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth as a prep for Union Rags, just the first step on the road to having him ready to peak on Kentucky Derby Day. And in light of his performance in his 3-year-old debut, one can only imagine what Union Rags might be ready to accomplish when he’s completely fit and at his best.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Todd Pletcher said it will probably be several days before he knows exactly where he stands with Algorithms, who was scratched from Sunday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth due to a splint injury on his right front leg.
Pletcher said he discovered the injury Saturday, but didn’t know until Sunday morning the severity of the problem.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Algorithms has been scratched from Sunday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes after popping a splint, according to owner Jack Wolf. Algorithms was the morning-line favorite and one of two horses trainer Todd Pletcher had entered in the race along with Discreet Dancer.
“It’s nothing serious, but Todd just doesn't feel comfortable running him today,” said Wolf, principal partner in Starlight Racing.
