Notably absent from the entries for the $100,000 Affirmed Division of the Florida Stallion Stakes series on Saturday's Juvenile Showcase program at Calder Casino & Race Course is Harold Queen's Florida homebred colt Little Drama, who flashed brilliance winning the $100,000 Frank Gomez Memorial Stakes by 9 ½ lengths on July 10, but disappointed last out finishing sixth as the 1-to-2 favorite in the $100,000 Dr. Fager Division of the FSS on Aug. 7 run over a ‘sloppy' track.
"He's fine and worked all right (half-mile in 48 4/5 last Sunday)," said trainer David Fawkes Friday morning. "But this race is a little close back in three weeks, and with young horses in this heat, we just thought it was best to pass on this one and most likely train him right up to the big one ($350,000 In Reality Division finale at 1 1/16 miles on Sat., Oct. 16.).
Also getting a brief respite in the Fawkes barn currently is Little Drama's 4-year-old star half-brother Big Drama, who finished a game second last out behind Majesticperfection in the $250,000 A.G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G2) at Saratoga on Aug. 8 after sweeping the $65,000 Ponche Handicap and $350,000 Smile Sprint Handicap (G2) here in his only two previous starts this season.
"He's here, doing fine and will work sometime this weekend," said Fawkes, who has had a busy and productive summer racing a full division at Calder and another string at the Monmouth Park elite session where he sent out JoAnn and Alex Lieblong and partners' 4-year-old colt Duke of Mischief to score a 2 ½ lengths victory in the $300,000 Philip H. Iselin Handicap (G3) last Saturday under jockey Eibar Coa.
"One of the options we're looking at (for Big Drama) is the six-furlong race at Belmont Park ($350,000 Vosburgh Stakes (G1) on Oct. 2). The son of Montbrook has won $1.5 million with eight wins and three seconds in 14 career starts and is being pointed for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs on Sat., Nov. 6.
Princess Rooney Rematch in Ballerina Saturday
Farnsworth Stables' 6-year-old Jessica Is Back posted a mild upset winning the $350,000 Princess Rooney Handicap (G1) by two lengths at Calder Casino & Race Course on Summit of Speed day, July 10, over Joseph Sutton's 4-year-old filly Warbling, the 2-to-1 favorite invading from Kentucky, and the two meet again in Saturday's $250,000 Ballerina Handicap (G1) on Travers Day at Saratoga.
While Jessica Is Back makes her first start since the Princess Rooney, trainer Eddie Kenneally brought Warbling back in the six-furlong Honorable Miss Handicap (G2) at the Spa on Aug. 8 and she finished third as the 3-to-2 favorite. Wolfson won the 1996 edition of the Ballerina with Chaposa Springs, who had won the Test Stakes (G1) there the year before and the Princess Rooney later that season when the race was run in the fall.
In addition to Jessica Is Back, Wolfson also sends out Andrew Rosen's 4-year-old filly First Passage in the Ballerina as the beautifully-bred daughter of Giant's Causeway bids to bounce back from a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Princess Rooney and third-place effort in the Ema Bovary overnight stakes on July 31 at Calder. First Passage finished an unlucky fourth in the Test last summer after missing the break.
Two other veterans of this year's Summit Day at Calder are also entered in Graded stakes Saturday at Saratoga. Paul Pompa, Jr.'s 3-year-old colt D'Funnybone finished second last out in the $200,000 Carry Back Stakes (G2) as the 1-to-10 favorite for trainer Rick Dutrow, beaten a length by Gary Barber's Coffee Boy, trained by Wolfson, and is the morning-line favorite in the $250,000 King's Bishop Stakes (G1).
Earlier on the card, Thoroughbred Racing Legends Racing Stable's 3-year-old filly Rapport goes in the $100,000 Victory Ride Stakes (G3) for trainer Bob Baffert. The daughter of Songandaprayer shipped into Calder from California to finish fourth in the $150,000 Azalea Stakes (G3) on Summit day, tiring in the final furlong after setting blistering fractions of 21 1/5 and 44 3/5.
In addition to the two Wolfson-trained runners in the Ballerina, he also will run Farnsworth Stable's 5-year-old mare Cherokee Queen in Saturday's $200,000 Ballston Spa Handicap (G2) and Team Valor International's 5-year-old Irish-bred mare Miss Singhsix in Sunday's $400,000 Personal Ensign Stakes (G1).