Trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer was in the irons for the move aboard the 6-year-old, who–like last year–enters the Golden Shaheen after winning the GIII Mr. Prospector S. at Gulfstream Dec. 23 and the Feb. 10 Pelican S. at Tampa Bay Downs.

“He went very well and he did everything we were looking for,” the conditioner said. “He did a nice half in :49 with a nice gallop out. The track was in good condition after getting some rain the day before. He breezed very nicely and we're very pleased.”

After just outbattling 2022 Golden Shaheen hero Switzerland (Speightstown) and Gunite (Gun Runner) last March, Sibelius failed to shine in three subsequent appearances before bouncing back to his best form this winter.

“It might be this time of year, it might be that the trip over there took a little bit more out of him than we anticipated,” O'Dwyer offered when asked about the gelding's turnaround. “There are so many variables and factors, it's really hard to pinpoint it.”

Tyler Gaffalione rode Sibelius to his neck success in the Pelican, but O'Dwyer has once again enlisted the services of Ryan Moore for this year's Golden Shaheen.

“Ryan brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table,” O'Dwyer said. “He leaves no stone unturned, he knows every horse he rides inside and out. He can relate to the trainer and the horse very well. As a friend of mine told me once, I don't think there's a horse that hasn't been born yet that Ryan Moore doesn't suit.”

And how does the 2024 version of Sibelius compare with the one of 12 months back?

“I think he's very similar, I think he's equally as good to how he was this time last year,” O'Dwyer said. “Even Junior Alvarado, he breezed him before he went to Tampa and that's exactly what he said. He said, 'I don't know that he's better than he was last year, but he's just as good.'

“That gives us some confidence. I ride the horse a fair bit myself and I know he's doing great. He's a 6-year-old, he's good and strong. We're in a very good place with him and looking forward to going out to Dubai again. He really seemed to thrive out there, so hopefully he can run his race again this year.”

O'Dwyer has penciled in one more half-mile breeze 'in eight or nine days' time.' Sibelius ships to the desert Mar. 19 and his trainer departs three days later.

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First, the GIII Sugar Swirl S. for older females going six furlongs on the main track includes veteran mare Bluefield (Field Commission), who won by a neck against state-breds in a Tampa black-type race Dec. 9.

“She went up to Tampa and it was nice to get a stakes win on her resume at this age,” said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. “She came to us late but she just keeps getting better and better. She's never run back this quick, but she's in good order so I think she should run well. Hopefully she has a good week leading up to it.”

Bluefield will be joined by her new stablemate Intrepid Daydream (Jess's Dream). Purchased privately just last week, the filly rides in on a four-race win streak at the Mid-Atlantic tracks.

Also entered is Napa Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}). The chestnut prepped for this spot when she came from off the pace to win an optional claimer at Churchill Downs Nov. 22. Joining her will be Headland (Paynter), who was third last out in the Garland of Roses S. at Aqueduct Dec. 9, while AMO Racing's SP Olivia Darling (Palace) will look to improve after a fifth-place finish in the GIII Princess Rooney S. in Hallandale Oct. 7.

The other half of the graded stakes Saturday offering is the seven-furlong GIII Mr. Prospector S. for older males. Last year's edition was used as the springboard for Sibelius (Not This Time) as he won three straight, including traveling to Dubai to collect the G1 Golden Shaheen S.

“Maybe it's the time of year where he's best, I don't know,” said trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer. “We'll find out this year. It's going to be his second year in a row trying to take the same path. We're looking forward to it. I couldn't be happier with the horse.”

Sibelius might not have such an easy task ahead with the presence of MGSW Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy). After winning both of his starts at Gulfstream over the summer, the 7-year-old returns here with the capability to run this field off their feet.

Trainer Brendan Walsh sends Gilmore (Twirling Candy) back to the post to finish off what could be considered a consistent year for the 3-year-old colt. The gray was the runner-up in the GIII Bayshore S., then was third in both the GII Pat Day Mile S. and GI Woody Stephens S.

