LEXINGTON, Ky. – The sun rose Monday over Kentucky, although it was hard to tell through the rain and gloom. The emphasis was on gloom for Tim Glyshaw, who was dealing with an all-too-visceral case of heartbreak approaching 48 hours.
“This has been the toughest time,” Glyshaw said.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Iggy Puglisi has not ridden since mid-March after suffering a severely sprained ankle, and is hoping to resume physical therapy this week for a comeback in late May.
Puglisi said Sunday that he hoped to receive doctor’s clearance this week to begin exercising the ankle, which was injured in a starting gate incident at Santa Anita on March 18.
“It was bruised and swollen,” Puglisi said “Nothing was broken.”
Puglisi said he was advised by doctors to rest for a month. He said the ankle was flexible in some positions compared to others.
ARCADIA, Calif. – With several stakes-class sprinters in his stable, Peter Miller may send Bobby Abu Dhabi to Belmont Park for the Grade 2 True North Stakes on June 8.
Bobby Abu Dhabi won the Grade 2 Kona Gold Stakes here at 6 1/2 furlongs on Saturday for his first stakes win. A 5-2 chance, Bobby Abu Dhabi stalked the pace before pulling clear to win by 1 1/4 lengths over 7-5 favorite Ransom the Moon. The Kona Gold was Ransom the Moon’s first start since a fifth-place finish in the BC Sprint at Del Mar last November.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The Grade 3 American Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday is scheduled as a prep race for the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on May 28. Trainer Kenny Black may take a different route with What a View, who won his fifth stakes with a minor upset in the American.
Black said Sunday the $400,000 Shoemaker is an option, as is the $100,000 Crystal Water Stakes for California-breds at a mile on turf on May 20.
“I think I’ll give my boss and partners the info and leave it up to them,” Black said in a text message. “He seems to have come out of it in good order.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – The brilliant 3-year-old filly Midnight Bisou is nearing the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 4 in a manner that leaves her 78-year-old trainer, Bill Spawr, in awe.
Spawr spoke glowingly of Midnight Bisou’s current condition on Sunday morning, a few hours after the filly worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 at Santa Anita before dawn.
“She’s getting better,” Spawr said. “She’s scary. Her bodyweight is right. She’s confident in the way she acts.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – With slight urging in the stretch, Bolt d’Oro worked seven furlongs in 1:24.20 at Santa Anita on Sunday, his second-to-last major exercise before the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5.
Second in the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 7, Bolt d’Oro worked alone on Sunday under jockey Victor Espinoza, who will ride the colt for the first time in the Kentucky Derby.
The top three finishers and beaten favorite Diversify were all doing well Sunday morning following the previous day's $1.2 million Charles Town Classic.
Something Awesome defeated War Story by a neck under Hall of Famer rider Edgar Prado in the 1 1/8-mile Classic, with the late-running Fear the Cowboy a length farther back in third. Diversify dropped back through the field following a little more than six furlongs and finished last, with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. protecting him after it was clear he had no more to give.
The smile that has been a seemingly permanent fixture on trainer Chad Brown’s face throughout April at Keeneland, as his barn continues a strong meet and he prepares juvenile champion Good Magic for the Kentucky Derby, slipped for just an instant.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Monomoy Girl sharpened up for her upcoming engagement in the Kentucky Oaks when breezing a half-mile in company on a cold but pleasant Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.
Working outside of her Brad Cox stablemate Compass Zone during the exclusive training period (7:30-7:45 a.m. Eastern) being reserved daily for Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses, Monomoy Girl went in 47.40 seconds, with a five-furlong gallop-out of 59.80. Florent Geroux, her regular rider, was aboard.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The unbeaten and lightly raced Justify, the current favorite for the Kentucky Derby on May 5, turned in his penultimate drill for the race early Saturday morning at Santa Anita, officially going six furlongs in 1:13 after breaking off at the five-furlong pole.
