OZONE PARK, N.Y. – On the first Saturday in May, only 20 hopefuls will get to line up in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. On Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack, seven 3-year-olds will try to take a big step on the road to the Derby in the 132nd running of the Grade 3, $200,000 Withers.

“The Withers is an important race because it’s graded and you don’t get to run in the Derby unless you have those graded stakes earnings,” said Kiaran McLaughlin, who will saddle Alpha, the even-money favorite on the morning line, in the 1 1/16-mile Withers. “When you look at the schedule, you start with the first Saturday in May, and work back from there. We are taking the Withers as an important step, and maybe, maybe, afterward we’ll talk about what we’re going to do.”

Alpha, a Bernardini colt who carries the colors of Godolphin Stable, started his 2012 campaign with a 2½-length victory in January’s Count Fleet, which preceded the Withers as the first of four open stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct. Next up is the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham on March 3 and then New York’s final major prep for Triple Crown aspirants, the Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World Casino New York City Wood Memorial, on April 7.

“We’re excited to be running him, to be in this position,” said McLaughlin of Alpha, who drew post position 7 with Ramon Dominguez aboard. “Our stomachs were upset last weekend when Consortium didn’t run well in the slop at Gulfstream (sixth in the Holy Bull to Algorithms) so we’re thankful for Alpha. But we have to do it day by day, race by race.”

While Alpha has already competed in Grade 1 company, finishing second to Union Rags in the Champagne and 11th behind Hansen in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, many of his rivals will be testing the waters in Saturday’s race.

Harry and Tom Meyerhoff’s Hakama, who will be making his stakes debut, is 2-1-1 from four starts, including a maiden win at a mile, 70 yards at Aqueduct on December 10 and an optional-claiming win at the Withers distance at Laurel Park on Jan. 4.

“He’s graduated himself into this position,” said trainer Michael Trombetta of the chestnut son of First Samurai. “He looks like he’s a good fit – he ran well in two sprints and two routes – and we’re seeing if he’s ready to take the next step.”

Julian Pimentel is aboard Hakama, who drew the rail at 5-1 on the morning line.

Trainer Dale Romans, who saddled Shackleford to victory in the 2011 Preakness, will be represented by the lightly raced King Kid, who was most recently third in the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year’s Day.

“He’s a horse we’ve always thought a lot of, and we’d like him to run big Saturday and see if he belongs,” said Romans of King Kid, who broke his maiden at Churchill Downs on Nov. 26. “It would be nice to get $120,000 of graded stakes earnings and then be selective about where he’d go next.”

Mike Luzzi has the mount on King Kid, 4-1 on the morning line, from post position 4.

Repole Stable’s How Do I Win closed out his 2-year-old campaign with a pair of victories and then finished fourth, beaten more than six lengths, behind Alpha in the Count Fleet.

“He’s a horse, who, frankly, has been a bit of a disappointment,” said trainer Todd Pletcher of the gray son of Corinthian. “He’s one of those horses that, when things go right, is capable of running a big race. Cornelio (Velasquez) told me he thought he took too much of a hold in the Count Fleet, so without seeing all the form, the likely strategy will be to put him on the lead and hope he gets loose.”

Velasquez returns aboard How Do I Win, who leaves from post position 5 and is 10-1 on the morning line.

Tiger Walk, who will be making his sophomore and stakes debut in the Withers, enters off a pair of wins at Laurel Park, having finished fourth and 10th in two maiden outings at Saratoga Race Course. The Tale of the Cat colt, 6-1 on the morning line, drew post position 6 and will be ridden by Horacio Karamanos.

Rounding out the field are Speightscity, fifth in the Count Fleet, and Swag Daddy, who closed out his 2-year-old campaign with victories in the Damon Runyon and Restrainor at the Big A.

The field for the Grade 3, $200,000 Withers: Hakama (5-1), J Pimentel; Speightscity (20-1), D Cohen; Swag Daddy (10-1), J Alvarado; King Kid (4-1), M J Luzzi; How Do I Win (10-1), C H Velasquez; Tiger Walk (6-1), H Karamanos; and Alpha (1-1), R A Dominguez.

NYRA photo
Alpha winning the Count Fleet

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Fifth Season Stakes winner Color Me Blue posted a maintenance breeze Saturday, a week out from the challenge of the next stop on the Oaklawn Handicap trail in the $100,000 Essex Handicap.

