**For a video of trainer Kiaran McLaughlin discussing Uptowncharlybrown and his plans for the Belmont Stakes, please visit the NYRA Youtube site at http://www.youtube.com/nyravideo#p/a/u/0/vTZgHiwaMzw**
Friday, May 7, 2010
Contact: NYRA Press Office
(718) 659-2244
- Drosselmeyer connections hope Dwyer a steppingstone to Belmont
- Stay Put eyes
- Careless Jewel to work Sunday for possible Shuvee start
- Seattle Smooth expected to make comeback, defend title in Shuvee
“He’s a really nice horse and we are happy to have him,” said McLaughlin. “We’ll work him tomorrow, and hopefully every Saturday up to the Belmont Stakes. We think he has a big chance in the
A son of Limehouse, Uptowncharlybrown won his first two races by a combined margin of 15 lengths at Tampa Bay Downs, and then finished third to Rule in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis and fifth behind Odysseus, Schoolyard Dreams and eventual Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby on March 13.
“I’ve watched him ever since he broke his maiden, so we are lucky to have him,” said McLaughlin. “He’s by Limehouse, and with his come-from-behind running style distance doesn’t seem to be a problem.”
Owned by Fantasy Lane Stable, Uptowncharlybrown will be ridden by Rajiv Maragh in the 142nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 5, said McLaughlin.
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One who is definitely using Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Dwyer as a possible springboard to the 142nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes at
“The plan is, going into it, if he runs well to run in the
After two starts on turf and one on synthetic, the Distorted Humor colt came from just off the pace to score a six-length victory in an off-the-turf maiden race at Churchill Downs last fall, then took a 1 1/8th mile allowance at Gulfstream Park in January in similar fashion. In the Grade 2 Risen Star at 1 1/16th miles, Drosselmeyer rallied along the inside and finished fourth; his rally from seventh in the Louisiana Derby left him a length behind Mission Impazible and a neck behind A Little Warm.
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Trainer Steve Margolis is eyeing the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 5 as a possible next start for Stay Put, who rallied to win an optional claimer on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs last Saturday.
“There’s a race here [at Churchill Downs, the Grade 3 Northern Dancer on June 12], but we’re also thinking about the Belmont Stakes,” said Margolis. “He went back to the track [on Wednesday], but won’t we make a decision until after the Preakness.”
Prior to his victory on Saturday, Stay Put had won a pair of races at the Fair Grounds over the winter, then was fifth in both the Grade 2 Risen Star and the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby later in the meet.
Margolis believes Stay Put, a stretch runner, could be closer to the pace in the Belmont Stakes, should he compete in the third leg of the Triple Crown.
“If you watch his race from Saturday, he was only four lengths off the lead,” Margolis said of Stay Put’s triumph at Churchill Downs. “He can be more tactical, and [regular rider] Jamie Theriot can place him where he needs to be.”
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Careless Jewel, impressive winner of last year’s Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga Race Course, could make her 4-year-old debut in the Grade 2 Shuvee at
“We are currently pointing for the race,” trainer Josie Carroll said Friday. “She’s going to work on Sunday [at Woodbine], probably five furlongs, and we will then make a final decision.”
The daughter of Tapit, owned by Donver Stable, posted an 11-length victory in the Alabama, representing the third-largest margin of victory in the historic race, which has been run 129 times. The largest
Originally expected to make her yearly debut in the Grade 2 La Troienne at Churchill Downs on Friday, April 30, Careless Jewel had a minor setback that caused her to miss three days of training.
“We had to fix something on her foot, nothing major,” Carroll said. “Other than that, she has been doing really well.”
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Mercedes Stable’s Seattle Smooth, off since winning the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Handicap last June, is expected to make her comeback in next weekend’s Shuvee. The 5-year-old daughter of Quiet American had three wins from three starts in 2009, including last year’s Shuvee.
“We’re looking forward to it,” said trainer Tony Dutrow. “We’ll think she’ll run well – she’s all ready to go.”
In addition to Careless Jewel and Seattle Smooth, also expected for the Grade 2, $150,000 Shuvee, according to NYRA stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes, are Mrs. C. Wilson McNeely’s Funny Moon, winner of last year’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, Eugene George’s Milwaukee Appeal, who has not started since a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Gazelle at Aqueduct in November, and Blue Star Stable’s Lady Alexander, who exits a fifth-place finish in the Wayward Lass Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on February 27. Byrnes also named Derby Lane Farm’s Dr. Zic, Fernando Abreu’s Granted Tiger, Claiborne Farm’s Haka and Live Oak Plantation’s Sheikh’s Serenade as possible for the race.
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