RISEN STAR WINNER BRAVAZO COULD RETURN FOR GRADE II LOUISIANA DERBY

By Ryan Martin —-

• Risen Star Winner Bravazo Could Return For Grade II Louisiana Derby
• Grade I Ashland Is ‘Plan A’ For Monomoy Girl’s Next Start
• Grade II Muniz Next Up For Synchrony
• Amoss Gives Lone Sailor Class Drop In Monday Allowance

RISEN STAR WINNER BRAVAZO COULD RETURN FOR GRADE II LOUISIANA DERBY

Following a narrow victory in Saturday’s Grade II Risen Star Stakes, one might expect to see Bravazo return to the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for the Gr. II $1 million Louisiana Derby on Mar. 24 as Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said it would be a “strong” possibility.

One could also expect to see the 3-year-old son of Awesome Again reunited with jockey Miguel Mena.

“We’ll get him back here with me and if everything checks out and goes right then I’m going to lock up Miguel Mena,” Lukas said. “I’ll pack him and the horse in Styrofoam and keep them under lock and key until the next race.”

Lukas has found success in using the Louisiana Derby as a springboard to the First Saturday in May. His last victory in the race took place with 1996 Gr. I Kentucky Derby winner Grindstone.

Owned by Calumet Farm, Bravazo is now atop the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard with 54 points following his Risen Star victory, where he earned 50 points on Churchill Downs’ Road To The Kentucky Derby. As a 2-year-old he earned four points when running second behind Free Drop Billy in the Gr. I Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland.

GRADE I ASHLAND IS ‘PLAN A’ FOR MONOMOY GIRL’S NEXT START

With a graded stakes victory under her belt and a security of 50 points on the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard in the Gr. II Rachel Alexandra Stakes, Monomoy Girl will likely make her next start in the Gr. I $500,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes at Keeneland on Apr. 7, according to trainer Brad Cox.

“Moving forward plan A is going to be the Ashland at Keeneland,” Cox said. “I spoke with (part owner) Sol Kumin and we really think the Ashland is going to be plan A. We’ll just see what happens. She did come out in good order and right now the plan is Keeneland.”

Owned by Kumin, The Elkstone Group LLC, Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stbales LLC and Bethlehem Stables LLC, the 3-year-old daughter of Tapizar made her 3-year-old debut in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes which she won under some unfavorable circumstances. She broke out hitting the gate at the start, losing several lengths and was forced to race from far off the pace for the first time in her five-race career. Nevertheless, she was able to overcome all of that and now leads all other fillies on the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard with 54 points. She earned four points from her prior start when finishing second behind Road To Victory in Churchill Downs’ Gr. II Golden Rod Stakes last fall.

In other news out of the Brad Cox barn, High North (fifth in the Gr. II Risen Star Stakes) could see a drop in class for his next start. Prior to the Risen Star, he was a troubled fourth in the Gr. II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in November.

“It was good race off the layoff,” Cox said. “(Jockey) Corey (Lanerie) did a good job put him in good position. He didn’t finish down the lane lithe way I would’ve liked. We’ll start him back in four or five weeks. We may look at Hot Springs or something at the Fair Grounds. The (Gr. II $1 million Louisiana Derby on Mar. 24) is an outside possibility, but right now we’ll likely run in an allowance.”

GRADE II MUNIZ MEMORIAL NEXT UP FOR SYNCHRONY

Pin Oak Stable’s newest member of the graded stakes winning club Synchrony will make his next start in the Gr. II $300,000 Muniz Memorial Handicap following Saturday’s win in the Gr. III Fair Grounds Handicap, which he won off a nine-month layoff.

“As long as he’s doing as well as he was going into this, we’ll plan on coming back there,” trainer Mike Stidham said.

The 5-year-old son of Tapit is a prime example of how important patience can be when it comes to training a horse. Stidham acquired that horse at the beginning of last year from trainer Donnie Von Hemel, for whom he only raced over the main track. His final start for his former conditioner took place in the Gr. III Lexington Stakes at Keeneland in April 2016 where he was third behind Collected. His next outing was ten months later, which also was his first start for Stidham where he was fifth in an allowance optional claiming event over the local main track.

“This was a horse that we had last summer and he had some time off before he came to us after he left Von Hemel,” Stidham said. “The time that was given to him wasn’t quite enough and he wasn’t really one hundred percent. We were able to race him on the grass but I never felt that he
was as good as he could be during the summer. We discussed it and decided that we would give him the proper amount of time which was about four months. We gave it to him and since he’s come back this time, he’s like a different horse. You knew the potential was there but it was a matter of giving him one hundred percent and that’s what he was yesterday.”

Prior to the Fair Grounds Handicap, Synchrony had run second twice against stakes caliber. He was runner-up in the Henry Clark Stakes beaten a half-length behind eventual Grade I winner Ascend before being beaten 2 ¼ lengths in the Gr. III Red Bank Stakes at Monmouth Park in May of last year, his last start before the Fair Grounds Handicap.

Synchrony is out of eight-time stakes winning broodmare Brownie Points, who scored such wins over both surfaces.

Meanwhile, Stidham briefly spoke of Cedartown who was scratched from Saturday’s Gr. III Mineshaft Handicap.

“We’re watching and wanting to make sure that everything is right before we think about what’s next for him,” Stidham said. “We didn’t want to take a chance of him not running his best race and decided to wait. We’ll see how he is and see if we can get him ready for the (Gr. II $400,000) New Orleans Handicap (on Mar.24).”

AMOSS GIVES LONE SAILOR A CLASS DROP IN MONDAY ALLOWANCE

Trainer Tom Amoss enters GMB Racing’s Lone Sailor in a Monday allowance event following a ninth-place finish in the Gr. III Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 13.

Amoss added the blinkers to the son of Majestic Warrior for his last outing and admits that it was not the right move.

“Lone Sailor has not done for me in the afternoons what he’s done for me in the mornings so we’re doing a lot of experimenting with him,” Amoss said. “Keep in mind that he’s Grade I stakes placed so we know that he’s a good horse but he’s showing me more in the mornings. Looking back on it, I know better. All horses have a style and trying to do make them do something different than what they do is never a good experiment so the blinkers come off. We’re going to let him run his race and try to make a late run. Hopefully this leads us into the right direction.”

Lone Sailor finished third in last year’s Gr. I Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity behind Free Drop Billy and Gr. II Risen Star Stakes winner Bravazo. He will be guided by James Graham from post nine at odds of 9-2.

Cover Photos Courtesy of Hodges Photography