Color Me Blue is taking his top form into the Essex Handicap next Saturday

Owned by the Russell Reineman Stable, the 6-year-old gelding breezed five furlongs in 1:03 for trainer Brian Williamson in the only drill he will get before next week’s 1 1/16th-mile test.

“We’ve just been training him as usual since he came out of his last race really well,” said Williamson Saturday morning. “I know this race will be a little tougher, but we are here and we’re ready to go and see what happens.”

Expected to challenge Color Me Blue will be Twice the Appeal, who was only a neck behind at the finish of the Fifth Season and spends most days in close proximity to his rival in the same shedrow. Twice the Appeal worked five furlongs Saturday as well for trainer Jeff Bonde in 1:03 1/5.

Williamson initially thought Color Me Blue’s breeze was far slower, but wasn’t that worried, saying the son of Flatter hasn’t needed to do much to stay fit after a start-stop beginning to his career.

“I couldn’t see the poles all that well from where I was standing so I thought he went in like 1:06,” he said. “He doesn’t need to do much. He’s always looked like a classy horse. He started off and ran a couple races and something happened, then they laid him off and he’d come back for a race and something different would happen. It was never one thing that was the problem. It was a combination of things, but he always had the look of a horse that you wanted to be patient with and give him the time he needs.”

The Fifth Season was Color Me Blue’s first stakes win in four attempts. He finished third in the last two runnings of the Buck’s Boy Handicap for Illinois-breds at Hawthorne and was fifth in the 2011 Washington Park Handicap at Arlington Park.

Credit Coady Photography/Oaklawn Park
Color Me Blue wins the Fifth Season.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Kendall Hansen and Sky Chai Racing’s undefeated 2011 Eclipse champion 2-year-old Hansen takes his first steps toward the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Triple Crown trail as the flashy roan/gray colt launches his 3-year-old campaign in Sunday’s $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) going a mile at Gulfstream Park.

Jockey Ramon Dominguez will be back in the saddle on Hansen for trainer Mike Maker after they teamed up for a stunning wire-to-wire victory by a head over heavy favorite Union Rags in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5. A Kentucky homebred by Tapit, Hansen had won both of his previous starts at TurfwayPark by double-digit margins. He’s the 6-5 favorite.

“We’ve had no bumps in the road,” said Maker of Hansen’s training ahead of his return to competition. “Hopefully, that trend continues.” Hansen has gone wire-to-wire in all three starts. “It’s no different than a closer. You’re dependant on the pace. You just hope no one makes him go quicker earlier than he has to.”

Hansen faces five rivals in the Holy Bull, led by Starlight Stable’s Algorithms from the arsenal of 3-year-old talent in the Todd Pletcher barn this winter. A son of Bernardini, Algorithms has won both of his career stars, his debut at Belmont Park in June by 5¼ lengths and a hard-fought one-length allowance score at 6½ furlongs here on Dec. 16. Leading Gulfstream jockey Javier Castellano gets the return call. Algorithms is 5-2 in the morning line.

“He’s trained very well,” Pletcher said. “His first two races have been excellent, he’s bred to stretch out and we’re optimistic he’s a top-level colt.”

Godolphin Racing’s Consortium finished a game second as the 4-5 favorite to Algorithms in the on Dec. 16, beaten a length, and comes back in the Holy Bull with jockey John Velazquez aboard for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. The Kentucky homebred is also a son of highly-successful Darley stallion Bernardini and won his only previous start at Aqueduct on Nov. 12 by 4¾ lengths.

Jacks or Better Farm’s homebred Fort Loudon also makes his first start since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill in which he finished seventh with a wide trip from the far outside post 13, beaten nine lengths for it all by Hansen. Jockey Rajiv Maragh rides Fort Loudon for trainer Stanley Gold. The son of Awesome of Course swept the three ‘open’ divisions of the Florida Stallion Stakes at Calder before the Juvenile.

Completing the field for the Holy Bull are Lori and George Hall’s My Adonis, Elvis Trujillo; and Mark Bacon’s Silver Max, Julien Leparoux.

Coglianese Photos
Hansen

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Fred and William Bradley’s 4-year-old Kentucky homebred filly Groupie Doll was a very impressive wire-to-wire allowance winner at one mile in a strong field at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 22, and takes on a bigger challenge Friday as she faces five male rivals in another one-mile allowance feature on Friday, including Jay Em Ess Stable and partner’s highly-regarded 4-year-old colt Boys At Tosconova.

