HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Windmill, who is unbeaten in two starts, is being pointed to the $200,000 Purple Martin for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs April 3 at Oaklawn, trainer Larry Jones said Tuesday.
Windmill won her debut in a maiden special weight sprint Jan. 23 at Oaklawn, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 84. She came back and won the $150,000 Dixie Belle by a length here Feb. 28, defeating a strong field with a Beyer of 87.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following a fruitless February, trainer Ray Handal is enjoying a marvelous March. It’s a trend he hopes continues when he sends out two runners in Saturday’s $100,000 Cicada Stakes at Aqueduct.
Handal went 0 for 14 between Aqueduct and Turfway in February, and has gone 5 for 11 between those two tracks in March through Sunday.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Willis Horton and trainer Dallas Stewart are still determining their next move with Will’s Secret, who won her second Kentucky Oaks points race of the Oaklawn meet on March 6 in the Grade 3 Honeybee.
“She’s doing real good, has had a lot of good days since she ran,” Stewart said Tuesday. “We’re just trying to figure out what our next move is. You go back and forth.”
Stewart said he and Horton are looking at running in either the Grade 3, $600,000 Fantasy on April 3 at Oaklawn or having Will’s Secret just train up to the Kentucky Oaks.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Flavien Prat left Santa Anita late Sunday afternoon with a different feeling than his experiences in 15 racing days over the previous five weeks.
Prat was winless with six mounts.
Beginning on Feb. 12, a day he won three races, Prat had an astonishing late winter span at Santa Anita, winning 40 races from 105 mounts that earned $1,865,200. He won at least one race each day for 15 racing days, including six on March 12.
ARCADIA, Calif. – The purse of a $20,000 claiming race for maidens at Los Alamitos in December has been redistributed after race winner Palm d’Oro tested positive for a metabolite of the prohibited medication pyrilamine, an antihistamine.
Santa Anita stewards Ron Church, Luis Jauregui, and Kim Sawyer issued a ruling on the matter March 12.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby next month at Oaklawn Park has picked up a trio of new probables in Super Stock, Caddo River, and Keepmeinmind.
The horses finished a respective fourth through sixth in the Rebel Stakes last Saturday at Oaklawn. The 1 1/16-mile Rebel serves as the final stepping-stone to the Arkansas Derby. The 1 1/8-mile fixture is set for April 10.
After a one-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 shutdown, the Grade 2, $300,000 Penn Mile, a turf race for 3-year-olds, will return to Penn National on Friday, May 28.
“We are excited to once again offer the Penn Mile as it signals a return to normalcy,” Eric Johnston, director of racing operations for Penn National, said in a track release.
The Michael Trombetta-trained duo of Kiss the Girl and Lookin Dynamic completed the exacta in the $75,000 Conniver for Maryland-bred filly and mares at seven furlongs last Saturday at Laurel Park.
“I was a little concerned because the plan was to run her [Kiss the Girl] in an allowance race about a month before and the race never went,” said Trombetta. “We didn’t want to ship her out of town so I had to train to the stake.”
Lookin Dynamic sprinted for the first time since her debut and rallied stoutly.
Littlestitious successfully shipped up from her Fair Grounds base to grab the $100,000 Beyond the Wire for 3-year-old fillies at one mile last weekend at Laurel Park. She’ll stay in Maryland longer than expected due to circumstances beyond her control.
Trainer Gary Capuano reports that Shackled Love, upset winner of last Saturday’s $100,000 Private Terms Stakes for 3-year-olds at Laurel Park, “came out of the race well” and will point for the $125,000 Federico Tesio at Laurel on April 17. The Tesio serves as an automatic qualifier for Triple Crown-nominated horses to the Grade 1, $1 million Preakness on May 15 at Pimlico.
Capuano said that the connections always had high hopes for the son of Preakness winner Shackleford and stakes-winning miler Steady N Love.
