Triple Crown | Horse Racing Free Tips

With Wood Memorial On Calendar, Risk Taking Posts First Drill Since Withers Victory

Klaravich Stables' Risk Taking, who earned a career-best 89 Beyer winning the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers last out at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., had his first breeze back on Sunday morning.

The Medaglia d'Oro bay went a half-mile in 50.06 on the Belmont dirt training track working in company with 4-year-old Mystic Night, a $500,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase who earned an 80 Beyer in his third-out graduation on January 30 at the Big A.

“Risk Taking had his first work back since his win in the Withers and it went very well,” said Dan Stupp, the New York-based assistant to trainer Chad Brown. “I was pleased with the work. He came out of the race in great shape and his energy and appetite have been good.”

Risk Taking, a $240,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, is 2-for-2 traveling nine furlongs at Aqueduct. He graduated on December 13 at the distance ahead of his rallying Withers score which garnered 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Following the Withers, Brown said Risk Taking would likely target the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 3 at the Big A. The nine-furlong Wood Memorial is the final local prep for the Grade 1, Kentucky Derby and awards the top-four finishers qualifying points according to a 100-40-20-10 scale.

Louis Lazzinnaro's The Grass Is Blue, a sophomore daughter of Broken Vow, impressed with a one-length win last out in the nine-furlong Busanda on January 24 at the Big A. The chestnut, who earned a 72 Beyer in victory along with 10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points, worked a half-mile in 49.21 Sunday.

“The Grass Is Blue worked a solo half and worked very easy,” said Stupp. “It was a very nice maintenance work and I'm happy with her work.”

The Grass Is Blue captured an optional-claiming sprint at Keeneland in October sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs ahead of an off-the-board effort in the Songbird in November at the same distance at the Lexington oval. She entered the Busanda from a closing third in the 1 1/16-mile Anne Arundel County in December at Laurel Park.

“She appreciated the stretch out in the Busanda,” said Stupp. “Earlier on, we thought she wanted to go short but watching her races Chad decided to see if she would be better stretching out and she certainly showed that in her last race. She certainly handled the mile and an eighth. She's trained very well out of that win and seems to have improved a lot for us here over the winter.”

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Joseph Works Drain The Clock, Super Strong For Possible Gotham Engagement

Trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said he is still undecided who he will send to New York from South Florida for the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on March 6.

Graded stakes winners Drain the Clock and Super Strong are both possible for the one-turn mile Gotham which offers 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby points to the top-four finishers. Both horses recorded five-furlong works this weekend.

Sonata Stables' Super Strong worked on Saturday, completing his move in 1:01.60 at Palm Meadows Training Center. The son of Super Saver won the Group 1 Classico Agustin Mercado Revron at Camarero in Puerto Rico on debut.

On Sunday morning, Grade 3 Swale winner Drain the Clock was clocked in 1:00.52 over a fast main track at Gulfstream Park.

“I thought Drain the Clock worked very well this morning,” Joseph said. “I had him going the last quarter in 22.4 seconds. It was a good, strong work and as good as we could have asked for.”

Bred by Nick Casato, who co-owns the son of Maclean's Music under the Slam Dunk Racing moniker, Drain the Clock has won both his sophomore starts in the Limehouse on January 2 before winning the last-out Swale, both at Gulfstream Park.

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Callaghan: ‘Lots Of Blue Sky Ahead’ For San Felipe Candidate Roman Centurian

Roman Centurian was beaten 12 ¼ lengths by Life Is Good in his debut race last Nov. 22, but after an impressive maiden win and a bang-up second by a neck to Medina Spirit in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Jan. 30, Simon Callaghan is gearing up the son of Empire Maker for another go at Life Is Good in the G2 San Felipe Stakes on March 6.

“He's a very talented horse and I think the San Felipe will be a very interesting race,” said Callaghan, who conditions Roman Centurian for breeders Don Alberto Corporation, which also owns the colt along with Qatar Racing Limited. He was a $550,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September Sale.