Jockey Calvin Borel gets the return call on Groupie Doll for co-owner and trainer William ‘Buff’ Bradley as she bids for a fifth victory in nine career starts with two seconds. The daughter of Bowman’s Band won the Gardenia Stakes (G3) at Ellis Park last summer and ran big races to finish second in the $400,000 Charles Town Oaks in September and second by a head in the Raven Run Stakes (G2) at Keeneland in late October.

“We’re pointing her for the ($100,000) Sabin (G3) (1 1/16 miles on Feb. 25),” said Bradley Wednesday morning. “We tried to get her in a race for fillies and mares, but the race didn’t go. She’s doing great. I don’t normally like to do this (filly against colts), but she needs to run.”

Leading Gulfstream jockey Javier Castellano gets aboard Boys At Tosconova for the first time for trainer Rick Dutrow as he bids for a third straight victory on the comeback trail after missing much of the 2011 season. The son of Officer won the Hopeful Stakes (G1) at Saratoga and finished second to UncleMo in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) as a 2-year-old.

Boys At Tosconova was sidelined for 11 months after the good effort in the Breeders’ Cup, returning with a third-place finish as the 1-2 favorite in an allowance race at Belmont Park on Oct. 8. He came back to win a 6½ furlongs allowance test at Aqueduct on Nov. 11 and a one-mile allowance over the Gulfstream track by a length on Dec. 23.

Another contender in the field for Friday’s race that shouldn’t be overlooked is Robert LaPenta’s 5-year-old Our Dark Knight with John Velazquez aboard for trainer Nick Zito. The son of Medaglia d’Oro finished second last out to Dutrow-trained favorite Trickmeister in a 1 1/16 miles allowance race on Dec. 17. Trickmeister is undefeated and among the probable favorites for the $500,000 Donn Handicap (G1) on Feb. 11.

Completing the field for Friday’s race are Helene and Stephen Weicholz’ El Kingdom, Paco Lopez; Jessica Colon’s Imperial Czar, Orlando Bocachica; and Blackacre Farms’ Flatter This, Luis Jurado.

NYRA file photo
Boys At Tosconova

(Edited Gulfstream Park report)

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla – Perfect.

That’s the word trainer Chad Brown uses to describe the condition of Awesome Feather since her victory Nov. 26 in the Gazelle (G1) at Aqueduct. It’s also the word to describe the 4-year-old filly’s record.

When Awesome Feather makes her 2012 debut Saturday in the $300,000 Florida Sunshine Millions Distaff, she’ll do so with a perfect record – undefeated in all eight of her lifetime starts, seven coming in stakes.

Owned by Stronach Stable, Awesome Feather will face five others in Saturday’s 1 1/8th mile event, including the stakes winners Tiz the Argument and Delightful Mary.  But Brown says the Eclipse champion and winner of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) couldn’t be doing any better going into the Florida Sunshine Millions.

“Since she’s won the Gazelle everything’s been perfect,” said Brown of Awesome Feather, who returned in October after a year off due to a lesion on her tendon. “She’s been training here at Palm Meadows and hasn’t missed anything. She’s been working right along.

“She’s done really, really well, but we play it day by day. Stronach Stable has been great. We see how she is after every breeze and every race and if she is not 100 %, we’ll stop on her right away. I couldn’t be happier with the way she’s doing. She’s a good horse, so we’ll line her up with the rest of them and see what she does.”

So far, what she’s done is pretty special.

The bay filly started her streak on May 10, 2010 in a 4½ furlong maiden special weight at Calder.  In that two year old filly event, jockey Jeffery Sanchez put her on the lead and they never looked back, winning by 5¾ widening lengths.

“In her first race, she didn’t want to go in the gate and I thought ‘Oh no, she doesn’t want to run,’ “ commented Sanchez. “But once she got into the gate, she just stared at the door and didn’t move at all. Once the doors opened, she broke about two lengths in front and won easy that day.”

Her maiden victory impressed her connections enough to enter her in the JJ’s Dream, a 5½ furlong stake at Calder. Awesome Feather did not break as good second time out, keeping her a couple of lengths off the pace. But she rallied in between horses in the JJ’s Dream and won by a half length.

“She really impressed me that day,” said Sanchez. “She stumbled a little bit out of the gate.  She got bumped and I asked her to go through horses and she did. She didn’t get scared, she kept going. I knew after that race how special she was.”

Special indeed. Awesome Feather continued her winning streak with three consecutive stakes victories at Calder. As the distances of each race increased from six furlongs to a mile and a sixteenth, the bay filly increased her winning margin to an impressive 8 ¼ lengths. This set her up perfectly for her last start of 2010, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenille Fillies at Churchill Downs. She won the Grade 1 event by stalking the pace and drawing off by 2¼ lengths.