An entry who could be a pace factor is AMO Racing's Hurricane J (Nyquist). Formerly under Paulo Lobo's care, the dark bay colt made his first start for Jorge Delgado over the Gulfstream main track against optional claimers and won by 2 3/4 lengths Nov. 19.

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“He's stabled here at Keeneland and it's only up the road,” the conditioner told the NYRA press office. “We'll have a look at the race and see what post position we get and how the race is shaping up. If we like what we've got we'll run him there, but we'll still keep the True North in mind.”

Since defeating defending champion Switzerland (Speightstown) on Dubai World Cup night, Sibelius has breezed three times at Keeneland, including a leisurely half-mile in :50 flat with O'Dwyer in the saddle May 27.

“He's a fun horse to ride. I just wanted a smooth, relaxed breeze. If you put certain riders on him, he'll roll in :46 every time on the bridle if you let him,” O'Dwyer said. “I let him have a nice gallop out and get a bit of air in his lungs. We know he's a very fast horse, but we wanted to make sure that foundation is still underneath him.”

O'Dwyer said Sibelius, who gained something of a cult following during his time in the Emirates, has recovered nicely from the journey.

“He's done great. We gave him some time off and let him relax and put all his weight back on,” O'Dwyer said. “We jogged him at Keeneland for a week and he was jumping out of his skin, so he went back to galloping. He's had three breezes since and his fitness level is good and his energy level is good. He's bright, happy and content. That's all we want. Happy horses run for you and he seems pretty happy right now.”

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Cheyenne Stable's Cooke Creek breezed a half-mile in 50.58 over the Belmont dirt training track Jan. 19 in preparation for the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on Feb. 5 at Aqueduct in Ozone Park, N.Y. The nine-furlong test for sophomores offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

Cooke Creek is one of three Jeremiah O'Dwyer trainees stabled in New York at the barn of Belmont-based trainer Natalia Lynch along with Jet Force and Sibelius.

A dark bay son of Uncle Mo, Cooke Creek finished third as the mutuel favorite last out in the one-turn mile Jerome, contested over a sloppy and sealed main track on New Year's Day.

“Cooke Creek came back here [to Laurel] after the Jerome and I sent him back up to Belmont last week and he breezed there Wednesday,” O'Dwyer said. “He'll have one more breeze at Belmont – I'd love it to be Saturday, but I'll have to see how the weather is going to be. If all goes well, he'll have a nice five-furlong breeze next week and then run in the Withers.”

Cooke Creek made his first two starts at Delaware Park, winning a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight in September ahead of a driving half-length score around two turns in the one-mile Rocky Run in October.

He entered the Jerome from a runner-up effort to Rockefeller in the one-turn mile Grade 3 Nashua on Nov. 7 at Belmont.

Cooke Creek will enjoy a rematch in the Withers with Jerome-winner Courvoisier and runner-up Smarten Up. Although Cooke Creek garnered two Kentucky Derby points for his third-place Jerome effort and is currently 24th on the leaderboard, O'Dwyer said he's not thinking about the first Saturday in May just yet.

“The Withers is going to be another test. You're always hoping you might have a Derby horse, but they have to progress along to get there,” said O'Dwyer, whose past Derby trail success includes a win in the 2019 Grade 2 Remsen with Shotski. “This is the path we're taking and I think it's a good spot for him, going two turns up there. He seems to be fit and well and I think the two turns will help him.

“But the first three that ran in the Jerome are all going to be thinking the same thing – the further they go, the better they'll be,” O'Dwyer added. “The winner of the Jerome broke his maiden going a mile and an eighth up there and the [connections of the] second horse are adamant their horse wants to go further as well, so we're all thinking along the same line. That's why we run them – to find out.”

Orpen Horses' Jet Force, a sophomore daughter of Jimmy Creed, boasts a perfect record through two starts at Penn National. She breezed a half-mile in 53.06 Jan. 19 over the Belmont dirt training track.

A $17,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the Pennsylvania-bred chestnut graduated sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs on December 8 and followed up nine days later with a 2 3/4-length score in a six-furlong allowance sprint.

O'Dwyer said Jet Force is nominated to Saturday's $100,000 Xtra Heat, a six-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies at Laurel Park but could also consider the $100,000 Ruthless, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies on Feb. 6 at the Big A.