“I think the San Felipe will reveal a lot, but again, Roman Centurian is a very good horse. I'm happy with him and looking forward to the race.”

Juan Hernandez, who rode Roman Centurian in the Lewis, will be back aboard in the San Felipe, Callaghan said.

Hernandez was in the irons today for a five-furlong workout in 1:00.40. “I was very happy,” Callaghan said. “It was a typical breeze for him. He moved good and finished up really well.”

Roman Centurian had an eventful trip in the 1 1/16-mile Lewis, trailing in the field of six after a half-mile, going five wide into the stretch, and bumping third-place finisher Hot Rod Charlie at the eighth pole.

According to the Equibase chart, Roman Centurian “could not get by the winner,” Medina Spirit, who, like Life Is Good, is trained by Bob Baffert.

“I think he's always going to have that style of closing,” Callaghan said, “but he definitely covered more ground in the Lewis and was kind of bumped; that didn't help him.

“It's five weeks from the Lewis to the San Felipe so we're going to see some progression in our horse. There's lots of blue sky ahead of him.”

The San Felipe is a major steppingstone to the Grade I, $750,000 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby on April 3 and offers 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner, 20 to the runner-up, 10 to the third-place finisher and five to the fourth. The race was won last year by Authentic, who would go on to be named Horse of the Year.

Life Is Good is the 7-1 individual favorite in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wagering, while Roman Centurian is listed at 41-1. The mutuel field is favored at 3-1.

Roman Centurian calls Santa Anita home along with fellow Triple Crown hopefuls Life Is Good, Freedom Fighter, Medina Spirit and Concert Tour for Baffert; Dream Shake for Peter Eurton; and Hot Rod Charlie and The Great One for Doug O'Neill.

Also working Saturday morning were Medina Spirit (six furlongs in a bullet 1:12.40); San Vicente winner Concert Tour (four furlongs in 47.20); and Louisiana Derby-bound Hot Rod Charlie and San Felipe contender The Great One (five furlongs in 1:02 and 1:01.20, breezing, respectively).

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‘He’s Ready To Go’: Maker Breezes Fire At Will For Fountain Of Youth

Three Diamonds Farm's Fire At Will breezed five furlongs Saturday morning at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., while tuning up for a scheduled start in next Saturday's $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2).

The 3-year-old son of Declaration of War, who captured the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland, was timed in 1:02.75 in his seventh breeze in preparation for his 2021 debut in the key prep for the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n Dale at Xalapa March 27 at Gulfstream.

“Everything went smooth,” trainer Michael Maker said. “He's ready to go.”

After finishing sixth on turf in his Aug. 8 debut at Saratoga, Fire At Will broke his maiden in the Sept. 2 With Anticipation Stakes over a sealed sloppy main track at the Spa. The Kentucky-bred colt went back to turf to capture the Oct. 3 Pilgrim (G2) at Belmont by two lengths and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf by three lengths.

Fire At Will has yet to run on a fast main track.

“It's a tough task, whether he's a dirt horse or a turf horse, but he's earned the chance,” Maker said.

At Palm Beach Downs, WinStar Farm LLC and CHD Inc.'s Prime Factor breezed a half-mile in 48.69 seconds Sunday morning for his scheduled return in the Fountain of Youth. The Todd Pletcher trainee, who finished third in the Jan. 30 Holy Bull (G2) as the favorite, worked in company with Promise Keeper, who broke his maiden impressively at Gulfstream Feb. 6.

“They went head and head in 48-and-change,” Pletcher said. “They went good.”

Prime Factor debuted with a dazzling 8 ¾-length victory at Gulfstream Dec. 12 before taking a giant step up in the Holy Bull, in which he stalked the pace and raced evenly in the stretch to finish a distant third behind victorious Greatest Honour and runner-up Tarantino, both of whom are scheduled to return in the Fountain of Youth.

The 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth will headline a program with nine stakes, including eight graded races.

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