Two days after her victory, Awesome Feather was bought at auction by Stronach Stables and transferred from Stanley Gold to trainer Chad Brown.

“She was brought to Palm Meadows after her 2-year-old season, but suffered a lesion on her tendon,” said Brown. “She was given some extended time off and a lot of therapy. Injuries like that can be tricky. Sometimes they don’t make it back, especially at that level.”

The daughter of Awesome of Course made a triumphant return to the races almost a year later. She ran in the seven furlong Le Slew Stake at BelmontPark where she broke a little awkward, sat off the pace in second, and won by two lengths.

“I was nervous running an undefeated horse,” commented Brown. “She has such a big following. It was a huge relief. She proved she’s special.”

Awesome Feather followed up her performance in the Le Slew by winning the Gazelle at Aqueduct. Again choosing to rate off the pace in second, Sanchez guided the bay filly to a 5 ½ length victory in the mile and an eighth event.

As for racing tactics in the upcoming Sunshine Millions Distaff, Brown will leave that up to her regular rider, Jeffery Sanchez.

“We’ll see what post position we get,” Brown said. “She has good tactical speed so she’ll probably be near or on the lead. I won’t have too much to say about it. She’s a real pro.”

NYRA file photo
Awesome Feather

ARCADIA, Calif. – Pamela Ziebarth’s unbeaten homebred Tiz Flirtatious gets tested for both distance and class among eight 4-year-old fillies entered in Santa Anita’s 38th running of the Grade II, $150,000 La Canada Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Sunday.

The California-bred daughter of Tizbud has methodically ascended the class ladder for trainer Marty Jones with three impressive victories that have seen her odds drop accordingly. She went from 9-1 (maiden win) to 3-1 (allowance victory) and finally to 9-5 when capturing HollywoodPark’s Cat’s Cradle Handicap by 1½ lengths at 7½ furlongs on Dec. 11.

Joel Rosario will be back aboard when Tiz Flirtatious attempts to prove she is a graded stakes quality filly of distance proportions while stretching out in a lineup that includes a pair of graded stakes winners.

Among those with whom she will have to contend are Great Hot, winner of Keeneland’s Grade II Raven Run Stakes, and May Day Rose. The latter is a multiple Grade III winner. Included is a wire-to-wire win at 1-20 odds in last January’s Santa Ysabel Stakes over 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita.

With earnings of $391,620 from a 5-2-1 record in 13 starts, May Day Rose is the most accomplished of the La Canada entrants. After winning 5 of her first 9 starts, she has been beaten in her last four including a head loss to Buckleupbuttercup in Churchill Downs’ Grade II Chilukki Stakes on Nov. 5.

The RockportHarbor filly, trained by Bob Baffert for Kaleem Shah, appears to have an excellent opportunity to return to the winner’s circle. She figures to be in front under jockey Martin Garcia, and could prove difficult to catch in a relatively paceless lineup.

Brazilian-bred Great Hot, coming off three seven-furlong stakes that include a creditable third behind Teddy’s Promise in the Grade I La Brea Stakes on Dec. 31, gave a good account of herself at 1 1/16 miles in last fall’s Grade I Lady’s Secret Stakes at Santa Anita. Great Hot ran third, two lengths behind victorious Zazu. She previously had won Del Mar’s Torrey Pines Stakes at one mile.

“She’s versatile,” says A. C. Avila, who trains Great Hot for Jessica Coudelaria. “She can go (on the pace), she can sit, she can do whatever she wants.” Great Hot has earned $327,265 from 4 wins in 9 races. Chantal Sutherland will be back aboard.

Big Tiz shows but a single victory in nine starts, but the daughter of Tiznow has contended against top competition. She ran second to Turbulent Descent at odds of 37-1 in HollywoodPark’s Grade I Hollywood Starlet Stakes as a 2-year-old. Big Tiz finished 3 ¼ lengths behind May Day Rose in Hollywood Park’s Grade III Railbird Stakes at seven furlongs last May. Corey Nakatani will handle the bay filly trained by Mark Glatt for Allen and Susan Branch and Cory Wagner. Big Tiz has won $169,650 from a 1-3-4 record.

