Trainer Michael Trombetta said he is eyeing a return to New York for R. Larry Johnson homebred Mr Jefferson in Saturday's Grade 3, $250,000 Withers, at Aqueduct Racetrack 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.
The Maryland-bred Constitution chestnut shipped to Aqueduct for his last two starts, finishing a distant fourth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen on Dec. 4 ahead of a sixth-place finish in the one-turn mile Jerome which was contested over a sloppy and sealed track on New Year's Day.
A two-time winner, Mr Jefferson broke his maiden going six furlongs at Colonial Downs in August two starts before defeating winners in November at Laurel Park.
Trombetta said Mr Jefferson will benefit from the stretch out in distance.
“More than likely, I'll send Mr Jefferson up. The two turns definitely helps him,” Trombetta said. “The first time I brought him up, I thought he ran well. The last time I don't think he liked the track very much. That might have had something to do with the sub-par performance.”
Mr Jefferson was initially breezing over the synthetic surface at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, but has posted his last two works over the main track at Laurel. He went an easy half-mile in 50.80 seconds Sunday.
“The track was deep because of the cold weather, but he worked well,” Trombetta said.
Mr Jefferson is out of the Malibu Moon mare Clockstrucktwelve, who is a half-sister to multiple stakes-winning sprinter Never Enough Time – a daughter of Munnings who also is trained by Trombetta.
While Mr Jefferson will make the trek to New York, Trombetta said his stablemate Conclusive, also a two-time winner, will likely remain in Maryland for the $100,000 Miracle Wood on February 19 going one mile at Laurel Park.
Owned by Sonata Stable, Conclusive defeated winners going 1 1/16-miles on January 2 at Laurel last out, where he set the pace and built on his advantage throughout, winning by 5 3/4 lengths.
On Saturday, Trombetta sent out Three Diamonds Farm's Jakarta to finish third in the Grade 2 Inside Information on the Pegasus World Cup undercard at Gulfstream Park.
The two-time black type stakes-winning Bustin Stones mare arrived at the Inside Information off a three-length triumph in the seven-furlong Mrs. Claus on December 28 at Parx. Trombetta said the Grade 3, $250,000 Barbara Fritchie on February 19 at Laurel Park, also run at seven furlongs, would be her likely next target.
“Finishing third in a Grade 2 is not bad. If she trains well, we could go back north for the Barbara Fritchie,” Trombetta said.
Unbridled Bomber gearing up for graded debut in G3 Withers
Edward Potash, Brad Yankanich, and trainer Jim Ryerson's Unbridled Bomber returned to work Tuesday in his second breeze since a fourth-place finish behind Courvoisier in the $150,000 Jerome on New Year's Day at Aqueduct Racetrack.
A dark bay son of Upstart, Unbridled Bomber breezed a bullet five-eighths in 1:00.60 over Belmont Park's dirt training track on Jan. 25, giving his connections the green light to point to the nine-furlong Withers.
“We're headed to the Withers next and we're happy with how he's doing. We're happy with how he ran last time and with his last couple races,” Ryerson said. “We'll see if he can stretch out and handle the ground.”
Unbridled Bomber finished eighth on debut at Saratoga in July sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs before stretching out to nine furlongs and then back to one mile to break his maiden at fourth asking on Nov. 7 at Belmont.
Unbridled Bomber stuck to a one-turn mile in the Jerome over a sloppy and sealed track next time out, held off the pace in seventh by regular rider Dylan Davis through the first quarter-mile after breaking a step slow. Swung three-wide in the turn, the 3-year-old colt seemed ready to unleash a bid for the lead but never kicked away and lost show honors to Cooke Creek by three-quarters of a length.
“As the way the day went, speed was so dominant over that track,” said Ryerson. “We really couldn't have put him into the pace and so we just had to see how it would go [from off the pace]. I thought he ran very well.”
Anthony Perri's Open Til Midnight graduated in a state-bred maiden special weight at the Big A on Nov. 18 in his fifth start for Ryerson, stretching out to 1 1/16 miles on the turf under Jose Lezcano after starting his career off sprinting.
The 3-year-old son of Midnight Storm cut back to six furlongs last time out to finish fifth in his first start against winners on Dec. 3, a move Ryerson said was due in part to the closure of the Aqueduct turf course for winter.
“That was the only race available for him before the turf closed. He can run one-turn races on the turf though and I think he's a nice New York-bred that we have hopes for having a nice three-year-old year,” said Ryerson.
The dark bay colt's recent works over Belmont's dirt training track include a bullet half-mile in 48 seconds flat on Jan. 25. Ryerson said a dirt debut will be in Open Til Midnight's future.
“He's been turf but we want to try him on the dirt,” said Ryerson. “He worked really well over it the other day and we'll see what the new condition book has and what happens with him.”
Multiple stakes-placed Market Alert exited well from a fourth-place allowance effort at the Big A on January 8 and will run again sometime in February. A 4-year-old New York-bred son of D'Funnybone, Market Alert flashed his talent early on with a pair of stakes placings as a juvenile in Aqueduct's Notebook and NYSSS Great White Way.
With an allowance win to start his sophomore campaign, Market Alert went on to earn another stakes placing with a second in the Mike Lee at Belmont and another allowance win in November. The chestnut gelding closed out the year in the NYSSS Thunder Rumble on December 5, finishing a well-beaten ninth in the field of 11.
“He ran a couple nice races and then we ran him in the stakes and were a little disappointed, but it was a tough race,” Ryerson said. “We're happy with him so far.”
Ryerson also noted that Miss Marissa, winner of the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap and Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan last year, has been privately sold by her owners to Japanese interests.
Courvoisier ready to pour it on in G3 Withers
Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and James D. Spry's Courvoisier worked five-eighths in 1:02.41 Friday over the Belmont dirt training track in preparation for Saturday's Withers.
“He's doing well,” trainer Kelly Breen said. “He breezed Friday by himself. It was a maintenance workout and he's good to go.”
The regally-bred Tapit chestnut is out of Grade 1 winning 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi, who is a half-sibling to multiple Grade 1-winner Omaha Beach. Courvoisier graduated at fourth asking traveling nine-furlongs in December at the Big A ahead of a 1 1/4-length score in the one-turn mile Jerome contested over a sloppy and sealed main track on New Year's Day, garnering 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
Breen said he is taking a cautiously optimistic approach on contesting the Kentucky Derby.
“We nominated him, but one race at a time,” Breen said.
Breen said a decision on a jockey for Courvoisier will be made in the next few days.
Robert G. Hahn's multiple stakes-placed New York-homebred Daufuskie Island worked five-eighths in 1:02.65 Friday over the Belmont dirt training track.
The Goldencents sophomore graduated impressively by five lengths at first asking sprinting six furlongs in a state-bred maiden special weight in August at Saratoga Race Course.
Daufuskie Island picked up state-bred stakes placings in the six-furlong Aspirant [2nd] at Finger Lakes in September; six-furlong New York Breeders' Futurity [3rd] in October at Finger Lakes; six-furlong Notebook [3rd] in November at Aqueduct; and the 6 1/2-furlong Rego Park last out on January 9 at the Big A.
Breen said the one-mile $100,000 Gander for state-bred sophomores on Feb. 12 is a possible target, but he is also considering other options for Daufuskie Island.
“There's an allowance race right before it and if it goes, we'll probably run in the allowance,” Breen said.
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