“She's going to sprint for now. She went an easy half and had a nice gallop out after,” O'Dwyer said. “We'll probably enter in the stakes at Laurel and see how it comes up and we have the Ruthless as a backup.”

Sibelius, a 4-year-old son of Not This Time owned by Jun. H. Park and Delia Nash, has made his last two starts at the Big A, winning a seven-furlong allowance sprint last out on Jan. 8.

“He's ran two nice races up there in New York,” O'Dwyer said. “We'll try and run him through his conditions first of all. There's one for him at the beginning of February going seven-eighths again.”

Bred in Kentucky by Taylor Brothers Properties and Pollock Farms, Sibelius graduated at second asking sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs in April at Keeneland ahead of off-the-board efforts in the off-the-turf Grade 3 Penn Mile in May, the six-furlong Concern in July over the Pimlico main and the seven-furlong Robert Hilton Memorial on August 27 at Charles Town.

O'Dwyer said Sibelius benefited from the more than three-month layoff out of the Charles Town effort.

“He was immature mentally more than anything else and a little bit physically, I guess,” O'Dwyer said. “When he threw in a couple of clunkers, there was nothing wrong with him physically and he was sound, but we just decided to take a step back. We gave him a little turn-out time and let him re-group. Thankfully, it worked. He came back really good and is after running two decent races off the layoff. We hope there's a bit more progression in him.”

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Courvoisier, a son of multiple champion-producing stallion Tapit and out of 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi, showed similar tactics from his maiden coup at Aqueduct one month prior.

Courvoisier pressured pacesetter Hagler from the outside down the backstretch over the sloppy and sealed main track, remaining in battle with his foe in upper stretch, ultimately coming out on top while fending off a late rally from Smarten Up. In capturing the Jerome, Courvoisier earned 10 qualifying points toward the 2022 Kentucky Derby.

Finishing in the money in his first three starts at the maiden level at Monmouth and Delaware Park, Courvoisier graduated at fourth asking going nine furlongs before turning back in distance for the one-turn mile Jerome.

Trainer Kelly Breen said Sunday morning that Courvoisier will most likely return to nine furlongs in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on February 5 at the Big A, which also offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

“That's the plan,” Breen said. “Right now, he seems to like the track and the Withers is there, so we're staying home with him for now.”

John Sikura of Hill 'n' Dale Farms, who owns Courvoisier in partnership with James D. Spry, expressed delight in seeing the newly turned 3-year-old chestnut win his stakes debut.

“It was very satisfying to see him win,” Sikura said. “It was rather frustrating in his initial starts. We went from having high hopes to moderate expectations, but he ran very determined yesterday. Now the question is will he continue to improve, and we hope that he will.

“We want to be realistic and not get too over the top too early. Every race is a new test,” Sikura added. “The water gets deeper and some 3-year-olds get better with each start. Everyone finds their level. We'll just let the horse do the talking and hope that he does so loudly.”

Sikura praised Breen for managing the horse effectively.

“Kelly has done such a great job with this horse,” Sikura said. “The best trainers are intuitive people that don't feel pressure from an owner or other things. So, I'll let Kelly map out the schedule, but the Withers would be the next logical step.”

Courvoisier hails from the prestigious Take Charge Lady broodmare line, a family which also includes 2013 Champion 3-Year-Old Will Take Charge, as well as Grade 1-winners Take Charge Indy and Omaha Beach. A multiple Grade 1-winning multimillionaire in her own right, Take Charge Lady also produced As Time Goes By, who captured her fourth graded stakes win in the Grade 3 La Canada at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Smarten Up's Bad Start Changed Jerome Tactics
Trainer Alfredo Velazquez said Happy Tenth Stable's Smarten Up, a rallying second behind Courvoisier, will also return to Aqueduct from his Parx Racing base.

With regular pilot Anthony Salgado up, Smarten Up was bumped leaving the gate – hampering an expected prominent trip – and forced to track behind horses near the back of the pack over the sloppy and sealed main track, before rallying six-wide down the lane to complete the exacta,  1 1/4 lengths behind Courvoisier.

“We were supposed to be two-to-three lengths off the pace, but when he got bumped leaving the gate, he got cut on his left front and that backed him up,” Velazquez said. “He had never had mud in the face before and that intimidated him for a little while. The jockey had to get after him a little bit because when the mud hit the face, he didn't want any part of that. But as soon as he took him outside, he started to run. He's a nice horse.”

Smarten Up, who boasts a perfect in-the-money record of 4-1-2-1, made his first three starts at Parx, finishing second on debut sprinting seven furlongs in September. He followed with a pair of two-turn starts, pressing the pace in a one-mile event in October when third in a race won by Eloquist, who exited that effort to run fifth in the Grade 2 Remsen in December at the Big A.

Smarten Up entered the one-turn mile Jerome from a romping nine-length score traveling one mile and 70 yards on November 22.

Velazquez said he is looking forward to stretching Smarten Up back around two turns at the Big A in the Grade 3 Withers.

“The longer he goes the better it is for him. I can't wait to run him two turns. If everything goes good, I'll be there,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez said Salgado is also likely to return for the Withers aboard Smarten Up, who earned 4 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the Jerome.

“He rides the horse good. It's better to take the guy that knows the horse,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez conditioned the Canadian-bred Private Zone to Grade 1 wins on the NYRA circuit in 2014, capturing the Vosburgh Invitational at Belmont and the Cigar Mile Handicap at the Big A.

“We were lucky to win the Cigar Mile and Cigar was my favorite horse,” Velazquez said.

The veteran conditioner said he is hopeful of another graded stakes win at the Big A when Smarten Up returns in February.

“He's going to be tough in that race. If everything goes well, they're going to have to run to beat him,” Velazquez said.

By American Freedom and out of the stakes-winning Smarty Jones mare Sarah Cataldo, Smarten Up is a half-sibling to multiple sprint stakes winner Tiger Blood. Smarten Up, who matched a career-best 71 Beyer in the Jerome, was purchased for $50,000 from the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

Cooke Creek Looking For Fast Track After Third In Slop In Jerome
Cheyenne Stable's Cooke Creek will hope for a fast track when he makes his next start in the Grade 3 $250,000 Withers at Aqueduct on February 5. Trained by Jeremiah O'Dwyer, the 3-year-old son of Uncle Mo finished third as the post-time favorite in Saturday's Jerome going a one-turn mile over the sloppy and sealed Big A main track.

Cooke Creek wrapped up his juvenile campaign with a runner-up effort to Rockefeller in the Grade 3 Nashua at Belmont Park on November 7, ridden from off the pace by Manny Franco to be beaten 2 ¾ lengths.

In Saturday's Jerome, Franco was forced to keep Cooke Creek closer to the pace than the dark bay colt typically prefers.

“We had to take him out of his comfort zone after watching the earlier races,” O'Dwyer said. “It was very hard for horses to close over that track and the surface became faster and harder throughout the day. We decided that we had to put him closer to the lead to have a chance to win.”

Despite less-than-favorable track conditions and needing to adjust his running style, Cooke Creek was beaten just two lengths in the Jerome.

“He's got a ton of class and he wasn't tired afterwards,” said O'Dwyer. “He's a very honest horse. He did not disappoint us – he ran really well. I just think he'd be better on a fairer track and also going two turns.”

Cooke Creek, who won the Rocky Run around two turns in October at Delaware Park, will again have the chance to run two turns in the nine-furlong Withers, a race O'Dwyer hopes will offer more favorable conditions.

“The extra furlong in the Withers will help him,” O'Dwyer said. “The pace of the race and the dynamic will be different compared to a one turn mile. They go a little steadier and he'll get a chance to settle in. We can just let him break and get a little time to find his rhythm. Hopefully, it's just a regular fast track and we see him in a better light.”

O'Dwyer said Cooke Creek, who picked up 2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the Jerome, will make his preparations for the Withers at his home base of Laurel Park.

“He might have one or two breezes at the most,” said O'Dwyer. “He just needs maintenance and a light couple of weeks to freshen up and enjoy himself. He's happy and he knows his job. He's a forward training horse and we have to be careful he doesn't overdo it. He'll do what you want and is a very good horse.”

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Inaugurated in 1866, the Jerome, which offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers, is slated as Race 8. First post on the nine-race New Year's Day card is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

Trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer said he is looking forward to Cooke Creek's sophomore debut.

“He's a very game horse and very honest. He loves to train and a very forward going horse,” O'Dwyer said. “The type of horse he is, I think he'll be a better 3-year-old – and he'll have to be to stay going along the road we hope he can stay on, chasing those nice stakes races and maybe get a few Kentucky Derby points along the way.”

The Uncle Mo colt made his first two starts at Delaware Park, graduating on debut in a 5 1/2-furlong sprint in September ahead of a gutsy half-length score around two turns in the one-mile Rocky Run on Oct. 16.

He enters from a good second in the Grade 3 Nashua, a one-turn mile won by the well-regarded Rockefeller on Nov. 7 at Belmont Park.

With returning rider Manny Franco up, Cooke Creek tracked the speedy Rockefeller from third position and advanced four-wide through the stretch run, comfortably earning the place honors by 2 3/4-lengths over Judge Davis.

“He's not very quick to go through his gears. It takes him a little while to get into top gear, but once he does he gets that stride going,” O'Dwyer said. “He was never going to beat Rockefeller that day, but he was still gaining the whole way towards the line and he always gallops out good.

“The more distance he gets, the better he's going to be,” O'Dwyer added. “I know we're going a one-turn mile here again, but I'm looking forward to getting him going two turns again after this next race.”

O'Dwyer said he gave the colt a short break after the Nashua and he has since breezed him back twice, including an easy five-eighths in 1:02.80 on Dec. 24 at Laurel Park.

“We backed off on him for 30 days after his last race to let him grow and get a little bit stronger,” O'Dwyer said. “I think there's more improvement in him. He's done nothing wrong so far. He's had two breezes since his last race and breezed good both times, so we'll let him take his chance there on Saturday. He's a lovely looking horse and very strong. He needs to go and run now.”

In order to topple a talented field of eight on Saturday, Cooke Creek will have to overcome the inside post.

“I'm not delighted about the one-hole, but hopefully there's enough speed in there that he can get into his own nice rhythm,” O'Dwyer said. “I see him in the middle to the second half of them and hopefully he'll be running them down towards the finish.”

O'Dwyer boasts past Derby prep success at the Big A having won the 2019 Grade 2 Remsen with Shotski, which also marked the first graded win for the conditioner.

He said he appreciates the opportunity to train the talented Cooke Creek, who is out of the graded-stakes winning Bernardini mare Genre.

“He's a homebred for great owners. They've supported me for the last few years, always sending a couple our way,” O'Dwyer said. “This seems to be the nicest one we've had for them yet and hopefully he can take us a little bit further up the ladder.”

James Politano's Ohtwoohthreefive will make his dirt debut for trainer George Weaver out of a narrow nose loss to Sy Dog in the 1 1/16-mile Central Park over the Aqueduct outer turf on Nov. 27.

A veteran of six starts, Ohtwoohthreefive graduated in a restricted event on Oct. 15 traveling one-mile over Belmont's Widener turf and followed up with an even fifth in the 1 1/16-mile Awad over the same course on Nov. 5.

Blair Golen, the New York-based assistant for Weaver, said Ohtwoohthreefive benefited from a more prominent trip under returning rider Kendrick Carmouche in the Central Park after a wide outing in the Awad.

“The way the race worked out [in the Awad], it just put him in a real wide trip,” Golen said. “Last time, Kendrick rode him and he didn't have to get out so wide and he put him a little bit closer. The way the race panned out was perfect for him.”

Golen said Carmouche was pleased with how the colt moved over the dirt during a five-eighths breeze in 1:01.66 Dec. 19 over the Belmont training track.

“Kendrick said he hits the ground on the dirt the same as he does on the turf,” Golen said. “He's always breezed well over it and done everything right. I don't have any complaints with him.”