Like Tiz Flirtatious, Include Me Out will be trying two turns for the first time. While sprinting, the daughter of Include, trained by Ron Ellis for Jay Em Ess Stable, has posted a 2-2-0 mark in 6 starts worth $93,600. Joe Talamo rides. The three one-turn wins by undefeated Tiz Flirtatious have netted earnings of $116,800.

With 3 victories in 6 starts for trainer and co-owner Jerry Hollendorfer, Capital Plan is a proven router. In fact, the daughter of Rock Hard Ten has never sprinted while earning $102,500 for Hollendorfer and partner Mark DeDomenico. Capital Plan, to be ridden by Rafael Bejarano, will bring a two-race winning streak into her first stakes try.

The complete field for the La Canada Stakes, with jockeys in post position order (each entrant carries 118 pounds): May Day Rose, Martin Garcia; Love Theway Youare, Alonso Quinonez; Big Tiz, Corey Nakatani; Great Hot, Chantal Sutherland; Miss Radiance, David Flores; Include Me Out, Joseph Talamo; Capital Plan, Rafael Bejarano; and Tiz Flirtatious, Joel Rosario.

Drill, who won the Grade I Del Mar Futurity the last time he sprinted, returns to the sprint game in Sunday’s supporting feature, the 21st running of the $75,000 San Pedro Stakes for 3-year-olds at 6½ furlongs. Trained by Bob Baffert for the partnership of Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman and to be ridden by Garcia, Drill figures to be a solid favorite in the field of six.

The Lawyer Ron offspring, who won the Del Mar Futurity by a neck last September, has regressed significantly since being stretched out. After finishing second, 3¼ lengths behind Creative Cause, as the 3-5 favorite in Santa Anita’s Grade I Norfolk Stakes last Oct. 1, Drill went downhill in a hurry against topflight competition. He was badly beaten in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the Grade III Delta Downs Jackpot and the Grade I Hollywood Futurity. He enters the San Pedro with earnings of $248,150 from an overall record of 2-1-0 in 7 starts.

Drill’s opposition includes Got Even, who is fresh off a 4¼-length victory for trainer Peter Miller in the $100,000 California Breeders’ Championship Stakes on Dec. 26, and Midnight Transfer, a swift maiden breaker by 4¾ lengths on the same day at Santa Anita.

The complete field for the San Pedro Stakes, with jockeys in post position order (each entrant carries 122 pounds): Midnight Transfer, Rosario; Drill, Garcia; Coach Sickle, Quinonez; Let’s Get Crackin, Victor Espinoza; Passing Game, Kevin Krigger; and Got Even, Nakatani.

The La Canada will be contested as the eighth race with the San Pedro going as the fourth on a nine-race program. First post is at 12:30 p.m.

Benoit Photo
Tiz Flirtatious

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Named for the venerable gelding whose career spanned eight years, Saturday’s $75,000 Evening Attire at Aqueduct Racetrack has drawn a field of six veterans headed by 2009’s Grade 1 Wood Memorial winner, I Want Revenge.

Now 6, the son of Stephen Got Even is 2-for-2 at Aqueduct, having taken the Grade 3 Gotham and the Wood Memorial before being scratched with an ankle injury from the 2009 Kentucky Derby as the morning-line favorite. He returned to run twice in 2010, finishing third to Haynesfield in the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap at BelmontPark and third to Duke of Mischief in the Grade 3 Philip Iselin at MonmouthPark, and ran three times in 2011, most recently as runner-up to Hymn Book in the Three Coins Up at Belmont in May.

Owned by IEAH Stables, Resolute Group Stables, Puglisi Racing LLC, Dubb and Frimmel, I Want Revenge returned to the worktab in late November and has since been breezing steadily for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr., most recently going six furlongs in 1:16.42 at the Big A on Saturday.

Ramon Dominguez rides I Want Revenge, the 7-5 morning-line favorite, from post position 2.

Jimanator will make his Big A debut in the 1 1/16-mile Evening Attire. He was claimed for $20,000 by trainer Michael Trombetta out of a winning effort in a seven-furlong off-the-turf race at Saratoga Race Course in August and finished second in his first start for his new connections, The 6-year-old Broken Vow gelding next took an allowance race at Parx Racing in October by 6¼ lengths and topped that with a three-quarter length win over odds-on Mambo Meister in the Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper at Calder Race Course on Nov. 26, his first stakes appearance.

“I wish I could I say there was some special secret, but he’s just gotten really good the past couple of months,” said Trombetta of the Three Diamonds Farm color-bearer, who closed out 2011 with a third-place finish behind Heart Butte in the Auld Lang Syne at Parx. “We originally claimed him at Saratoga because he had good numbers. It would be nice if all of them worked out like that.”

