The MRH team has been in touch with trainer D. Wayne Lukas over the last few days while they've been at the Keeneland September yearling sale together. The Coach reports our son of Arrogate remains in great order and will have one final breeze this coming weekend in preparation for the G1 Pennsylvania Derby. Mr. Lukas continues to be full of confidence.
We will report back once our colt returns to the work tab.
Seismic Beauty had her first work back since her maiden victory yesterday morning at Del Mar, covering three furlongs in :36.20. In her solo drill, the daughter of Uncle Mo wasn’t asked for much and went easily throughout.
With the Del Mar meet now closed, trainer Bob Baffert wasn’t looking for anything special and has been pleased with the filly since her race. Seismic Beauty has been nominated to the G3 Dogwood on September 21st at Churchill Downs, however that would require a ship across country and there will also be plenty of options as soon as the Santa Anita meet starts back at the end of the month.
The Baffert barn is expected to ship back to Santa Anita in the coming days and we'll discuss plans with Bob once she returns.
Blue Devil breezed a half mile in :50.20 yesterday morning at Ellis Park. He traveled nicely by himself while not being asked for much.
He’s moving right along, now having two half-miles under him and is making good progress. His works will begin to get more serious over the coming weeks.
Fancy Quality breezed five furlongs in 1:04.21 this morning over the Belmont training track. This week she breezed in company with a stablemate from Argentina, Dia Estelar.
We remain on target for her debut on September 21st at Belmont at the Big A and your daughter of Wootton Bassett will have one additional breeze next Saturday in preparation.
Simply Enchanting has continued in good order since her comeback race on Sunday. She earned a 72 Beyer Speed Figure for her effort. It was great to see her respond well following that head-scratching effort at Churchill but she showed plenty of grit in the stretch and this looks to be a race we can build off of.
The logical next spot would be the same condition on October 4th at Santa Anita but we’ll see how she continues to train out of this race and finalize our decision as we get closer.
The D’Amato barn is scheduled to return to Santa Anita early next week, so her first work back will come there.
Fireball Birdie ran 2nd at Remington Park yesterday evening, two lengths behind the winner. He earned a 91 Equibase speed figure for the race.
Simply Enchanting ran a great race today at Del Mar R#3, closing in on the clear leader deep in the stretch to almost get there, only loosing by a head at the wire and finishing 4 lengths ahead of the 3rd place horse. Very exciting performance and we'll post more when we receive the Equibase and trainer reports.
AFTER RACE REPORT
Simply Enchanting bounced back nicely this afternoon at Del Mar, missing by a head to in-form Edge Racing runner Normandy Queen. (Edge is MRH's other division and Normandy Queen is currently undefeated.)
Your filly took a bump from the horse to her inside at the break, but continued right along to stalk from third. Normandy Queen looked home free heading for home, but Simply Enchanting continued to respond to rider Antonio Fresu’s urging. She found another gear once she switched leads at the top of the lane, gobbled up ground on the leader, but just ran out of room.
Regardless of the tough beat, we have to be very heartened by that performance and excited to see Simply Enchanting build on that improved run next time.
We’ll see how she comes back and weigh options with trainer Phil D’Amato, but another try in a similar spot would be logical.
RACE ON YOUTUBE:
