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Cross Border Faces Seven in Pan American

Three Diamonds Farm's Cross Border (English Channel), a late-closing third behind Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) in the Jan. 23 GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, will try to take advantage of that foe's absence and some extra real estate when he goes postward in the 1 1/2-mile GII Pan American S. at Gulfstream Park Saturday.

“He ran another big race last time and was flattered the other day by Colonel Liam,” trainer Mike Maker said. “We expect another strong effort from him.”

Colonel Liam returned from the Pegasus to win the GII Muniz Memorial Classic S. at Fair Grounds last weekend.

Cross Border was second over the Gulfstream course in last year's 1 1/2-mile GIII W. L. McKnight S. and inherited his first graded win when Sadler's Joy (Kitten's Joy) was disqualified from the victory in the GII Bowling Green S. at Saratoga last summer.

“He's run well here, but he shows up everywhere,” Maker said. “He's a horse that never disappoints and loves his job.”

Sadler's Joy will need to snap a nine-race losing streak if he is to win his second Pan American Saturday. The 8-year-old veteran earned his first graded victory in that race in 2017. He was most recently fourth in the Jan. 23 McKnight.

“He's doing as well as ever, so hopefully we'll get another good trip out of him and go from there,” trainer Tom Albertrani said. “We just keep him on a regular routine, training-wise. You look at his work tab and you don't see the fancy, fast works or anything; just normal, kind of routine works just to keep him ticking over between races.”

Last year, Sadler's Joy went 0-for-8 with third-place finishes in the GII Mac Diarmida S. at Gulfstream and GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and GI Manhattan S. at Belmont Park. He was disqualified from first to fourth for interference in the Bowling Green.

“If he wasn't in the barn, it'd be pretty strange. When that day comes, it's going to be a sad day when we don't see him walking down the shedrow anymore,” Albertrani said. “He's just been one of those types of horses that tries every race. He puts everything into every time he runs and its' just a pleasure having a horse like that.”

Trainer Bill Mott will be seeking his seventh Pan American win when he saddles Summer Wind Equine's Moon Over Miami (Malibu Moon). The 4-year-old is coming off a troubled third-place finish in the Feb. 27 Mac Diarmida.

“His last race was a mile and three-eighths and he was finishing up very well when he finally got out, which was a little late in the game,” Mott said. “He came running and got up for third and deserves a chance in the Pan American. I think he's going to turn into a useful horse going that trip.”

Moon Over Malibu won the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Ground Derby last September at Kentucky Downs.

“We stretched him out at Kentucky Downs last fall in their derby and he won that,” Mott said. “That was a little longer race. He doesn't seem to run the turns real well, so it seems like the slower pace of the longer races helps him get around the turns a little better.”

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McPeek Looks for Back-to-Back GP Oaks Wins

Trainer Ken McPeek, who won last year's GII Gulfstream Park Oaks with 3-year-old filly champion Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), will look to take a second straight renewal of the 1 1/16-mile race when he saddles Phoenix Thoroughbreds' Crazy Beautiful (Liam's Map) Saturday in Hallandale. The gray filly, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, was second in both the GIII Pocahontas S. and GI Darley Alcibiades S. last fall before ending her juvenile campaign with a sixth-place effort in the Nov. 6 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She rallied from well back to finish second in her sophomore debut in the Feb. 27 GII Davona Dale S.

“She ran great here.” McPeek said of Crazy Beautiful's effort in the Davona Dale. “I think that she's training well enough that we should go right now.”

Juddmonte Farms homebred Millefeuille (Curlin) will be looking to rebound from a troubled seventh-place effort in the Davona Dale when she goes postward Saturday for trainer Bill Mott. The bay filly, 7-2 on the morning line, was second after setting the pace in the GII Demoiselle S. at Aqueduct last December. She lost all chance in the Davona Dale when shuffled back to near last approaching the stretch and comes into her second start of the year with a bullet four-furlong work in :48.60 (1/41) at Payson Park Mar. 19.

Con Lima (Commissioner) moves back to the main track after runner-up efforts over the Hallandale turf in the Jan. 30

GIII Sweetest Chant S. and Feb. 27 GIII Herecomesthebride S. She was second in pair of off-turf stakes last September and was a wire-to-wire winner over the turf in the Jan. 2 Ginger Brew S.

“It's something we've been thinking about for a while,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of the surface switch. “Being a graded-stakes and all–and she seems to like Gulfstream–we decided to give it a try. Her races on the turf have been very good, but she's been consistent on both surfaces.”

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Derby March for Greatest Honour

Greatest Honour (Tapit) rides a three-race win streak heading into the GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, however, the Courtlandt Farm homebred certainly hasn't scared anyone away as 10 other sophomores have also signed on in Saturday's Classic prep. A large part of the draw is that the Florida Derby will offer 170 qualifying points for the May 1 Kentucky Derby on a 100-40-20-10 basis. The 1 1/8-mile test has produced the winners of 60 Triple Crown events.

The imposing bay kicked off his career with a trio of on-the-board finishes in New York, including a close-up head second behind Florida Derby rival Known Agenda (Curlin)–a last out 11-length winner in a Gulfstream optional claimer Feb. 26–at Aqueduct in November before capping the season with a win going 8 1/2 furlongs at Gulfstream Dec. 26. Sent off the second betting choice in the Jan. 30 GIII Holy Bull S., he employed his customary off-the-pace tactics to score by an eye-catching 5 3/4 lengths.

Sent off at even choice in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S., the Shug McGaughey trainee found himself a bit farther back than expected early, but employed his typical late-charging style to win by 1 1/2 lengths over the speedy Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music).

“In the Fountain of Youth, the horse on the lead, Drain The Clock, who I think is a very, very good horse, kind of opened up, leaving the quarter pole. I thought [even if our horse] would kick in, we're going to have a hard time catching him but he caught him.”

He continued, “I think he was doing–three times–[something] he wasn't wanting to do, going a mile and a sixteenth over a speed-favoring track. And he was able to catch up all three times against pretty good company. So, I am looking forward to getting him stretched out where maybe in the Florida Derby he'll be laying like he was in the Holy Bull and not as far back as he was in the Fountain of Youth.”

In his most recent work, Greatest Honour covered four furlongs, while in company, in :50.40 (12/27) at Payson Park Mar. 21 (McGaughey's view on the work).

McGaughey, who annexed his first Run for the Roses with Orb in 2013, believes the added distance will benefit his charge.

“He's a big, tall horse. He has grown a little over the winter,” McGaughey said. “So, that will be fun watching him develop. His pedigree says he'll run as far as you want him to run. With his stride, I don't think he's a horse with a quick turn of foot, but when he gets going, he covers so much ground that he catches up in a hurry.”

Drawn in post 7 Saturday, the colt will be partnered by Jose Ortiz, who was aboard for four of the colt's prior starts, including his two most recent wins.

Looking to derail Greatest Honour's Derby dreams is SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm LLC and Robert Masterson's Spielberg (Union Rags), who will exit post 10 Saturday. Winner of last December's GII Los Alamitos Futurity, the chestnut also finished hit the board in the GI Del Mar Futurity and GI American Pharoah S. In his 2021 debut, Spielberg stumbled at the start of the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. at Santa Anita before finishing fourth behind Baffert-trained winner Medina Spirit (Protonico). Last time out, Spielberg had a messy start but was good enough to finish second–beaten 4 1/4 lengths–by 2-year-old champion Essential Quality (Tapit) in Oaklawn's GIII Southwest S. Feb. 27.

“He's had a lot of races [eight prior starts]. Of all my horses, he's had the most starts. And he's second to [MGSW] Concert Tour [Street Sense] in money earned…He shows up.” said Baffert. “Once in a while, he'll run a flat race. He's doing well and I think he will like the mile and an eighth. He sort of comes running, but he's got to ship well and behave himself. And he's got to break well. He can't break like he did the last time.”

In his last work, the $1 million Keeneland September graduate blistered through five furlongs in :59.40 at Santa Anita Mar. 21.

In contrast to vast experience of Spielberg, Three Chimneys and eFive Racing's Collaborate (Into Mischief) enters the fray with only two prior starts under his belt. Fifth going six furlongs in the Gulfstream slop Feb. 6, the $600,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase rebounded to air by 12 1/2 lengths stretching to a mile Feb. 27, earning TDN Rising Star billing in the process. (Joseph talks about Collaborate).

“It would mean a lot to win,” said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. “This horse has a lot of ability. What we're asking him is a tall task, but it seems like he has the ability to overcome it.

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Kentucky Derby Berth For The Taking in Fukuryu S.

Nakayama Racecourse plays host to the $315,808 Fukuryu S. Saturday afternoon, an allowance race that serves as the last of the four legs on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and carries a total of 68 points for the first four finishers. The winner of the 1800-meter test earns 40 points, and with none of the horses who saluted in the first three legs taking part, a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May is all but assured.

Your History (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}), a debut second going this distance at Hanshin Dec. 5, backed up on two weeks' rest to take out his maiden over that course and trip before finishing off the board in a lone try on the grass. The bay colt, bred on the same cross as G1 Dubai World Cup starter Chuwa Wizard (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) was back to winning ways with a seven-length tally on the Hanshin dirt Mar. 7 and has longshot claims.

Gold Higher (Jpn) (Henny Hughes) has also been campaigned exclusively over this distance and was runner-up in his first two appearances before breaking through when heavily favored Jan. 5. He followed up with a five-length success at the 1-win allowance level at Hanshin Feb. 20 and is the overnight favorite on the Japanese tote.

Four fillies take on their male counterparts here, including the unbeaten Giuditta (Jpn) (Danon Legend {Jpn}), who defeated recent maiden romper Portafiglio (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}–Unlimited Budget) on Hanshin debut Nov. 7 and added a Jan. 24 Chukyo allowance in strong time Jan. 24.

Taisei Again (Jpn) (Pyro), a two-time winner from four starts, picked up two Kentucky Derby points when fourth to Alain Barows (Jpn) (Henny Hughes) in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun in December and the $414,900 JRHA Select Yearling purchase makes his first start since.

None of the 10 male entrants in the Fukuryu S., won in 2019 by Triple Crown participant Master Fencer (Jpn) (Just a Way {Jpn}), was nominated to the Triple Crown at its first closing in January. Connections may add their horses for a fee of $6,000 at the late Triple Crown closing Monday, Mar. 29.

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