Barn Notes
Kaplan Duo Entered in Sumter Overnight Sunday
Kaplan named Manoel Cruz on Imawildandcrazygouy and Juan Leyva on Drums of Thunder for the Sumter Sunday. The former was in the spotlight as this time last year when finishing fourth behind Street Sense in the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs, and the roan/grey son of Wild Event has shown he handles turf and dirt when on his game.
Drums of Thunder is a chestnut colt by Concerto that appears best on the main track on his good days, but may have to do better than his sixth and fifth-place efforts going one mile in Gulfstream Park allowance tests in his last two starts. His most recent victory came on Feb. 20 at Gulfstream going a mile for a $50,000 claiming tag.
Completing the field for the Sumter Sunday are Bea Oxenberg’s Notgonagetemtoday, Dennis Dwyer’s Alarming Fleet, Drs. K.K. and V.D. Jayaraman’s Finance Minister, J. Robert Harris, Jr.’s Rehoboth, Robert Dubois’ Rexson’s Rose and Rolbea Thoroughbred Racing’s Finallymadeit.
Tropical Derby & Oaks Winners Lining Up for Kentucky Versions
Fans on hand at Calder Race Course on New Year’s Day may have sensed that the victories by Stonerside Stable’s homebred Cowboy Cal in the $100,000 Tropical Park Derby (G3) and Cloverleaf Farm II’s homebred filly Bsharpsonata in the $100,000 Tropical Park Oaks pointed them out as top prospects among this year’s 3-year-old colts and fillies, respectively.
Four months later this weekend, the two Tropical winners will contest the biggest races of the season for their divisions when Cowboy Cal runs in Saturday’s $2 million Kentucky Derby (G1) and Bsharpsonata goes to the post for Friday’s $500,000 Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs.
Cowboy Cal is a son of Giant’s Causeway and has run twice since the Tropical Derby for trainer Todd Pletcher, finishing second as the 1-to-2 choice in the Hallandale Beach Stakes (G3) on turf at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 16 and second by a neck in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) on Polytrack at Keeneland on Apr. 12, beaten by Pletcher-trained stablemate Monba.
Bsharpsonata is a daughter of Pulpit trained by Maryland-based horseman Tim Salzman and spent the winter in South Florida under the supervision of his father veteran horseman John Salzman. She won the Forward Gal Stakes (G2) and Davona Dale Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream in February and March before finishing a game second last out in the Ashland Stakes (G2) at Keeneland on Apr. 5.
Another ‘Oaks’ winner at Calder in action in a major stakes at Churchill this weekend is Jacks or Better Farm’s 5-year-old Florida homebred mare Bayou’s Lassie, winner of the 2006 Calder Oaks for Calder-based trainer Stanley Gold.
A daughter of Outflanker, Bayou’s Lassie has won four stakes at Calder altogether, most recently the Stage Door Betty Handicap (G3) on Dec. 29 for trainer Christophe Clement and goes into today’s $300,000 Louisville Stakes (G2) with Dale Romans as trainer. Bayou’s Lassie has won eight of 15 career starts for earnings of $545,000, most recently capturing the Turf Distaff at Tampa Bay Downs on Apr. 5.
The other Kentucky Derby contender to have run at Calder is Mt. Joy Stable’s homebred Smooth Air, runner-up to favorite Big Brown in the Florida Derby (G1) last out at Gulfstream on Mar. 29 for Calder-based trainer Bennie Stutts, Jr. The son of Smooth Jazz made all four of his starts as a 2-year-old here last year, winning twice and placing in the Dr. Fager Division of the Florida Stallion Stakes and Jack Price Juvenile.