With a record of 2-1-1 from four starts for Trombetta, Jimanator has now won 10 of his 35 career starts and earned $249,040. Saturday, he will carry high weight of 123 pounds, including Cornelio Velasquez, as he leaves from post position 3 at 8-1 on the morning line.

Another who has had a light schedule in recent years is multiple graded stakes winner Redding Colliery, who in 2010 won the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap and the Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup. The now 6-year-old son of Mineshaft ended the year with a third in the Grade 1 Clark and was promoted to second through a disqualification, and after having time off to deal with foot issues returned in November to finish sixth as the even-money favorite in the Swatara at Penn National.

“The race at Penn National was a two-turn race, and he got tired,” said Art Magnuson, assistant to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. “He’s bigger and rounder than he was back when we first got him (in 2009) but he’s been training well and he’s ready to run.”

Alan Garcia is aboard Redding Colliery, the 3-1 third choice on the morning line, from the outside.

Shipping in from the Mid-Atlantic is Eighttofasttocatch, the 2-1 second choice on the morning line who has won three of his last four, including the restricted Jennings Handicap at Laurel Park in December. Trained by Timothy Keefe, the 6-year-old Not For Love gelding will be ridden by Sheldon Russell from the rail.

Rounding out the field is supplemental entry Day of Destiny, claimed for $35,000 by trainer Doodnauth Shivmangal two starts back, and Stronach Stables’ Thunder Ball, a winner of three straight who is making his American stakes debut.

The field for the $75,000 Evening Attire: Eighttofasttocatch (2-1), S Russell; I Want Revenge (7-5), R A Dominguez; Jimanator (8-1), C H Velasquez; Day of Destiny (30-1), I Ortiz, Jr.; Thunder Ball (12-1), H Vega; and Redding Colliery (3-1), A Garcia.

Maryland Jockey Club photo
Eighttofasttocatch

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Living up to a lofty family name hasn’t been easy for Arienza, but Robert and Lawana Low’s regally bred daughter of 2002 Horse of the Year Azeri will get a chance to end a losing streak by sprinting in Sunday’s $50,000 American Beauty at Oaklawn.

The six-furlong sprint will mark the 4-year-old debut for Arienza as she attempts to get back to the form that saw her start her career in Hot Springs with two straight wins last winter including a win going a mile. She was no match for Joyful Victory in the Fantasy Stakes (G2) last April attempting to stretch out to 1 1/16th miles. Trainer Danny Peitz thinks and hopes she has top-level talent in longer races, but next weekend will be about changing the momentum.

“I’d like to just get going toward something positive,” said Peitz Monday morning. “Her last two races have been so bad and we know she can sprint. We want to start her off and get her confidence back and then maybe look to stretching back out after a positive race.”

Arienza’s troubles began when she emerged from the Eight Belles Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs last May with a suspensory problem in a hind leg that sidelined her for four months. She got back to the races in an allowance race sprint at Churchill in November during Breeders’ Cup week and caught a dreary, rainy day and wet track.

“I really wish I hadn’t run,” said Peitz of the Nov. 3 fifth-place result. “It must have rained all day, but because of the training schedule (for the Breeders’ Cup) they didn’t get to seal it the all the way and it ended up being this deep, deep mud. And she was down inside and just was not happy at all and really struggled.”

Peitz quickly decided to point Arienza toward the Oaklawn meet rather than chase good form in Louisville.

“I thought ‘let’s get her back to Hot Springs on a track I know she likes,’” he said. “She’s been training really well here, so hopefully we can get her back going in the right direction, get her confidence back and hopefully get into the winner’s circle with her.”

Peitz’s first trip to the winner’s circle this meet came Saturday with Najjaar, a 3-year-old owned by Shadwell Farm who could land in the Southwest Stakes (G3) on Feb. 20. Peitz notes the colt remains green and may get a set of blinkers after his slightly erratic run through the stretch, but with talented 3-year-olds Peitz refers back to Steppenwolfer, the Low’s colt who was second in the 2006 Arkansas Derby (G1) prior to finishing third in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

“With Steppenwolfer, I took him a couple places and he just kept disappointing us,” he said. “But then with him, there was the one race where the light just came on and we said ‘there’s the improvement. There’s the horse we thought he was.’ He had a wake up race. This horse exploded late, but hopefully he still has that wake-up race ahead of him.”