By Union Rags and out of the Galileo mare Urban Hill, Ohtwoohthreefive was purchased for $20,000 at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

Golen said the improving bay has matured over the course of his 2-year-old campaign.

“He's just got a lot bigger,” Golen said. “He was always kind of a round horse and a little smaller but George took him to Saratoga and when he came back to me at Belmont he was bigger and more muscled. He really filled out and mentally matured, too.”

Carmouche will guide Ohtwoohthreefive from post 3.

Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and James D. Spry's Courvoisier will make his stakes debut after a fourth-out graduation traveling nine furlongs on Dec. 2 at the Big A for trainer Kelly Breen.

A $600,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, Courvoisier is by Tapit and out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Giant's Causeway mare Take Charge Brandi.

Courvoisier, who worked five-eighths in 1:01.44 Dec. 24 over the Belmont dirt training track, will exit post 6 under Jose Ortiz.

Trainer Michael Trombetta, who won the 2020 Jerome with Independence Hall, returns with another son of Constitution in R. L. Johnson's Maryland homebred Mr Jefferson, who will look to make amends following a distant fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen on Dec. 4 at Aqueduct.

Mr Jefferson exited the outermost post 8 under Kendrick Carmouche in the Remsen and was caught four-wide into the first turn. The chestnut chased wide through the final turn, but could not make a dent on the widening margins of Mo Donegal who nosed out Zandon for the win.

“The slow pace hurt his chances a little bit and it made him go wide. They were bottled up, but I think the top two horses were very good horses,” Trombetta said.

Mr Jefferson graduated at second asking in his dirt debut traveling six furlongs on Aug. 25 at Colonial Downs. Following a distant fourth in a return to grass in October at Laurel Park, Mr Jefferson added blinkers and defeated winners at 1 1/16 miles over the Laurel main track on Nov. 4.

Trombetta said he added blinkers to provide focus rather than speed.

“Like most horses, it helps him with his focus a little bit,” Trombetta said. “He's a bigger colt and a longer-striding colt. His best attribute is that he can cruise along pretty comfortably and keep himself in the race.”

Mr Jefferson has breezed back twice at Fair Hill since the Remsen, including a five-furlong effort in 1:02 flat on Dec. 24 as he prepares to cut back to one turn.

“He's training well and I'm happy with him. I think he'll like the distance,” Trombetta said.

Mr Jefferson, who will exit post 7 under Mychel Sanchez, is out of the Malibu Moon mare Clockstrucktwelve – a half-sister to multiple stakes-winner Never Enough Time.

Ron Paolucci Racing's Rumble Strip Ron, an Ohio-bred son of Klimt, enters from a runner-up effort in a six-furlong claiming sprint on Nov. 20 at Churchill Downs won by Kavod, who exited that effort to win the Advent at Oaklawn Park.

Trained by Anthony Quartarolo, Rumble Strip Ron won a claiming mile three starts back at Churchill ahead of a runner-up effort in the 1 1/16-mile Best Of Ohio Juvenile in October at Mahoning Valley Race Course.

Rumble Strip Ron will emerge from post 4 under Eric Cancel.

Unbridled Bomber, trained and co-owned by James Ryerson with Edward Potash and Brad Yankanich, graduated by a neck last out traveling a one-turn mile over Big Sandy on Nov. 7.

The $35,000 purchase at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training has posted a series of sharp works over the Belmont dirt training track, including a bullet half-mile in 47.55 Dec. 23.

The Upstart colt, out of the Eddington mare Unbridledexplosion, will leave from post 2 under Dylan Davis, who piloted last year's Jerome winner Capo Kane.

E. V. Racing Stable's Hagler enters on a two-race win streak for trainer Rudy Rodriguez, who won the 2013 Jerome with Vyjack.

Hagler graduated at second asking in a 6 1/2-furlrong maiden special weight sprint on Oct. 29 at Belmont, drawing clear by 4 1/2-lengths to garner a 78 Beyer Speed Figure. He followed with a front-running win last out in a seven-furlong optional-claiming sprint on Dec. 16 at the Big A.

