The Puma, scratched from the Kentucky Derby the morning of the race due to a swollen pastern apparently resulting from a skin infection in his leg, returned to his home base at Gulfstream Park on Thursday where he’ll continue preparations for the second half of his 3-year-old campaign.
The current plan is to launch his comeback in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 18.
When the 4-year-old colt Baeza, among the handful of best 3-year-old dirt-route horses during his 2025 campaign, was moved into Bill Mott’s stable early this year, Mott figured the day would come when Baeza would square off with his stable’s star, Sovereignty, the very best 3-year-old dirt route horse of 2025.
That day will come sooner rather than later with Baeza, Mott confirmed Thursday, a likely runner in the Stephen Foster Stakes on June 27 at Churchill Downs.
The speedy stakes winner Boss Sully is unlikely to race again in the near future after a win in his 2026 debut in the Siren Lure Stakes at six furlongs on turf at Santa Anita on Sunday.
Trainer Brian Koriner said earlier this week that Boss Sully will be raced sparingly this year, with the goal of running in lucrative stakes leading to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
“We know he runs good fresh,” he said. “We’re not in a hurry to do anything.”
Florida-based trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. had a perfect Memorial Day at Santa Anita last year, winning the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes with Be Your Best and the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup with Skippylongstocking.
With different runners, Joseph will have starters in the same races this year on May 25.
Joseph said on Thursday that Forged Steel, the winner of an allowance race at Oaklawn Park on May 2, will start in the $200,000 Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles on dirt, while Hang the Moon will run in the $300,000 Gamely Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf for fillies and mares.
LAUREL, Md. – Two years ago, trainer Todd Fincher won the world’s richest horse race when Senor Buscador got up in the final strides to take the $20 million Saudi Cup. It didn’t bring a lot of new business Fincher’s way.
“Not really, because I train out of New Mexico. I’m not going to get that clientele unless I moved back East,” Fincher said by phone recently from New Mexico. “They’re not real excited to pay a lot of money for Kentucky-breds to run in New Mexico.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Mr. A. P., second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar last October at 20-1, has resumed workouts at Santa Anita after an extended rest.
Trained by Vladimir Cerin for David and Holly Wilson, Mr. A. P. worked three furlongs 36.80 seconds on Monday. Cerin said he timed Mr. A. P. galloping out a half-mile in 49.80 seconds.
“It will be the summer before he runs,” Cerin said on Wednesday. “We’ll take it one step at a time. He’ll work five-eighths once, and maybe we’ll make a plan.”
ARCADIA, Calif. – Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella plans to have starters in the three major stakes at Santa Anita on May 25 – the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile, Grade 1 Gamely Stakes, and Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup.
The May 25 program is the most lucrative of the track’s spring meeting, which began in mid-April and continues through June 14.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After faultless preparation exiting a second-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational led to White Abarrio’s upset victory over reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty in the Oaklawn Handicap nearly three months later, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. isn’t about to change the formula now.
The rich allowance races, they just keep on coming Friday at Churchill – three of them, worth a total of about $416,000.
Race 6 is a second-level allowance with an $80,000 claiming option restricted to older fillies and mares and carded for 1 3/8 miles on grass. Argentine import Ceniza Pampa looks live here.
Race 8 is a third-level allowance with a $100,000 claiming option, also restricted to older fillies and mares and carded for 1 1/16 miles on dirt. Peignor is the pick.
The Grade 1-winning turf filly Lush Lips probably won’t race again until later this summer, trainer Brendan Walsh said Monday.
Lush Lips developed into the leading North American 3-year-old grass filly of 2025 and stood poised to add the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley to her résumé on April 11. Instead, Walsh had to scratch her with what he thought would be a relatively minor issue, but the problem, while not compromising in the long term, has persisted.