Like his sire, 2006 Belmont Stakes winner Jazil, Najjaar has been lagging well behind early in his races so far and like his sire showed in the 2006 Wood Memorial, Najjaar proved an ability to make up a ton of ground late in a race. The win Saturday prompted a call from Jazil’s trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.

“Kiaran texted me after the race and joked that it looks like he needs some more ground,” said Peitz, who is friends with McLaughlin as both train for Sheik Hamdan al Maktoum’s Shadwell Farm. “He texted me back that the Belmont is in four months.”

Oaklawn/Coady Photography
Arienza’s March 6, 2011, victory at Oaklawn Park.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jeranimo, who spoiled Proudinsky’s bid to become the only three-time winner of Santa Anita’s Grade II San Gabriel Stakes, looms a solid choice to become the sixth repeat winner of the $150,000 turf event at 1 1/8 miles on Monday.

B. J. Wright’s 6-year-old bay will again have to take the measure of millionaire The Usual Q. T., who returns from nearly 7½ months on the sidelines to tackle the demanding distance immediately following a layoff. 

Jeranimo was sent off at odds of 4-1 when he knocked off Proudinsky by 2½ lengths in the 2010 San Gabriel. The Usual Q.T., bet down to 7-10 favoritism, wound up five lengths behind the winner while finishing third. The race was not on Santa Anita’s stakes schedule last year.         

No winner of the San Gabriel had ever repeated until Romarin did so in 1996. That seemed to set off a rash of repeats. There was Brave Act in 2000 and Irish Prize in 2001 before Proudinsky’s second successive in 2009.

The 65th running of the historic contest, which has been won by the likes of John Henry, Cougar II and Determine, attracted six entrants on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday racing card with a 12:30 p.m. first post. The San Gabriel will be contested as the eighth race.

Garrett Gomez, who rode Jeranimo to a 2¾-length triumph in HollywoodPark’s Grade II Citation Handicap on Nov. 26, will be replaced by Martin Garcia after Gomez broke his heel in a mishap outside Santa Anita’s walking ring last Sunday.

Garcia has done well for trainer Michael Pender in three previous pairings with Jeranimo. They won Santa Anita’s Grade II Strub Stakes in 2010. They clicked in the Grade II Oak Tree Mile last October. Garcia’s other experience was a seventh-place finish in last November’s Grade I Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs prior to Jeranimo’s win in the Citation at 1 1/16 miles.

The San Gabriel’s defending champion has earned $810,400 from a lifetime record of 7-4-4 in 24 races. On turf, Jeranimo has compiled a 4-1-2 mark in 10 starts. He is 2-0-2 in five efforts over Santa Anita’s grass course. He will carry high weight of 123 pounds on Monday.

With earnings of $1,513,240 from an 8-6-4 record in 22 starts, the Usual Q. T. is the most accomplished runner in the field, but trainer James Cassidy is concerned about the distance. “It’s a long way to go off such a long layoff,” he said.

The 6-year-old gelding, owned by Don Van Racing and Michael Nentwig, has been close, but winless in his last seven trips to the post. His last victory came in the Grade I Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles over Del Mar’s turf course on July 24, 2010.

The California-bred son of Unusual Heat enjoyed a remarkable six-race winning streak as a 3-year-old in 2009. His victories included the Grade II Oak Tree Derby and Grade I Hollywood Derby. Victor Espinoza, who has ridden The Usual Q. T. in his last 14 races, again will be at the helm on Monday.

Norvsky, who will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano, has fared well over the Santa Anita grass with a 2-1-1 showing in five starts. The Old English Rancho homebred won the $175,000 California Cup Classic on Oct. 29. The 6-year-old Vronsky gelding has earned $397,844 from an overall record of 5-7-3 in 17 races for E. W. and Judy Johnston and partner Leonard Riggio.     

Brazilian-bred Imponente Purse, a 6-year-old gelding trained by A. C. Avila, has been on the sidelines since Oct. 2 when finishing a creditable third behind Acclamation and Champ Pegasus in Santa Anita’s Grade II Clement L. Hirsch Stakes. His lone graded stakes win was achieved in last July’s Grade III Sunset Handicap over 1½ miles at HollywoodPark. Owned by Jessica Coudelaria, Imponente Purse has compiled a  4-3-5 record in 21 career starts. Chantal Sutherland rides.

The complete field for the San Gabriel Stakes, with jockeys and weights in post position order: Sandor, Corey Nakatani, 118; Ashtar, Kevin Krigger, 120; Norvsky, Rafael Bejarano, 118; Jeranimo, Martin Garcia, 123; The Usual Q. T., Victor Espinoza, 118; and Imponente Purse, Chantal Sutherland, 118.