The Florida-bred Tapiture colt, out of the Latent Heat mare Ambitious Dancer, is a full sibling to stakes winner Sky of Hook.

Jorge Vargas, Jr. retains the mount from the outermost post 8.

Rounding out the field is Happy Tenth Stable's Smarten Up, who was scratched out of Wednesday's Parx Juvenile by trainer Alfredo Velazquez. The American Freedom chestnut romped to a nine-length maiden win last out at third asking traveling one mile and 70 yards on Nov. 22 at Parx.

Anthony Salgado, aboard for all three career starts, is named to ride from post 5.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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The Lewis and $100,000 Smart Halo for 2-year-old fillies, both sprinting six furlongs, are joined on the Nov. 13 program by the $100,000 Thirty Eight Go Go for fillies and mares 3 and up going 1 1/16 miles, which is part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

Cheyenne Stables' Cooke Creek is 2-0 for Laurel-based trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer. The son of 2010 champion juvenile male Uncle Mo earned both his victories at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., including the one-mile Rocky Run Oct. 16 over Affable Monarch and No Sabe Nada, also Lewis nominees.

David Raim's Run to Daylight, by 2015 champion sprinter Runhappy, has won each of his three starts at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Charlestown, W. Va., for trainer Jeff Runco, with back-to-back stakes triumphs in the 4 ½-furlong Henry Murcer Memorial Sept. 18 and 6 ½-furlong West Virginia Vincent Moscarelli Memorial Breeders' Classic Oct. 9.

Joseph Besecker's Buff Hello, from the barn of Maryland's four-time leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez, rolled to a front-running two-length score in the six-furlong Nursery Oct. 23 at Laurel, his second win from five career starts. Coastal Mission, Local Motive, Shady Munni, Mr. Mox, and Timonium Juvenile winner Cynergy's Star respectively ran second through sixth and are also nominated, though Mr. Mox is entered Nov. 4 at Laurel.

Other Lewis nominees include Oct. 11 Fitz Dixon Jr. Memorial Juvenile winner Longshadow; Sept. 25 First State Dash winner No Sabe Nada; stakes-placed Amidships, Practical Coach, Slaats, and Wow Whata Summer; and last out winners Barber Road, Beast Or Famine, Captain Chazz, Defend, Kenner, Radical Right, Tops the Chart, Trust Daddy, and Uncle Irish.

Bird Mobberley's Buff My Boots, half-length winner of the Maryland Million Lassie Oct. 23 at Laurel, is prominent among 25 nominees to the Smart Halo. The Buffum filly owns three wins from five starts for Laurel-based trainer John Salzman Jr. Sparkle Sprinkle and Luna Belle, respectively third and fourth in the Lassie, are also nominated.

Other nominees include James McIngvale homebred Runup, a winner of two straight including the one-mile Sorority Sept. 6 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., before finishing ninth in the Oct. 8 Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.; stakes-placed Advocate Harbor, Morning Matcha, and Whiteknuckleflyer; and last out winners Beneath the Stars, Buy the Best, Click to Confirm, Disco Ebo, Intrepid Daydream, Louella Street, Preparefortakeoff, and Trade Secret.

Chilean Group 2 winner Cheetara and Grade 1-placed Off Topic are among 21 nominees to the Thirty Eight Go Go. Stud Los Leones' Cheetara won the Haras de Chile Marcel Zarour Atanacio (G2) last December and exits a Keeneland allowance victory Oct. 24. D Hatman Thoroughbreds' Off Topic was third in the Grade 2 Gazelle and Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks as a 3-year-old in 2019 for previous trainer Todd Pletcher. Now with Phil Schoenthal, she made her comeback off an 11-month layoff Sept. 18 at Laurel.

Multiple stakes winners Artful Splatter, Kiss the Girl, and Mrs. Orb; and stakes winners Ask Bailey, Josie, Malibu Beauty, Miss Leslie, Trolley Ride, and Sweet Willemina, who has reeled off six straight wins since being claimed by trainer Scott Lake June 17, are also nominated.

The post Cooke Creek, Buff Hello Lead List of James F. Lewis III Nominees appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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