HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Newgrange remained unbeaten in three starts Saturday, when he forged past the leaders late for a 1 1/2-length win over Barber Road in the Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
It was the second Grade 3 win for Newgrange ($5), who came into the Southwest off a victory in the Sham Stakes on Jan. 1 at Santa Anita. He won that race on the front end, but came from a stalking position in the Southwest under regular rider John Velazquez.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Rattle N Roll, unraced since winning the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland in early October, returned to the work tab early Saturday at Gulfstream Park when breezing three furlongs in company.
Working alongside Creative Minister, an unraced 3-year-old like Rattle N Roll trained by Kenny McPeek, Rattle N Roll went in 36 seconds as McPeek looks to make up for time lost to a minor rear-foot injury.
The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, was the 9-5 favorite when the second of five pools in the 2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern following the customary three-day run.
Two Kenny McPeek-trained horses, Smile Happy (8-1) and Tiz the Bomb (10-1), were the lowest odds among 23 separately listed interests. Then came Jack Christopher (14-1), Chasing Time (17-1), and Emmanuel (17-1), with all others 20-1 or higher.
The lowest $2 exacta will-pay is Smile Happy over the field (18-24), worth $70.60.
Grade 3, $200,000 Lecomte Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Fair Grounds, Jan. 22, 2022
(10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Call Me Midnight, by Midnight Lute
Trainer: Keith Desormeaux
Jockey: James Graham
Owner: Peter Cantrell
Beyer Speed Figure: 88
Chasing Time could soon be chasing after some qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby.
The impressive allowance winner is being considered for a start in the Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest on Jan. 29 at Oaklawn Park, trainer Steve Asmussen said Tuesday. The 1 1/16-mile race doles out Kentucky Derby points on a scale of 10-4-2-1.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Brian Lynch is eyeing the Feb. 5 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park for his Kentucky Derby hopeful Classic Causeway, who breezed five furlongs in 1:01.60 early Wednesday at the Palm Meadows training center. It was the third work for the Giant’s Causeway colt since he was second as the 7-5 favorite behind Smile Happy in the Nov. 27 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs.
“There are other races we could go for, but right now the Holy Bull is on the radar for him,” said Lynch. “This latest work was really good and has us where we want to be.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Todd Pletcher trains five of the 23 separately listed wagering interests in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which runs this Friday to Sunday. It’s a familiar position for a Hall of Fame trainer, whose 59 Derby starters is a record.
Mo Donegal, a last-out winner of the Dec. 4 Remsen, will be Pletcher’s only starter in the first major Derby prep of the year at Gulfstream Park, the Feb. 5 Holy Bull. The Uncle Mo colt has breezed every weekend at Pletcher’s winter base at Palm Beach Downs since Dec. 24.
The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, has been listed as the 7-5 morning-line favorite for the second of five pools in the 2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
Pool 2 opens Friday at noon Eastern and runs through Sunday at 6 p.m.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Slow Down Andy, upset winner of the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 11, is under consideration for two Grade 3 races in the next month – the $750,000 Southwest Stakes on Jan. 29 at Oaklawn Park or the $200,000 Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 6 at Santa Anita.
Trainer Doug O’Neill said Friday that Paul Reddam, who owns Slow Down Andy with his wife, Zillah, will make a final determination on a race goal.
The Southwest Stakes is run at a mile, while the Lewis is run at 1 1/16 miles.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It’s a rare winter when trainer Dale Romans doesn’t show up with some promising young faces for the major 3-year-old stakes here later in the season. And this year is no exception.
Romans breezed the talented 3-year-old prospects Giant Game, Howling Time, and Red Knobs over the main track at Gulfstream Park on Tuesday, with his smile getting wider with each successive work.
