Hogy forgoes trip to Dubai, will run in Shakertown

The 8-year-old gelding Hogy ran so well in winning the $50,000 Colonel Power Stakes on Feb. 25 at Fair Grounds that he was invited to the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint on the Dubai World Cup undercard.

But while it’s always nice to be invited to the party, owner William Stiritz and his private trainer, Scott Becker, respectfully declined that invitation, Becker said Thursday. Hogy runs instead in the $200,000 Shakertown Stakes on April 8 at Keeneland.

“I just shipped him out of Fair Grounds yesterday and back to Fairmount to get ready for Keeneland,” said Becker, whose base camp is at Fairmount Park in southern Illinois, a racetrack that Stiritz owns. “They called up yesterday with the invitation to Dubai, but it’s not the right thing for us to do with the horse.”

Hogy raced three springs ago in the Shakertown, closing from 10th to finish fourth. Last fall at Keeneland, he rallied from far back to finish second by a halflength in the Woodford Stakes. Hogy has won 16 of his 41 starts, not a lot of races for a horse of his age, and he appears to be as good right now as he ever has been. Racing on a lightning-fast course, he set a 5 1/2-furlong course record in the Colonel Power while earning a careerbest 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

“We’ve kind of lightly raced him, always took care of him,” said Becker. “He’s had some foot issues, but he’s doing good again. He didn’t do well at Oaklawn last winter, and he’s one reason we went to Fair Grounds this year.”

Becker and Stiritz, like Hogy, have had a good winter during their first Fair Grounds meet, which was impacted by by an equine herpesvirus outbreak earlier this year. Through Thursday’s racing, Becker had 11 wins from 57 starters, the 10th-most wins among trainers.

“Everything has gone pretty smooth there,” Becker said. “The herpes deal cut us down a little bit. I had some more horses to ship and ended up not shipping them because of that, but overall, things have gone well. The plan as of now would be to go back.”

Last Sunday, the Beckertrained 3-year-old Stand and Cheer set the pace in a first-level dirt-route allowance and held stoutly for second behind Resiliency. Stand and Cheer won his maiden by more than 10 lengths last fall at Hawthorne, and Becker said he is a candidate for the Illinois Derby next month at Hawthorne, though plans call for an interim start in a Keeneland allowance race.

Guest Suite preps for La. Derby

The 3-year-old gelding Guest Suite, who won the Lecomte Stakes and was a solid fourth in the Risen Star Stakes, had his first work since the Risen Star, going a half-mile in 49.60 seconds on Tuesday.

“It was a little maintenance half-mile,” trainer Neil Howard said. “He went nice and smooth. He’s doing fine.”

Guest Suite remains on track to make his next start April 1 in the Louisiana Derby.

Also working Tuesday for Howard was Eagle, who went a half-mile in 48.80 seconds. Eagle finished fourth Feb. 25 in the Mineshaft Handicap, his first start since July, and is set to have the second start of his 5-year-old season in the New Orleans Handicap on April 1.

“That last race looks like it did him a world of good,” said Howard.

Hawaakom back on work tab

Hawaakom, one of the best older dirt horses at Fair Grounds, worked five furlongs in 1:01 on Thursday at Fair Grounds, his first timed breeze since he finished second behind Gun Runner on Feb. 20 in the Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park.

Wes Hawley, who trains Hawaakom and is his majority owner, said Hawaakom still is on track to race April 1 in the New Orleans Handicap here.

“He worked unbelievable this morning, nice and easy,” Hawley said. “He’ll have two more works before the race. He puts a lot into his training. You don’t need to beat on him. We’re in great shape coming out of Oaklawn. I didn’t want to overwork him.”

Hawaakom, a 7-year-old Jazil gelding, was claimed for $15,000 in November 2014, steadily improved, and has become a solid graded-stakes horse. He won the Louisiana Handicap with a powerful late rally in January at Fair Grounds before coming home a clear second in the Razorback, and Hawaakom should be a leading contender in the New Orleans Handicap.

◗ Western Reserve, who has been among the top older-male turf-route horses this winter at Fair Grounds, is recovering from a bruised foot that forced him to be scratched from the Feb. 25 Fair Grounds Handicap. Trainer Brad Cox said Western Reserve is in light training and is likely to miss the Mervin Muniz Handicap on April 1.

◗ The nominal feature on Sunday’s nine-race card is race 8, a first-level allowance race for fillies and mares carded for six furlongs on dirt and also open to $17,500 claimers. The race is inscrutable, the shorter prices hard to trust, and the upset selection is Lough Ness, whose contending form is obscured by a troubled trip and two races over surfaces for which she might not have cared.