Benoit Photo
Jeranimo

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Stakes winner Deliburnsky is among a contingent of seven sophomores entered in Aqueduct Racetrack’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day feature, the $75,000, six-furlong Jimmy Winkfield Stakes.

Deliburnsky, a New Jersey-bred son of Flatter, is one of the most experienced in the field with three victories in five starts, two of those in six-furlong stakes. He exits a 2¼-length front-running score in the Dave’s Friend Stakes at Laurel Park on Nov. 26, which followed a six-length romp in a sloppy edition of Monmouth Park’s Jersey Juvenile Stakes against fellow state-breds on Oct. 29. The gelding has had trouble at the start in four of his races, which trainer Tony Wilson attributes to his large size.

“He’s such a big horse, but he wants to leave a little quick, so he tends to stumble out of there,” said Wilson, who trains Deliburnsky for Happy Tenth Stable. “I want to send him over more ground and I thought about running him in the Count Fleet last weekend, but I wanted to get one more sprint into him. He’s still a baby and we’ve been spacing his races; there will be time for that later in the year.”

After a fourth-place finish in an open company maiden outing at Monmouth on July 2, Deliburnsky came back to trounce a field of state-breds in his second effort, airing by 8¼ lengths going five furlongs on July 25. He then stepped up for Monmouth’s Grade 3 Sapling, but finished a disappointing ninth after dueling through the early stages. Deliburnsky has been forwardly placed in all of his starts, and Wilson expects more of the same on Monday.

“He’ll show some gas,” said Wilson, who is based at OverbrookTrainingCenter in New Jersey. “We’re on the farm, so I brought him to Aqueduct and breezed him over the track on Wednesday (5f in 1:00.20). He went great; I was really happy with the workout.”

Regular rider Pedro Cotto, Jr. has the return call aboard Deliburnsky, who drew post position 3 and was made the 7-2 morning-line third choice.

Another shipping in from out of town is Fresh Start Stable’s Yo Koffy, an 8½-length debut winner at Parx Racing on Nov. 21 and second as the favorite in an allowance there on New Year’s Day, both at six furlongs.

The William Anderson trainee, a gelded son of Kafwain, will leave from the rail under Jose Luis Flores as the 5-2 morning-line second choice.  

King and Crusader, one of two supplemental entries from the barn of trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr., also brings stakes experience to the table, having won the Maryland Juvenile Championship at Laurel on Dec. 17, although he was later disqualified because of a medication violation. A son of Lion Heart, King and Crusader is already a winner this year, having taken an optional claimer at Aqueduct by two lengths on Friday for his third career victory. Dutrow’s other Jimmy Winkfield entrant, Reserved Quality, exits a fourth-place finish in the same race.

King and Crusader was made the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Jimmy Winkfield and drew post 4 under Cornelio Velasquez.

A gutsy maiden win on December 17 earned Darley Stable’s McKinley Square a chance in the Jimmy Winkfield and the colt’s connections believe he is an improving horse. After a pair of seventh-place efforts – a green debut at Saratoga Race Course and an unsuccessful outing on the BelmontPark turf in October – McKinley Square squeezed through a narrow opening on the rail to get up by a neck going six furlongs in his third start.

“He stepped it up,” Art Magnuson, assistant to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, said of the son of Street Cry. “He ran terrible on the turf, but his first run was kind of sneaky good. It was a pretty good race, he was green. We were kind of surprised the way he split the rail and won like that last time, and very happy. He continues to train well, and here’s the next step. We think he belongs in there.”

Tabbed at 8-1 on the morning line, McKinley Square will leave from post 6 with Mike Luzzi.

Completing the field are He Can Run, who broke his maiden in a six-furlong optional claimer on the main track at Aqueduct on November 18, and Done Done Done, who won a six furlong optional claimer over the inner on December 18 in which He Can Run was second.

The field for the $75,000 Jimmy Winkfield:Yo Koffy (5-2), J L Flores; He Can Run (6-1), J Alvarado; Deliburnsky (7-2), P L Cotto, Jr.; King and Crusader (2-1), C H Velasquez; Done Done Done (15-1), J Valdivia, Jr.; McKinley Square (8-1), M J Luzzi; and Reserved Quality (10-1), I Ortiz, Jr.

Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club
King and Crusader winning the Maryland Juvenile Championship at Laurel.